Sweet Valley High #4: Power Play

What a horrid little book!

So Robin Wilson starts off the book as the fat girl with the “pretty face” as they keep reminding us. Liz is wandering around the house when Jessica calls and gives her the old library excuse for why she can’t help clean the house. Then (shocker) Robin shows up with Jess’s stuff and her library books. She asks Liz about Pi Beta Alpha and mentions that she’s worried Jess won’t put up her name at nominations so Liz agrees to do it. Then we’re reminded for the 97th time that it’s not really Liz’s scene. We’re also treated to Liz’s perspective on Robin stuffing her face with a chocolate bar and watching it quickly disappear.

Jess comes home with a new scarf and says that Lila’s aunt sent it to her from New York, but it isn’t her style. The twins fight over Robin, with Jess maintaining that she won’t fit in because of her weight. She then tries to trick Liz by closing the nomination meeting early, but Liz shows up just in time and tells the girls that Robin’s one of Jess’s best friends. Jess, Lila and Cara (she was still evil then) make up some initiation stunts for the poor girl.

First she has to run around the track 5 times a day for a week, while the popular kids mock her from the bleachers. She also has to wear a bikini at the beach and join a volleyball game. Finally she has to get Bruce Patman to take her to the dance. Liz cons him into agreeing by writing an article for him in the paper. Naturally he takes Robin to the dance, calls her the Queen Mary and then ditches her.

Liz chases Robin into the bathroom and makes Robin stand guard outside the door. She then has to go after Todd because he’s about to attack Bruce (yeah right). Allen, the newspaper photographer, chases Robin down and after a little heart to heart, they agree to go back to the dance together. Liz keeps meddling though, especially when Jess keeps showing up with expensive stuff from Lila.

The PBA meeting ends with Robin being blackballed from the stuck up sorority, which sends her into a fit of depression. Liz sees Lila in the mall and learns that someone’s been shoplifting, but she gets caught up with Robin. The other girl starts running laps and gets a tapeworm (not really, but give me a break) and manages to loose 100 pounds in less than a month.

Jess and Lila get busted for shoplifting, but it turns out that it was all Lila. She says that she just wants her dad’s attention and when he shows up at the mall, he tells Liz that she can have anything she want. You know, because she basically did nothing except get Jess out of the way and she tells him to spend more time with his kid.

Robin tries out for the cheerleading squad and is not only made a cheerleader, but also gets named co-captain with Jess. Liz goes to court with Lila as a character witness (cough, bull shit, cough) and Lila gets off easy. Jess decides that she’ll win the title of Miss Sweet Valley High easily, but then Robin throws her hat in the ring. It’s all really ridiculous with one half of the football team rooting for Jess and half carrying a “Robin has us Throbbing” sign.

On the big day, Robin wins and asks Bruce to driver her around the track because he’s now obsessed with her. Of course he is, now she’s skinny…asshole. When he shows up though, she announces that good old Alan will be her date. We all learn a valuable lesson. Well not Lila who goes right back to being a bitch, Jess who goes after an older guy and Liz who keeps on meddling. Plus Robin learns that if you’re skinny and a cheerleader, everyone will love you.

Oh and there’s another plot about 16 year old Liz getting discouraged because the real newspaper won’t publish her articles. She runs into the editor of the freaking paper at the football game and he’s swamped so he hires her on the spot to write for him. Then the next day she sees her name in print. Give me a break. I’m a professional writer and I still get rejection letters constantly. Oh wait, I’m not a size 6 blonde, that’s why. Just another reminder of how badly life in Sweet Valley sucks for the normal people.