109: STEPSISTERS

08/03/22 • 180 min

1 Listener

There's a new girl in town - and she's the most relatable character in the series so far. When Annie Whitman's mom marries Walter Thomas and announces that her new husband and his daughter are moving to Sweet Valley, Annie finds herself with a new stepsister. Cheryl, a talented pianist, and Walter, a photographer. are black, and Annie is all too eager to ensure Cheryl fits in in the WASPiest town in America. But Cheryl finds it hard to get used to a town where everyone drives and is obsessed with sport - and where most of them are white. Brace yourselves, this is another book in which SVH attempts to explore issues of race. This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

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Previous Episode

108: SHE'S NOT WHAT SHE SEEMS

It's a particularly dramatic episode this week, in more ways than one! Jessica is determined to play Lady Macbeth in the school play, which is inexplicably being produced by a famous director. Shy new girl Paula is apparently eager to help the psychotic Wakefield twin step into the spotlight and quickly wins the hearts of the whole Sweet Valley gang - even Lila. An increasingly isolated Jessica is convinced that Paula is, well, not what she seems - but is she being paranoid or is Paula really planning to steal her chance at stardom as well as her friends? This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

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Next Episode

110: ARE WE IN LOVE?

It's the end of an era, folks! We've finally reached the last in the classic SVH run - after this, it's all mini-series and evil twins. So it's a shame this book is both boring and depressing. Steven and Cheryl are just good friends - but after they're targeted by racist thugs, emotions run high and they end up kissing. But is there any real chemistry between them? No, but it takes them a whole book to admit it. A heads up re: content: if you're not in the mood for discovering in detail just how racist and easily shocked Sweet Valley is all the way throughout this one, maybe give it a miss and fast forward to the end of the ep to discover what book we're discussing next. If you want to listen to the whole ep, there's a long scene about very nasty racist harassment from roughly 38m to 44m.
This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

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