Sweet Valley Diaries

In which two professional filmmakers/screenwriting professors attempt to break story on a film adaptation of Sweet Valley High Book 60: THAT FATAL NIGHT.     Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

It's the (main episode) Season 6 finale and all the stars are out: Terry Adams! Zack Johnson! Skip Harmon! You know, all your favorites. Oh, and the Wakefields and such are there too. But let's quit beating around the bush: this is the book where Ken Matthews becomes (temporarily???) blind in a car accident. Director (and former guest reader!) William J. Stribling is along for the ride...b...

Sweet Valley High may not be historical fiction, but it IS fiction from history. Novelist Libbie Hawker is back to talk rich historical details like in-car CD players and VHS recording. Plus: What's up with Dominique Roy? The metaphorical resonance of the Dairi Burger, Rich kids being out-riched by richer kids and SO! much! more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

So, Liz and Todd are IN LOVE AGAIN, and all is right with the world...except for the fact that Todd goes to a fancy school an hour away, they're both too infatuated with one another to keep up with their commitments, and it's about to be Snobs vs Slobs (yes, somehow Sweet Valley is the slobs) in the big Battle of the Schools! Not to mention, Courtney Kane is back, and she's pissed! Aut...

Shey Zanotti is back, and memories of (the very much still alive) Jeffrey French abound. Remember the time he scared away those thugs who wanted to steal Ronnie's car? Remember the time Elizabeth thought he was falling in love with Enid? Or perhaps the time she thought he had fallen in love with Olivia. So many memories! This, and some fresh new ideas for The Creek, in today's Extra Drama!...

#1 Jeffrey French fan Shey Lyn Zanotti is back, and she's not the only one! Remember Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's first love, who moved away to Vermont...at some point earlier in junior year? Can you believe that was 35 books ago? Now the Wilkinses are returning, and richer than ever. So what does that mean for Liz and her new longtime beau (yes, it's still junior year, but don't get...

Chris and Paris from Terrible Book Club return! Jessica slums it in electronics class and Lila scams her pedagogically lazy dressmaking instructor in the TEACHER CRUSH b-plot. Plus, super-spoilers for Olivia's future! Extra drama indeed!  Listen to Terrible Book Club More about The Zorn Palette Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Terrible Book Club ’s Paris and Chris dare to join Marissa to tackle this downright nerve-wracking tale of Olivia Davidson and her lust for painting teacher Stuart “Call me Stuart” Bachman. A book that is truly challenging to read in public. * * * Listen to the Terrible Book Club Podcast! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Haley Tubbs returns to talk about the science field trip that wasn't, and whether Jessica is right about guys with "too much of a sense of humor." What fun! All in the the name of LOST AT SEA, of course. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Part island fantasy, part survival guide, part extra credit assignment, LOST AT SEA is the first Sweet Valley High novel to feature a character getting lost at sea, assumed dead. Professional science enthusiast Haley Tubbs joins Marissa to dig into this book and what it has to say about the true nature of Winston Egbert. Fun! Watch Haley on the Tappity Kids' Science App! What is a predicate ad...

Jack and Tanner are back for more THRILLER talk. What all-time-greatest film is this book's plot remixed from? How would the BSC handle this mystery? Would a t-shirt fit over Jack's head? Find out all this and more (sort of) in today's EXTRA DRAMA! Links: VERTIGO's Portrait of Carlotta Valdes scene Kristy and the Cat Burglar Stacey and the Mystery Money Advertising Inquiries: https...

SURPRISE! Did we spook ya? Marissa is joined by fellow 80s/90s juvenile lit series aficionados and podcasters Jack Shepherd and Tanner Greenring of the Baby-Sitters Club Club. The meddling twins are back, and so is Nicholas Morrow! This one has it all: possible ghosts, jealous painters, mayoral races, Ronoma County...prepare to be thrilled, yet again!   Listen to Marissa on BSCC's "Sweet S...

Marissa and her dad found a dance instruction book for teenagers written by Betty White (but apparently not THAT Betty White? It's hard to say.) Discussion of this piece of ephemera (and Dad's high school basketball career) abound in this week's EXTRA DRAMA!    Look for photos from Betty White’s Teen-Age Dance Book on the Sweet Valley Diaries Instagram “ Teen Dances of the 1950s ”   La...

