Episodes
Extra Drama #58: Don't Call Him Jeff
Shey Zanotti is back, and memories of (the very much still alive) Jeffrey French abound. Remember the time he scared away those thugs who wanted to steal Ronnie's car? Remember the time Elizabeth thought he was falling in love with Enid? Or perhaps...
Book #58: BROKENHEARTED
#1 Jeffrey French fan Shey Lyn Zanotti is back, and she's not the only one! Remember Todd Wilkins, Elizabeth's first love, who moved away to Vermont...at some point earlier in junior year? Can you believe that was 35 books ago? Now the Wilkinses are...
Extra Drama #57: A Comfortable Petard
Chris and Paris from Terrible Book Club return! Jessica slums it in electronics class and Lila scams her pedagogically lazy dressmaking instructor in the TEACHER CRUSH b-plot. Plus, super-spoilers for Olivia's future! Extra drama indeed! Listen...
Book #57: TEACHER CRUSH
Terrible Book Club’s Paris and Chris dare to join Marissa to tackle this downright nerve-wracking tale of Olivia Davidson and her lust for painting teacher Stuart “Call me Stuart” Bachman. A book that is truly challenging to read in public. * *...
Extra Drama #56: Too Much Humor
Haley Tubbs returns to talk about the science field trip that wasn't, and whether Jessica is right about guys with "too much of a sense of humor." What fun! All in the the name of LOST AT SEA, of course.
Book #56: LOST AT SEA
Part island fantasy, part survival guide, part extra credit assignment, LOST AT SEA is the first Sweet Valley High novel to feature a character getting lost at sea, assumed dead. Professional science enthusiast Haley Tubbs joins Marissa to dig into...
Extra Drama for Super Thriller #3: Hitchcock, Jigsaw, Pascal
Jack and Tanner are back for more THRILLER talk. What all-time-greatest film is this book's plot remixed from? How would the BSC handle this mystery? Would a t-shirt fit over Jack's head? Find out all this and more (sort of) in today's EXTRA DRAMA! Links:
Super Thriller #3: NO PLACE TO HIDE
SURPRISE! Did we spook ya? Marissa is joined by fellow 80s/90s juvenile lit series aficionados and podcasters Jack Shepherd and Tanner Greenring of the Baby-Sitters Club Club. The meddling twins are back, and so is Nicholas Morrow! This one has it...
Extra Drama #55: Betty White’s Teen-Age Dance Book
Marissa and her dad found a dance instruction book for teenagers written by Betty White (but apparently not THAT Betty White? It's hard to say.) Discussion of this piece of ephemera (and Dad's high school basketball career) abound in this week's EXTRA...
Book #55: PERFECT SHOT
Dad's back to talk hoops! Marissa is joined by her father, Don, to discuss Shelley Novak. Who's she? Who, for that matter, is Jim Roberts? Cathy Ulrich? Greg Hilliard? Anybody? No? Sweet Valley High contains multitudes, people. This week, learn about...
Extra Drama #54: Twin Powers and Trigger Warnings
Do twins really have super communication powers? Does goofy drama make scary stuff easier to swallow? Have "mentally unstable" villains kept us from tackling our own mental health issues? TWO-BOY WEEKEND is the gift that keeps on giving...us more...
Book #54: TWO-BOY WEEKEND
The title of this book makes a promise, and that promise is kept in ways both thrilling and hilarious. Also somewhat harrowing. Teya Patt (FOR ALL MANKIND) joins Marissa for the play-by-play of this masterpiece of juvenile (?!) fiction. CW for...
Extra Drama #53: Seizing the Day is Totally Beat
CW: Mom death Marissa opens up about why, despite her lack of tennis skill, she found herself relating deeply to Kristin Thompson. Other topics of conversation: enjoying your life on your own terms, the overabundance of straight girls at SVHS, Bruce...
Book #53: SECOND CHANCE
The Parade of Randos marches on, but this time around, the plot is not so predictable. Will a soon-to-be tennis pro throw it all away over Bruce Patman? The answer may surprise you! Or, if not the answer, at least the question. Katie LaDue is back and...
Extra Drama for Super Thriller #2: The Second Taco
Super Thrillers have SO much drama that some of it has to spill out into an Extra Drama bonus ep! Alice Wakefield's frustrating food choices, Darcy Kaymen's voluptuousness, and the good citizenship of Sweet Valleyites in general are all up for debate...
Super Thriller #2: ON THE RUN
SURPRISE! Just to keep things spicy, we're returning to the Super Thriller series, where the Wakefield twins are still slaving away (literally!) at the News. Murders are on the rise, and all the new kids are from Ohio. Superfriend Nick Riley is...
Extra Drama #52: I Guess It's Okay to Go Home with John for Now?
Marissa and guest reader Dr. Daniel Okobi tackle, but don't really answer, a big-but-vague question: Is John Pfeifer a good guy in this book? Also: Jessica's Philosophy on Men, and what's up with this new tennis girl? * * * There's a new
Book #52: WHITE LIES
If you're expecting a book titled WHITE LIES to be a cold, hard look at the exclusionary racial culture of Sweet Valley, California...well, keep waiting. The white lies in question here are all about a sweet sophomore, her ill-advised love affair with...
Extra Drama #51: So You're Raising a Jessica
Marissa and Mary consider the realism of gritty 1980s teen gambling. Is it harder or easier for a kid to get into money troubles in the 2020s? And another thing: what do these supposedly “ugly” earrings of Jessica’s look like? And where...
Book #51: AGAINST THE ODDS
It’s the Season 6 Premiere of SVD, and former terrible boyfriend and current minor character Ronnie Edwards has a problem. What’s that? You don’t care about Ronnie’s problems? Well, what if I told you that Ronnie’s in bad trouble with a...
Start Here: What is Sweet Valley Diaries?
Sweet Valley Diaries returns on April 22, 2021! Have you ever heard of Sweet Valley High? No? Yes? Either way, you're gonna wanna hear this. Whether you start on Book 1 or Book 51, Sweet Valley Diaries is always going to bring you a wild story,...
Super Edition #6: SPRING FEVER
The Wakefields have had spring and summer treks to NorCal, Malibu, France...and now, the icing on the cake: Walkersville, Kansas. How will these small town rubes handle the Blonde Invasion? As guest Megan Keller and Marissa are here to tell you:...
Super Thriller #1: DOUBLE JEOPARDY
Hiatus, schmiatus -- back by popular demand, it's Don Flaxbart (Also featuring Marissa). Listen as father and daughter discuss the heavy implications of Jessica's scheming -- even heavier than usual this time! -- as she helps nearly ruin one young...
Extra Drama #50: Paging Dr. Wu
Allison Chin returns to investigate: what's the deal with Jade Wu's dad? And we consider the "traditional Chinese" art of...dicing? And who or what exactly is out of reach in Out of Reach?