Double Love

Brace yourselves, listeners. No, seriously, brace yourselves. Because the first half of this book features references to things we never thought we'd see in Sweet Valley High. Things are getting hot and heavy between Jeremy, the scammer sex offender, and Jessica, the world's most gullible girl. As Liz and Todd head to the cabin to see if they can find any clues (if only the police had done the sam...

When Lila convinces Todd and Robby November that the Wakefields are being held hostage, there's only one thing to do. Call the police? Not in this town! The Three Stooges of Sweet Valley decide to don disguises and commandeer a Sweet Valley Power truck - with frankly stupid results. Meanwhile the twins prepare to drop off Sue's ransom - and back in the cabin the hapless heiress herself is having s...

Sue has been kidnapped! After a late night search fails to unearth the Meal Quick heiress, the Wakefields get a phone call from a mysterious stranger with an oddly familiar voice. And he's asking for half a million dollars, which just happens to be the exact amount of Sue's inheritance (yes, we thought it would be bigger too)! Liz is suspicious, and rightly so, because of course Sue is actually hi...

Brace yourselves listeners, because the second half of this bonkers has so many twists and turns we were literally gasping! Jeremy is still off in Yemen - oh sorry, Costa Rica - and constantly postponing his return. What is he really up to? Meanwhile Sue makes a shocking confession to Liz, Winston's highly inappropriate contribution to the video club features a surprising appearance that unsettles...

It's the morning after the wedding that never was, and Jessica has no regrets. And when the revolting Jeremy proposes before heading off to Costa Rica, Jess jumps at the chance to be his child bride. Can she trust her pervy beau? As for Liz, she tries to comfort a heartbroken Sue - and makes a shocking discovery about Sue's mother's will. Meanwhile Todd grows a moustache, SVH tries to combat sexis...

As the revolting Jeremy and gormless Sue's wedding approaches, things are getting more and more unhinged in Sweet Valley - and we're not just talking about Jessica's antics. The true evil twin is in full psychopathic stalker mode, tagging along on the betrothed pair's dates and generally making a show of herself. But will she succeed in stopping the wedding? Meanwhile, Robby November organises the...

Has there been a gas leak in Sweet Valley? We ask this because every single person in this town is behaving in deeply weird ways in this book! Jessica continues to pursue creepy Jeremy, and even the news that his gormless fiancé Sue is terminally ill doesn't put her off. She's also taking a leaf out of Margo's book, making incredibly suspicious remarks in front of her worryingly unobservant friend...

We're back with the second half of Jessica's secret you-know-what. The true evil twin's obsession with houseguest Sue's fiancé becomes more and more unhinged, climaxing in one of the greatest - and definitely the most high camp – moment in Sweet Valley history! Will Jessica manage to steal Jeremy from the gormless Sue? The fever dream continues in what we can barely call the B-plot, as Liz goes fu...

We can’t believe we’re saying this, but this book might be even more bizarre than the werewolf trilogy. We’re back in sunny Sweet Valley, and Liz is still shaken by the fact she fell in love with Luke without suspecting his secret (she’s remarkably untraumatised by all the death she witnessed). Will self help books be the key to regaining her self confidence? Meanwhile in the A plot, Jessica falls...

In the final episode of this truly unhinged mini-series, the twins and their allies confront the horrifying beast who's been terrorising the city - a city which seems to take the news that werewolves exist in its stride, by the way. Jessica is determined to prove the innocence of her beloved Robert - and so she's not talking to Liz, who's equally determined to bring the alleged werewolf to justice...

We're still in London, and things are getting (literally) hairy for the twins. After a brutal murder takes place at Pembroke Manor, Elizabeth is even more convinced that the serial killer is a werewolf. She decides to do some solo snooping - and makes a truly startling discovery (after stealing evidence from a crime scene). Meanwhile Jessica, worryingly unbothered by seeing a mutilated corpse in h...

No werewolves this week but to tide you over until we face Love and Death in London next week, we’re sharing Anna’s 2002 Sweet Valley fan (is fan the right word?) fic From Here to Sweet Valley, telling the story of the twins’ return to California ten years after they finally graduated. You can hear a little extract here, and then head to  https://headstuffpodcasts.com/show/double-love to read (muc...

If you thought the Margo (RIP) saga was preposterous, well, brace yourselves listeners, because this is the book in which we learn that there are truly no limits to the ridiculousness of this series. The twins head off to London for the summer (yes, it's summer again) for an internship at what we are repeatedly, and unconvincingly, told is the most prestigious newspaper in the world. Determined to...

