Sweet Valley High Series by Francine Pascal

Double Love
(The first book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

WELCOME TO SWEET Valley High—a world of good girls and bad girls, hot boys with fast cars, perfect tans and natural highlights . . . all under the Southern California sun.
Twin girls, identical in every way—yet they couldn’t be more different. Jessica Wakefield is used to getting what she wants—at school, with her friends, and especially with boys—and she’ll stop at nothing to get it. Elizabeth Wakefield is used to letting her twin sister have her way. There’s not much that’s worth fighting her over—lost earrings can be replaced, petty problems can be resolved, and rampant rumors can be doused like a fire. But when it comes to Todd Wilkins, Liz isn’t so sure she should step aside and make way for Jessica. This time, Jessica Wakefield is going to have some competition—from her own sister.

Read "DOUBLE LOVE" here

Secrets
(The second book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

WELCOME TO SWEET Valley High—a world of good girls with big secrets, bad girls with no remorse, rich boys in stunning tuxedos, and shimmering California sunsets.

Jessica Wakefield only wants two things: to be chosen homecoming queen, and to dance in the spotlight with Bruce Patman. But there’s one girl standing in her way—Enid Rollins, her twin sister Elizabeth’s best friend.

When Jessica discovers Enid’s deepest, darkest secret, she has a choice to make: be nice and keep quiet, or reveal it to the entire school and clinch the crown for herself.

The queen will be breathtaking. But the quest for royalty is never pretty.

Read "SECRETS" here

Playing With Fire

(The third book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

JESSICA WAKEFIELD DEMANDS attention in any crowd, from every boy. After obsessing over him for weeks, she finally lands the perfect guy: Bruce Patman. And she falls hard and fast. There’s nothing she won’t do for him. . . .But Elizabeth soon notices a change in her twin. Jessica’s usual charm,determination, and attitude are gone. She’s a ghost of her old self. And Liz wonders just how far her sister will go for love.

Read "PLAYING WITH FIRE" here 

Power Play

(The fourth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

JESSICA WAKEFIELD IS used to setting off sparks. But when she starts a new, highly selective club—the Sweet Valley High Beautification Committee—she begins a war with her twin sister.

Elizabeth knows that Jessica has more on her mind than simply cleaning up the SVH campus. It’s obvious that the Beauties are out to become the most elite group of girls at school, even if it means walking all over those they deem less worthy. Only one Wakefield can reign supreme. And Liz is determined to show Jessica that the final say on beauty won’t come from a committee vote.

Read "POWER PLAY" here

All Night Long

(The fifth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

Jessica Wakefield has charmed many guys in her lifetime. But she’s never met a challenge like Scott Daniels. And she’s determined to prove that she may be a junior in high school, but not when it comes to love. But when Elizabeth discovers that Jessica never came home from an all-night party, she panics. There’s only one way out—for Liz to pretend to be her twin. But she has no idea what she is getting herself into.



Read "ALL NIGHT LONG" here

Dangerous Love

(The sixth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1983)

Elizabeth Wakefield has never had a problem with rules. But when Todd gets a new motorcycle, Liz is torn. Her parents have forbidden her from ever getting on a bike. But everyone else is ecstatic over Todd’s new ride—especially the girls. As her jealousy threatens to consume her, Liz has a big decision to make—either put her trust in Todd’s love, or break the rules and take the ride of her life.

Read "DANGEROUS LOVE" here

Dear Sister
(The seventh book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

Sweet Valley is stunned by the news: Beautiful young Elizabeth Wakefield lies in a coma, on the brink of death after a horrible motorcycle accident.

Elizabeth's boyfriend Todd is consumed by guilt; he was driving and escaped unharmed. He feels totally helpless. All he can do is wait for a change in Elizabeth's condition—a change that might mean the loss of the only girl he's ever loved.

But no one is more shattered than Elizabeth's twin, Jessica. As she keeps watch over the silent body of her sister, she's overwhelmed by despair. Without Elizabeth, can life go on?


Read "DEAR SISTER" here

Heartbreaker
(The eighth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

Catch a wave.

The surf's up in Sweet Valley, and gorgeous Jessica Wakefield is making a big splash with Bill Chase, the hottest surfer in town. But after she tricks him into falling madly in love with her, she ignores him completely.

To complicate matters, shy, quiet DeeDee Gordon is also after Bill. But Jessica has the upper hand. If Bill even looks at DeeDee, Hurricane Jessica blows him off his board and back into her arms. Can Bill escape Jessica's undertow, or is he in over his head?

