Tension rises in both Sweet Valley and Palisades this week, as Liz's attempts to forge connections between the two schools backfire spectacularly. Being called Li'l Windbag has traumatised Ken so much he's basically had a personality transplant, and the former lovable himbo can think of nothing but revenge. Luckily this distracts him from the fact that his girlfriend is cheating on him yet again. Things come to a head at the big dance that's inexplicably taking place in a manky old kip full...

We're back! And not before time. When the Palisades Pumas play dirty on the football pitch, the boys of Sweet Valley vow revenge, but Liz, Enid and their new Palisades pals decide to bring the rival schools together with a dance. Of course. However, when the SVH lads indulge in some truly iconic terrible trash talk, tensions rise even further. Meanwhile, Jessica decides to become a champion surfer in the space of a month, and meets a mysterious beach hunk. Could this finally be the beginning...

Devon Whitelaw has remembered that Sam is responsible for the yacht fire that killed his parents - but his warning comes too late for Liz, who is already in the evil businessman's clutches! Sam holds Liz hostage in the surprisingly well-lit sketchy part of town. Will Jessica stop posing for tabloid photographs long enough to save her sister? And will Dylan clear his name (whatever it happens to be)? Find out in this action-packed episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...

Ever get the feeling you've been cheated? We had high hopes for Jessica's diary, which promised to reveal all about Jessica's steamy antics with Jeffrey French behind Liz's back. But unlike Liz's secret diary, which featured a whole romance with Ken, this is basically just a recap of SVH books 30-40 with a few references to #poorjeffrey shoehorned in! Join us for a trip down memory lane featuring highs (Jessa Fields! Tofu-Glo!) and lows (pretty much everything else). But the book manages to...

Don your young executive outfit and pick up your poetry books, we're heading back to SVU! Jessica comes up with a scheme to both go to the big dance with college boy Zach AND stay in the Theta sorority's good books - and it's unhinged even by her standards. Will Liz go along with it?(Well, hat do you think?) And the Sweet Valley High gang's frankly worrying plan to bring home the twins gets going - will that old trick reverse psychology work its magic yet again? All this and an excellent SVU...

We don't have a new ep for you this week, but by way of apology, you can read a 19 year old Anna trying to convince people to jump on the SVH bandwagon in a zine from 1994! Read it here: https://www.headstuffpodcasts.com/podcast_news/sweet-valley-high-according-to-19-year-old-anna/ We'll chat to you next week! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Wakefield twins are still at SVU - and it looks like they won't be coming home. High on her inexplicable success in the journalism competition and her own massive sense of entitlement, Liz is determined to shine at SVU - but she may be out of her depth. Meanwhile Jessica is so smitten by Zach (who is remarkably tolerant of her consistently unhinged behaviour) that she's decided to stay in college too #poorken. Can their pals persuade them to return to Sweet Valley High? All this and the...

We all know that when it comes to journalism Elizabeth's favourite subject is Sweet Valley, so when she's inexplicably allowed to enter a college feature writing competition on student life, she's stumped for an angle. Luckily for us, but unfortunately for her rivals, she finds the perfect topic for her hilariously ignorant yet sanctimonious style! Meanwhile Jessica continues to date Zach (#poorKen) and spin him a web of lies. But her romance may destroy her chance to become a Theta (in two...

Despite Jessica's appalling academic record, Ned and Alice have decided that the best way for her and Liz to recover from the SAT drama is to take them out of school for a week and send them off to Sweet Valley University to stay with Steven. Why? Who knows! But we do know that the twins have very different visions of the college experience. Jessica is determined to spend the week impressing college guys (urgh and also, Ken who?) while Liz is looking for more intellectual stimulation. When...

The twins resit the SATs, but while Liz's stress free approach to the exams leads to triumph, Jessica's serious studying leads to disaster. When Jessica is suspended from school, Elizabeth is determined to prove her twin's innocence. How? With an inexplicably legally binding mock trial, of course! But when Jessica's school records are revealed, will they help or hinder her cause? We always suspected the educational standards at SVH were pretty terrible, but this book reveals they're even...

It’s SAT time and Liz is stressing out, while Jessica is totally chill. But there’s a shock in store when the results come out! Jessica has aced the exams, while Liz has got the worst test results of her life. While Jessica fears being labelled a “nerd in hip clothes” (she wishes), Liz starts to spiral. Is the perfect twin actually not as smart as she thought she was? She looks to Todd for comfort, but offers from college sports recruiters have gone to his head. Meanwhile many faces from the...

Sorry gang, we won't have a new episode for you this week, as Anna has been struck down by Covid, but we'll be back in your ears soon. To tide you over, we've unlocked a bonus content written recap of the wonderfully unhinged SVU Super Thriller Kiss of the Vampire, the Sweet Valley attempt at Bram Stoker's Dracula you never knew you needed. Listen to a little sample here and then hit the link below to read...

