Quotes from Francine Pascal

After all, she told herself, if Todd preferred Jessica—and that certainly was how it looked—she would not stand in the way. She'd do the decent thing. Die.

She used to write all the time,' Elizabeth explained, 'before she lost all that weight. Remember? When she was the butt of everyone's jokes instead of the girl all the boys want to date?

She'll probably have all the work made up and a dozen stories written for The Oracle before I finish that one stupid book report on Moby Dick. I mean, Todd, who really cares about whales?' Todd did, but he let the comment slide by.

Jessica stopped a few feet away so that Ken could get an optimal view of her body posed against the seductive backdrop of the sea, sand, and palm trees.

Imagine a world full of Elizabeth Wakefields,' Lila said. 'Could you imagine a duller, more predictable place? I think I'd go crazy.

The Pi Betas had accepted the fact that Rose was Mexican, but it was obvious they would just as soon ignore it. And they seemed to assume Rose wanted to do that, too. The other girls might not be overtly disturbed by the fact that Rose was a chicana, but they certainly were not going to encourage her to explore her heritage. No, if Rose joined the Pi Betas, she would have to deny the biggest part of herself. She would have to become completely American.

In Bruce's opinion, the only fun in dating was the sport of it. The more it was like a tennis match, where he had to wear down his opponent through expertise and sheer force of will, the better he liked it.

Lila walked by with her nose in the air. In a straight line behind her, six obedient kindergartners waddled like baby geese, singing in unison, 'Row, row, row your yacht...

Don't make light of werewolves, Jessica,' Luke said in a quiet voice. 'They're very serious business.

Elizabeth scowled, feeling like a nobody, a nothing. She felt like her entire self had been made worthless. She could change her interests, but she couldn't change her looks. She'd never be six feet tall. She'd never look like a supermodel.

Look, girls. It is important to all of us that we win this game, right? Well, when it comes to athletics, boys are simply better suited than girls. It's a fact of nature that no one can change. I'm sorry, but maybe you can play next time when it's less crucial.

Oooh. Barbie has a brain, huh? The smile was gone. His voice low, gravelly. Oooh. Ken has an attitude, she snapped back.

He nodded and half smiled. Right-you're the hearts-and-flowers girl. Her cheeks warmed with anger. His smile didn't make up for his sarcasm. And you're the scorn-and-bile boy.

Jessica was clearly in her element, moving with the music naturally and without effort. Even her lustrous golden hair swayed to the beat, completing the perfect picture of a dancer caught up in ecstasy.

Everything works out for the best. It's one of those things we say to comfort ourselves. A phrase that gets repeated so often we cease to question the absence of logic inherent in the statement. Since we have no way of knowing what the alternate reality might have been, we have no way of knowing if things worked out of the best or not.

Guy struck a jangling chord on the keyboards and then another. 'You know,' he announced, sitting back and crossing his arms. 'We need some new material. We've got to write some new songs.' 'Like what?' He shrugged. 'I don't know. Throw out some ideas.' 'Love! Death! Existential struggle!' Emily intoned dramatically, rattling out a drumroll. 'Agriculture!

There was only one blonde in the room, and she didn't even have a tan.

A cult!' Elizabeth gasped. 'Here? In Sweet Valley? But that's impossible!

She had started driving past his apartment to see whether or not his car was out front. She had looked up his phone number, and twice she had called his apartment from the pay phone in school, knowing he wouldn't be at home, just so she could hear how sexy his voice sounded on his answering machine. Was this what falling in love was supposed to feel like?

It was another one of her father's curses:I'll make you into a freak and not let you tell anyone.

Jessica walked away from Aaron and Ken, flashing them both a big smile. They were both very attractive – she had dated each of them a number of times. In fact, not too long ago she had contemplated falling in love with Ken for lack of anything better to do.

I don't know why, but I'm dreading it.

Is Nicholas—or any guy?—worth the possibility of losing my sister?

If she had anything to say about it, the pageant would be called off and the dignity of Sweet Valley womanhood would be preserved. The truth was, no one seemed to care as much about the beauty pageant issue as she did.