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Sparkle (2)
When it was announced that Francine Pascal was releasing an update to the Sweet Valley story, Sweet Valley Confidential, we squeed and started the countdown to release day. Just what are those twins up to in their twenties? The book release day has come -- I've read the it and I'm here with the scoop and the spoilers. It was fabulously horrible. Or maybe horribly fabulous. One can never be sure which when talking about Sweet Valley.
In the sneak peek of Sweet Valley Confidential released by the publisher last fall, we picked up a few facts. We knew that Elizabeth was in New York City, struggling to make it as a journalist. We knew that she was single and sometimes had casual sexual encounters that ended in tears. She was barely speaking to anyone from Sweet Valley and most certainly not speaking to Jessica. Jessica had done something, yet again, to betray her -- but this time it was serious. It was also revealed that her new best friend is her one-time would-be rapist, Bruce Patman. Yes, 1Bruce1! Closer to the release date, it was revealed that there was going to be a wedding and that one character was going to come out of the closet.
You want to know what happens don't you? Well, I'm going to do something I never do. I'm going to tell you. This post is full of spoilers. I know I already said that but I'm warning you again. If you don't want to read the spoilers you need to run away from this post right now because I'm going to tell you all about it. Yes, all.
Let's get this out of the way. Everyone reading the sneak peek of the first chapter figured they knew exactly what was going on with Jessica and Elizabeth. Jessica slept with Todd. Elizabeth found out. Everything exploded and Elizabeth ran away.
If that is what you thought are you absolutely, 100% correct. The only thing that was a surprise to me was that it wasn't a one time thing and they had a full-blown affair. It just took Elizabeth five years to find out. She went on living with Todd, building her journalism career and preparing for their wedding -- completely oblivious.
Jessica, having annulled her marriage to Mike back in university, (which means it never existed right?), and then having the affair with Todd in their last year at Sweet Valley University, goes on to marry super-rich dude Regan Wollman in her mid-twenties. After only six months she decides she doesn't actually love him and the age difference, (he's 42), is more of a problem than she thought it would be. He's jealous and possessive, so in true Jessica-fashion, her leaving him involves hiding in the backseat of a taxi as it speeds its way to the airport in Nice where she hops a flight back to the US and Elizabeth. And to Todd.
Todd and Jessica being in the same house together is too much. Bruce knows about Todd and Jessica but can't bring himself to tell Elizabeth. He wants to, desperately, but can't bring himself to crush her like that. He wonders if it's too self-serving because, of course, he's in love with her and has been since she stayed by his side when his parents died in a horrible car crash. He's just on the cusp of telling her at the Dairi Burger, I'm sorry I mean Napkin, when Ken Matthews, (NFL star quarterback and married to Lila Fowler), rushes in to tell them that Winston is dead!
Oh Winston. Poor, poor Winston. I always liked the guy. He was the schmuck in high school that you always knew would hit his stride in college and then become successful. He did. He and Bruce had a company together, (a dot-com -- after all, we are talking California here), and made a small fortune when they sold it. Winston lived large and friendless. His business partnership with Bruce didn't end well and while he and Todd were once best friends, that friendship crashed and burned when Winston discovers that Todd cheated on Liz with Jessica. Fueled by alcohol, he tumbles head first off his balcony. No one knows if it was intentional or not.
Bruce and Elizabeth rush home to tell Todd and Jessica about Winston. Elizabeth, being so upset about the news, totally misses that Todd and Jessica were