Dad's back to talk hoops! Marissa is joined by her father, Don, to discuss Shelley Novak. Who's she? Who, for that matter, is Jim Roberts? Cathy Ulrich? Greg Hilliard? Anybody? No? Sweet Valley High contains multitudes, people. This week, learn about the world that includes some of the girls' basketball team, a talented photographer, and a sexy young dance instructor. Listen and learn...

Do twins really have super communication powers? Does goofy drama make scary stuff easier to swallow? Have "mentally unstable" villains kept us from tackling our own mental health issues? TWO-BOY WEEKEND is the gift that keeps on giving...us more questions to ponder! Teya Patt returns, of course. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

The title of this book makes a promise, and that promise is kept in ways both thrilling and hilarious. Also somewhat harrowing. Teya Patt (FOR ALL MANKIND) joins Marissa for the play-by-play of this masterpiece of juvenile (?!) fiction. CW for stalker-y, abusive behavior...but as ever, it's all deliciously over the top and (spoiler alert) everything's fine in the end. Advertising Inquiries...

CW: Mom death Marissa opens up about why, despite her lack of tennis skill, she found herself relating deeply to Kristin Thompson. Other topics of conversation: enjoying your life on your own terms, the overabundance of straight girls at SVHS, Bruce Patman's sudden interest in Jazz, and getting in trouble for coming home late. Featuring Katie LaDue! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com...

The Parade of Randos marches on, but this time around, the plot is not so predictable. Will a soon-to-be tennis pro throw it all away over Bruce Patman? The answer may surprise you! Or, if not the answer, at least the question. Katie LaDue is back and we're talking about Kristin Thompson's SECOND CHANCE. SVD on Instagram Marissa's Weekly Newsletter Eric Andre's BAD TRIP If only I h...

Super Thrillers have SO much drama that some of it has to spill out into an Extra Drama bonus ep! Alice Wakefield's frustrating food choices, Darcy Kaymen's voluptuousness, and the good citizenship of Sweet Valleyites in general are all up for debate in this continuing examination of ON THE RUN. Featuring Nick Riley!   Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

SURPRISE! Just to keep things spicy, we're returning to the Super Thriller series, where the Wakefield twins are still slaving away (literally!) at the News. Murders are on the rise, and all the new kids are from Ohio. Superfriend Nick Riley is Marissa's guest, and together they marvel at Elizabeth's illicit new crush, Jessica's annoying new bestie, and the impressive neighborlines...

Marissa and guest reader Dr. Daniel Okobi tackle, but don't really answer, a big-but-vague question: Is John Pfeifer a good guy in this book? Also: Jessica's Philosophy on Men, and what's up with this new tennis girl? * * * There's a new Sweet Valley Diaries podpage! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

If you're expecting a book titled WHITE LIES to be a cold, hard look at the exclusionary racial culture of Sweet Valley, California...well, keep waiting. The white lies in question here are all about a sweet sophomore, her ill-advised love affair with bad-boy Rick Andover, her sick father, and the sports writer who indirectly causes a rift between them all. Also, Elizabeth is involved. Dr. Dan...

Marissa and Mary consider the realism of gritty 1980s teen gambling. Is it harder or easier for a kid to get into money troubles in the 2020s?  And another thing: what do these supposedly “ugly” earrings of Jessica’s look like? And where can I buy them? Should Jessica have a low-balance credit card? These and other questions explored, if not answered, in this extended exploration of themes from Sw...

It’s the Season 6 Premiere of SVD, and former terrible boyfriend and current minor character Ronnie Edwards has a problem. What’s that? You don’t care about Ronnie’s problems? Well, what if I told you that Ronnie’s in bad trouble with a gangster who he owes a lot of money after making some bad bets on high school soccer games? What if I told you that this has a negative effect on Jessica Wakefield...

Sweet Valley Diaries returns on April 22, 2021!  Have you ever heard of Sweet Valley High? No? Yes? Either way, you're gonna wanna hear this. Whether you start on Book 1 or Book 51, Sweet Valley Diaries is always going to bring you a wild story, some weird '80s teen antics, and a whole lot of feelings about all of it.  Super glad you're here! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.co...