Sweet Valley High #93: Stepsisters

 

You might remember Annie Whitman from such books as that time she tried to kill herself because life isn't worth living if you're not a cheerleader and that book where her boyfriend treated her like crap because he started taking steroids. She's now back to remind us that she's a character best suited for the background and B-plots in books.

In case you forgot, Mona, Annie's mother, is a huge model. She's recently been spending a lot of time in New York on assignment. When she comes back, she starts telling Annie about how she met this really nice guy Walter and how they've been spending a lot of time together and talking a lot. Annie asks if it's serious, to which Mona reveals that Walter actually proposed. He and his daughter Cheryl are moving to Sweet Valley...and they're black.

Annie gives it some thought and decides that she's okay with having a black stepdad and stepsister. That doesn't mean she wants to tell everyone about them though. Mona conveniently buys the house right next door to the Wakefields, and Jessica drags Elizabeth over to check out the new neighbors when she sees them. In turns out that Jessica read an article about Walter and saw Cheryl, which she pointed out to Liz, so the two of them already know that the Thomas – that's their last name – are black.

To introduce Cheryl to Sweet Valley, Annie decides to throw a huge party. Instead of inviting just her friends though, she invites a bunch of random people because they're black or Hispanic or whatever. Not because she's racist, oh no no no, but because she thinks it will make Cheryl feel more at home. Things get off to a rough start when they first get to town though. Annie makes a huge beef curry dish without knowing that Cheryl is a vegetarian, and Mona then forgets to set up an air mattress for her. The moving trucks also have some problems that leads to her things never getting there.

Cheryl is beautiful and super musical, playing the piano like a pro. She has no interest in football or cheerleading and doesn't know how to drive. Annie tells her all about PBA and urges her to pledge and takes her surfing and on different trips around town to show her off. Their party ends with Annie crying in the kitchen to Robin because she keeps trying to focus on Cheryl being from New York and knowing famous people instead of letting people actually get to know her. It doesn't help that everyone is all surprised that Cheryl is black because Annie never told her.

Another big story here is that Annie and Tony broke up because he cheated on her. He literally started dating someone else when they were together and didn't confess until she confronted him. Robin thinks she should give him another chance, and all her other friends start pushing her to talk to him. He keeps calling and trying to get her alone, but she keeps pointing out that she doesn't want to see him.

At the next PBA meeting, someone nominates this chick Staci Cabot and then Annie puts up Cheryl. Some people, namely Lila and Suzanne Hanlon, are not on board. Suzanne gets Annie alone and starts dropping hints about how she'll go along with Cheryl as a member if someone could help her cater the big PBA swimming party at her house. Annie grudgingly agrees to make all the food and even pay for all the ingredients. Cheryl initially refuses to go to the party but agrees to go if Annie calls Tony and invites him. Argh.

Tony approaches her at the party and tries to act all sad about being a lying cheating jerk face. Cheryl told Annie about her last boyfriend and how he was seeing someone behind her back, but when she confronted him, he pointed out that they never said they were exclusive. Annie tells him that she wants an exclusive relationship but that she also wants to know that he doesn't want to see other people. He swears that she is the only girl for him, until he starts using drugs again or sees someone cuter in a tighter sweater.

When they make an announcement about the new nominees, Staci gets up and gushes about how PBA is the best thing ever. Cheryl gets up and makes a Rosa worthy speech about how the girls are awesome but she has way too much going on in her life so she's taking her name out of contention. Annie explodes on her for ruining everything, so Cheryl points out that she wants to make her own friends and that she never even agreed to rush. The two basically stop speaking.

In the midst of all this, Cheryl bonds with Steven while he's yet again home from school. They sit next to each other at a football game and bond when he explains the rules to her. He then offers to give her driving lessons and take her to get her permit. It seems as though he's super upset over Cara moving to England and could use a friend.

The two are outside chatting as he helps her start the lawnmower when Annie rushes out with some horrible news. Her mom passed out at the caterers and was rushed to the hospital. If you think she might be pregnant like I did, no such luck. She actually has appendicitis. Annie keeps freaking out about how her mom is going to die, but Cheryl is there to hold her hand and keep her calm. They make up and decide that being stepsisters isn't that awful.

*Annie mentions worrying about her mom because she hadn't had anyone special in her life since Johnnie. Oh, you mean the guy who kept giving you the side eye and was one step away from dragging you into a dark ally? Yeah, I can totally see why you'd be upset they broke up.

*Walter and Cheryl actually move into the new house with Annie and Mona a month before the wedding. The book makes a big deal about them being an interracial couple but makes no mention of the fact that they're living in sin! As someone who lives in sin, I have no problem with this, but it seems like it should be a big deal in Sweet Valley.

*One thing that really irritates me with this book is that Cheryl already knows about Mona before the engagement and actually met her and hung out with her multiple times. Mona doesn't even tell her own daughter that she met someone until after he's proposed and she's said yes. What kind of mother does that?

*These books made cheating in a relationship seem completely normal. None of my teenage girl friends would have ever told me to go back to a cheater, but all of Annie's friends keep telling her that he just made a mistake or that he learned from his mistakes and deserved a second chance. Why is everyone on his side?

*Jessica tells her to just give him a second chance and let him know that if cheats again, it's over for good. Oh yeah, like Jessica Wakefield would date a cheater.

*Robin points out that even the best relationships have problems and points out how Liz and Todd broke up and got back together in the past. Todd and Elizabeth are NOT a good example of a positive relationship. Robin being on Tony's side actually makes sense though since she was George's side chick for so long.

*One thing I always remember about this book is that Annie won't pick a bedroom until Cheryl gets there. Annie wants the smaller room that gets more sunlight and has flowered wallpaper, but she takes the larger room with a window seat because she thinks Cheryl wants the other room. In the end, they both hate the rooms they had and switch.