Read "HEARTBREAKER" here

Racing Hearts
(The ninth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

Love on the run...

Roger Barrett has always had a hopeless crush on glamorous, wealthy Lila Fowler. The only attention Lila ever pays to him, though, is to make fun of him in front of her friends. But why shouldn't she, he thinks. After all, he's clumsy and shy and works secretly as a janitor after school.

When Roger wins the qualifying heat for a big race, he becomes a school celebrity overnight. And to his surprise, even Lila starts to chase after him. But Roger knows if he runs in the race finals, he'll lose his job. Will Lila still notice him when he's no longer a star?

Read "RACING HEARTS" here

Wrong Kind of Girl
(The tenth book in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

Jessica's at it again!

Jessica Wakefield has sworn never to allow Annie Whitman onto the Sweet Valley High cheering squad. Annie may have the beauty, talent, and spirit to be a cheerleader, but she also has the worst reputation in school. She goes out with a different boy every night, and all the kids call her "Easy Annie" behind her back. Jessica's pulling every devilish trick to keep Annie from ruining the cheerleaders' image.

Only Elizabeth, Jessica's twin, knows what Annie's really like. But can she change her sister's mind before Jessica shatters Annie's dreams?

Read "WRONG KIND OF GIRL" here

Too Good To Be True
(Book 11 in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

A devil in disguise.

The Wakefield twins are wild with excitement. Glamorous, sophisticated Susan Devlin is coming to Sweet Valley from New York City. For two weeks, Elizabeth will show her around town while Jessica has the time of her life in New York.

At first, Suzanne seems to be the most perfect girl in the world. She's beautiful and friendly and not the least bit stuck-up. All the boys of Sweet Valley are absolutely crazy about her. But when Suzanne accuses Mr. Collins of trying to seduce her, Elizabeth knows there's more to Suzanne than meets the eye.

Read "TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE" here

When Love Dies
(Book 12 in the Sweet Valley High series)
(1984)

The end of romance...

The Wakefield twins' older brother, Steven, is heartbroken. His girlfriend, Tricia Martin, no longer seems interested in him. She breaks their dates and doesn't return his calls. Steven can't understand why Tricia's feelings have changed so suddenly.

Jessica is thrilled that Steven isn't dating Tricia anymore. She sees it as the perfect oppotunity to pair him with her best friend, Cara Walker. Elizabeth, Jessica's twin, thinks that scheming, gossipy Cara is all wrong for Steven. She's determined to find out the reason for Tricia's strange behavior--and horrified when she discovers the awful truth.

Read "WHEN LOVE DIES" here

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

Sophie Amundsen (Sofie Amundsen in the Norwegian version) is a fourteen year old girl living in Norway in 1990. She lives with her cat Sherekan, her goldfish, a tortoise, two budgerigars and her mother. Her father is a captain of an oil tanker, and is away for most of the year. He does not appear in the book.

Sophie's life is rattled as the book begins, when she receives two anonymous messages in her mailbox (Who are you? Where does the world come from?), as well as a post card addressed to 'Hilde Møller Knag, c/o Sophie Amundsen'. Shortly afterwards she receives a packet of papers, part of a correspondence course in philosophy.

With these mysterious communications, Sophie becomes the student of a fifty-year-old philosopher, Alberto Knox. He starts out as totally anonymous, but as the story unfolds he reveals more and more about himself. The papers and the packet both turn out to be from him, although the post card is not; it is addressed from someone called Albert Knag, who is a major in a United Nations peacekeeping unit stationed in Lebanon.

Alberto teaches her about the history of philosophy. She gets a substantive and understandable review from the Pre-Socratic Greeks through Jean-Paul Sartre. Along with the philosophy lessons, Sophie and Alberto try to outwit the mysterious Albert Knag, who appears to have God-like powers, which Alberto finds quite troubling.

Sophie learns about medieval philosophy while being lectured by Alberto, dressed as a monk, in an ancient church, and she learns about Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in a French café. Various philosophical questions and methods of reasoning are put before Sophie, as she attempts to work them out on her own. Many of Knox's philosophic packets to her are preluded by more short questions, such as "Why is Lego the most ingenious toy in the world?".

Alberto takes Sophie from Hellenism to the rise of Christianity and its interaction with Greek thought and on into the Middle Ages. Over the course of the book, he covers the Renaissance, Baroque, Enlightenment and Romantic periods, and the philosophies that stemmed from them. (from Wikipedia)

Read "SOPHIE'S WORLD" here