Sweet Valley High Magna Edition: Jessica's Secret Diary

This secret diary takes place between books #30 and #40 and involves Jessica going after Jeffrey behind her twin's back.

Jessica has a new beau named Jack. He's tall, handsome, and has the more perfect eyes. For the first time since Sam died, she actually thinks she's happy. While at a Bruce party, Lila and Amy keep rolling their eyes because she won't shut up about him. She finally admits that she's in love with him and that she can't wait to tell him.

The only problem is that she's in the middle of yet another identity crisis. She recently failed a French test that Elizabeth aced. While dancing with Jack, another couple bump into them and apologize, calling her Elizabeth. To cope with it, she imagines the first time she met Jack and how he keeps coming over all the time to see her. She's sure he's about to tell her he loves her, especially when he takes her for a romantic walk on the beach.

When she tells him how she feels though, he drops a bombshell. He's actually in love with her twin. Despite the fact that they've been dating, spending a lot of time together, and apparently making out, he loves Liz. Jessica rushes home and decides to run away yet again. As she starts packing though, she comes across her secret diaries and sits down to read.

Remember when Jessica completely changed her look with the hair dye and everything? We learn that she actually had a crush on Jeffrey back then. When she found out he liked her new look, she couldn't stop thinking about the way his hand felt on her shoulder. Then, when she discovered that he was still in love with her twin, she was more than a little disappointed.

After like 100 pages, we still aren't up the Jeffrey story, so let's look at what does happen.

*Jessica brings home Prince Albert.

*She grows excited about Maria's secret engagement.

*She sells Tofu Glow products.

*After trying to break up Cara and Steven yet again, she contemplates breaking up Liz and Jeffrey because he's like totally the perfect boyfriend ever.

*Susan Stewart finds out her caretaker is her mom and that her dad is famous.

*When Liz looks at going away to school in Switzerland, Jess thinks she's stupid for leaving behind such a hunk of a boyfriend.

Jessica dresses up like her twin to talk with Jeffrey about Switzerland. He admits that he feels like she doesn't care what he thinks and tells her how much he loves her. She pushes the issue enough that it looks all wounded. Jess then comes home and writes in her diary about how she's completely and totally in love with Jeffrey French. She also contemplates telling her sister to go so she'll have a shot with him but decides that keeping Liz in Sweet Valley is way more important.

After Amy steals Bruce from Regina and Regina goes crazy, Jessica finally gets her shot with Jeffrey. Liz asks her to pass a long a message that she's too busy with school to meet him for their date. Instead, she dresses up like her twin and goes out with him. She gets by not knowing past conversations because he thinks she's so worried about her friend.

Jeffrey tells her that she's more intense than usual and that it intrigues him. They take a walk on the beach, he kisses her, and they both get really really into it. He then stops and pulls away because it took him like an hour to realize he wasn't kissing his girlfriend. Jessica says she saw guilt, shock, and even excitement in his eyes. Instead of walking away though, he grabs her and kisses her again. When they walk back to the car, she says that they both knew it was the first and last time they would ever kiss because Liz meant so much to them both.

The last few pages deal with Regina's death. In the end, Jessica puts down her diary and cries because as bad as her life is, at least she has a life, unlike Regina. She then puts all of her stuff away and decides to stick around.

*Jessica mentions multiple times how lame, dull, and boring Todd is. Ah, true love.

*Jack is a douche. He literally tells her that he didn't realize she had such strong feelings for him. Really dude? The girl you've been dating for weeks might have feelings for you?

*She's actually cool with being fake married to Winston in this book, unlike the original. She says that at least he'll make her laugh.

*There's an actual sweet mention of how she feels bad for Lila because even though she has lots of money, she doesn't have a mother.

*Gag me with a spoon! She actually says gag me with a spoon! Also, gag me with a ski pole! LOL

*The back makes it seem like this book is all about Jessica sneaking around with Jeffrey, but it's totally not. She mentions having a crush on him or thinking he's cute and/or perfect a few times, they share one kiss, and that's it. So disappointing.