The gang are still out in the desert, and things are getting even more dangerous. Eagle attacks! Floods! And of course murderous (and in one case hunky) OTG convicts! But if any proof were needed that nothing can keep these freaks down, it's surely the fact that even when facing their imminent deaths, the SVH gang are still doing what they do best: bickering and flirting.There's a time and a place, lads, and this is not it! Meanwhile, in fanfic corner, there's a new bartender and some new...

We find the gang right where we left them in Death Valley - stuck between a storm and a cave full of skeletons and scorpions. Things are getting desperate for the Sweet Valley Six, as they try and make it across the desert with nothing to sustain them but a few granola bars. Unsurprisingly, they all start losing their minds - especially Bruce. Yes, it's the infamous snake murder scene! Elsewhere Liz and astronomer (?!) Ken rekindle their old flame, Jessica and Heather encounter some convicts...

Welcome back to Death Valley, where the gold is cursed and the hiking teens have lost their damn minds! After the gang take a detour to find a second batch of gold, they decide they have to head straight to Desert Oasis. But Jessica tricks foolish Todd into taking them even further out of their way in order to find the third gold hoard! Consumed by gold fever, soon the gang are throwing their cans of food away to make room for treasure, getting swept away by rapids and being pursued by cursed...

Pack your rucksacks and fill your single water bottle, we're heading to Death Valley! Yes, having all placed highly in an essay competition which we can only assume some of them were forced to enter at gunpoint, the twins, Todd, Ken, Bruce and Heather are hiking through the desert without any adult supervision. It all sounds absolutely hellish and not just because Liz is in full good girl bossy mode. But the gang's squabbles are forgotten when they find a bag of possibly cursed gold nuggets...

Don your curly blonde wig and bring your mauve blusher, Todd, Ken and Winston (or rather Tilda, Kendall and Winnie) are all dragged up and ready to sneak into the CHRLDR compound! Some really do like it hot, and Ken in particular is loving his delightful new look. He and Todd are determined to win back the twins - but will they get the sticky end of the lollipop? Meanwhile Heather's secret is out and the SVH girls are determined to make a cheering comeback. If only they could spell... Shake...

Like Margo and Nora before her, Karyn has headed west to California so there's no new ep this week! But we do have the third installment of Anna's unhinged 2002 fanfic, From Here to Sweet Valley, which I think we can all agree is a more realistic depiction of the twins' adult lives than Sweet Valley Confidential. Liz reaches out to an old friend, Jessica has worrying thoughts about Bruce, and Winston attempts to flee his terrifying wife Lila. Listen to a sample here, and follow the link in...

The SVH cheerleaders are heading to Yosemite! Yes, Jessica and Heather's combined teams have reached Nationals, and the battle to be the best cheerleaders in the entire country. But after Heather encounters a familiar face at the cheerleading compound, things start to go horribly wrong.... Meanwhile Todd and Ken head off on an ill-planned roadtrip to win back their girlfriends, press-ganging Winston en route, Annie makes a show of herself and Mr Collins tries to keep the peace. Remember, if...

Remember the Pom Pom Wars? Neither do we! Yes, it's been a while since we checked in on the rival Sweet Valley cheerleading squads but don't worry, we'll give you a quick reminder of the last book before we find out what happens when Jessica's new squad make their impressive public debut. Are you ready for a cheer-off? Meanwhile a lovesick Liz channels Margo, Mr Collins and Enid (they exist!) give sensible advice that is completely ignored, and Ken proves he's the best person in Sweet Valley...

Don your blonde wig, pop in your blue green contact lenses, and have a little rummage in your portable Wakefield wardrobe, it's time to return to The Return of the Evil Twin! Nora and Margo have teamed up at last - and luckily the denizens of Sweet Valley are as dozy as ever because within days the Chapelle sisters are successfully impersonating the Wakefield twins. Have you learned nothing, Ned and Alice? The dynamic duo swiftly cause trouble between Liz and Jess - but tensions arise when it...

We're back! And we're not the only ones making a grand return. Yes, it's been a year since we bid a fond farewell to our favourite psychopath, but back then we didn't know (and neither did the ghostwriters, because they're clearly just making this up as they go along) that Margo had a twin! Meet Nora, an orphan who discovers at her father's funeral that she has a twin sister who was given to an orphanage when they were two. When Nora learns what happened to Margo in Sweet Valley, she resolves...

Happy Christmas, listeners! To celebrate, we're sharing a special festive episode of our Headstuff+ bonus series Pi Beta Alpha - and if you like what you hear, you can sign up to Headstuff+ and join us in the PBA clubhouse every fortnight at headstuffpodcasts.com. It's Christmas in Sweet Valley (again!). And while Liz attempts to single-handedly organise the Toys for Tots Christmas party, the rest of the gang are heading to the mountains for a festive fiesta in Shred's dad's ski lodge. Will...

It's Christmas! So to celebrate, we're breaking out the jingle bells and the (small) bag of cans and taking a trip down memory lane to discuss our favourite moments from the Sweet Valley High books we read in 2023. And what moments they were - from Bruce's visit to Dublin's most glamorous tourist attraction to the iconic Cookie Monster Werewolf's dramatic debut, from Young Executives to improbably framed photographs, a lot happened in Sweet Valley this year. And we had a lot of fun...