Hank and Marie Patman are still heading for divorce - but while Alice has thankfully come to her sense and forbidden the twins to interfere in the Patmans' marriage, the Queen of Schemes, aka Jessica, is on the case. Egged on by Liz, who is obsessed with helping her new BFF Bruce, she comes up with an array of plans to reunite the Patman parents. Alas Mercury is in retrograde, and it's turned Jess...

The heat wave is still raging in Sweet Valley - and in the pants of Elizabeth and Bruce, who are drawn together by their frankly worrying obsession with Alice and Hank's youthful romance. Their new bond is causing tension between Liz and Todd, who has moved into the Casa while Ned and Alice are out of town (don't worry, he's sleeping on the couch). For once, we can't blame Todd for his moods, as L...

We're back! And we're leaving Sweet Valley for the blue green waters of the Caribbean, as Lila invites Jessica to a resort called Club Paradise. Jess expects to be surrounded by hunks - but to her horror and rage she finds herself surrounded by bratty kids instead, because Lila has roped her into being a camp counsellor. Our fave frenemies are at war - and things heat up when they meet hilariously...

Happy Christmas, listeners! To celebrate, we're sharing a very special festive episode of our Headstuff+ bonus series Pi Beta Alpha - and if you like what you hear, you can sign up to Headstuff+ and join us in the Pi Beta Alpha clubhouse every fortnight, where we've been having a LOT of fun. It's the most wonderful time of the year - in Sweet Valley, at least. When Jessica and Elizabeth are abando...

Open a can of your favourite beverage, help yourself to some onion dip and join us as we bid farewell to our favourite psychopath! As the day of her "eternal transformation" approaches, Margo is getting extremely cocky, as well she might given how dozy everyone is in this town. She's disposed of the extremely gullible Ned and Alice (who have a rude awakening in San Francisco) and taken care of Jos...

And now, what you (and we) have been waiting for ever since this podcast began: it's the most iconic book in Sweet Valley History! It's the Christmas holidays, and Margo is finally ready to kill Liz with one of her many knives. She's popping in and out of the Casa at all times of day and night, and her impersonations of both Liz and Jess are getting more and more daring - good thing the twins' fam...

With her implausibly professional dye job and her Pacific Ocean blue contacts, Margo has almost reached her goal - as long as she can stop herself from doing any more murders. Which is easier said than done when you reach for one of your many knives at the slightest provocation. You need to chill, Margo! Meanwhile the twins briefly reconcile, there’s yet another fancy dress ball, Winston ends up h...

Good news folks - Margo's voice is back! It's a busy episode for our favourite murderer, as, armed with an array of wigs bought in the mall, she becomes a master of disguise and finally lays eyes on the Casa del Wakefield and its inhabitants. She also enlists a new accomplice in her quest to find out all about the twins. Meanwhile, Jessica finds a new purpose, Liz tries to get back to normal, Todd...

It’s (literally) judgement day in Sweet Valley - will Liz be convicted of a crime she may or may not have committed? Well if she isn’t it’s no thanks to Ned (the world’s worst defence lawyer), Alice (who’s gone full Stepford Wife), Jessica (who’s gone full psychopath) or Todd (who has lost any backbone he might once have possessed). Meanwhile Lila plays happy families, Pamela tries to find her fee...

We didn't think this was possible, but somehow this is an even more chaotic book than The Morning After. A terrified Liz faces a stint in the big house, Lila is reunited with her long lost mother Grace who has arrived with her comedy French lover Pierre, Bruce worries about Pamela's bad reputation (where's Joan Jett when we need her?), Jessica turns her attention to a ridiculously hapless Todd, Ni...

DOUBLE LOVE: And now, what you've been waiting for - it's Margo time! Yes, the infamous twin-lookalike serial killer finally makes her debut, and she exceeds all our expectations. And while she makes her way across the country, back in Sweet Valley all is not well. Poor Elizabeth is traumatised and guilt-ridden after the accident, Lila is having a nervous breakdown, and Jessica is dealing with bot...

It’s finally arrived - the night that, we’re told repeatedly by the taglines and blurb, will change Sweet Valley forever. And there is a LOT to discuss! When the twins come up with the idea of a jungle-themed prom to raise money for an environmental NGO, Liz unsurprisingly ends up doing all the work, while Jessica is happy to take the credit. But when Jessica declares her desire to become Prom Que...