History Literature / SweetValleyHigh

!!This series provides examples of:

* YourCheatingHeart: Sweet Valley is the town for this trope.

* FalseRapeAccusation: Attempted rape, rather. Happens occasionally. Often invoked by the girl as revenge for having her advances rebuffed--Jessica does this to Todd when he completely ignores her during their date (he's in love with Elizabeth), and Suzanne Devlin (a visitor) does this to Mr. Collins when he rejects her attempt at seducing him.

* SeriesContinuityError: Could be the trope namer for how much stuff gets mixed up or wrong.

%%ZCE * BitchInSheepsClothing: A lot of the fandom see Elizabeth as this.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Jessica is impulsive, temper-tantrum prone and loves to party; Elizabeth is much more even-tempered and serious. They also have an older brother, Stephen, who seems to consider himself the responsible sibling to ''both'' his younger sisters.

* SiblingSenioritySquabble: As [[ViewersAreGoldfish the reader is constantly reminded of]], Elizabeth is 4 minutes older than Jessica; and In-Universe, whenever Jessica does something stupid again, Elizabeth reminds herself that she "is 4 minutes older tthan Jessica, but it often feels like 4 ''years''..."

* ShoutOut: The girl's father is named [[NancyDrew "Ned"]]

* DenserAndWackier: The TV series was less dramatic and more comedic in tone than the books, and to fit the books in roughly 20-minute episodes, it often left out sub-plots and details of the plot.

* DenserAndWackier: Compared to the book series, which is actually quite an accomplishment.

* LongRunningBookSeries

* AllJustADream: Several times.

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins
* AngstySurvivingTwin: Jessamyn from the Saga ''The Wakefields of Sweet Valley.'' Amanda and Sarah (also from the Sagas) may qualify as well.
** [[spoiler:Lisa/Helen]] from ''The Roommate'' in SVU.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Despite being only 4 minutes younger, Jessica was frequently this to Elizabeth, and they often both were to big brother Steven (who could be pretty annoying himself).
* AttemptedRape: Numerous examples, including ''Dear Sister'' (#7) and ''Don't Go Home With John'' (#90)
* BackFromTheDead:
** [[spoiler: Margo]] is a straight example of the trope.
** There are a number of "examples" that are a result of the different series being written at different times by different authors and in non-chronological order. Thus a character might be killed in one series only to appear in a chronologically later book. Some of the most infamous examples:
*** [[spoiler: Olivia Davidson made a brief appearance in the ''Sweet Valley University'' series, despite having been killed in the earthquake that ended original series.]]
*** [[spoiler:Roger Patman was declared dead in ''Senior Year'', but gets an epilogue in ''Confidential''.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: Happens in the super specials a lot. Special mention goes to Josh in ''The Evil Twin.''

* BitchInSheepsClothing: A lot of the fandom see Elizabeth as this.

* BreakTheHaughty: Lila Fowler's nervous breakdown after nearly being raped.

* ButLiquorIsQuicker: [[spoiler:Bruce]] attempts this with [[spoiler:Elizabeth]] in ''Dear Sister.''

* CartwrightCurse: Jessica, whose boyfriends often died.

* DownerEnding: Sometimes.

* EvilTwin: Margo and Nora.
** Jessica herself may qualify in the early books when her schemes were less zany and more downright nasty.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Jessica and Elizabeth (along with big brother Steven), in spades.
* FriendToAllChildren: Lila in the "Twins" series.
* FriendsRentControl: Elizabeth's NYC apartment in ''Sweet Valley Confidential.''
** In the "Sweet Valley University" book ''The Roommate'', the bill from Isabella's car accident leaves her unable to pay the rent, and she is forced to get a roommate. Isabella doesn't have a job and refuses to take money from her parents; this leaves the reader wondering how she has thus far paid for the spacious, beautifully decorated apartment described in the book.
* GenderBlenderName: Steven's one-time girlfriend Billie.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In ''The Wakefields Of Sweet Valley'' novel, two characters embrace passionately. One asks, "Should we stop?", The other says, "No". [[SexyDiscretionShot The scene cuts there]], but several months later, when the female half of the couple discovers that she's pregnant, it's pretty obvious what happened. There are also a handful of other scenes that allude to the possibility of sexual activity.
* GirlPosse: Jessica and friends, especially with the Unicorns.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry
* GossipyHens: Of course Jessica and her friends, but special mention goes to Caroline Pearce, especially in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' and ''The Sweet Life''.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Played straight with Elizabeth, subverted with Jessica. Or at least that was what the writer was going for.

* ThereAreNoAdults: Notably applies to the twins' parents, who are rarely, if ever, seen or referred to throughout the series.

* ViewersAreGoldfish: A rare literary example. See [[DrinkingGame/SweetValleyHigh Drinking Game - Sweet Valley High]], under "sip", for the worst offenders.

* ViewersAreGoldfish: A rare literary example.

** In SVU, Steven had a live-in girlfriend named Billie. They were engaged and expecting a child [[spoiler: she had a miscarriage]]. Then she just disappeared with no explanation.

* ButtMonkey: Jessica, of all people. Her schemes and stunts consistently blow up in her face, leaving her humiliated (though given her often malicious intent, this is often deserved). Her genuine efforts at improving herself (music lessons, cooking classes) end up the same way. Virtually everyone, even her own parents, appear to blatantly favor Elizabeth over her--not until she runs away, TWICE, does it finally dawn on anyone how troubled she is. When she aces the [=SATs=], instead of congratulating her, everyone, including her own sister, assumes she must have cheated somehow. Speaking of which, Elizabeth herself frequently treats her like something she stepped in. And the few times she genuinely likes a guy enough to have a steady relationship with him, it never works out.

* DownerEnding: ''A Night To Remember'' (the prequel to the Evil Twin Novel): [[spoiler: the big prom that Elizabeth planned, to the point of going all Captain Ahabian, goes horribly horribly wrong when a rival school crashes the prom and a full-scale riot breaks out with Todd leading the charge. Furthermore, the violence of the riot causes Lila (mentally unstable from being nearly raped) to have a nervous breakdown and attack a guidance counselor who she thinks is trying to rape her, and she basically has to be placed in a mental institution that very night. And Elizabeth, after Jessica spikes her drink, drives home with Jessica's boyfriend (the only one who was actually good to her) and kills him dead.]]

.

[[quoteright:209:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Wakefield_Twins.jpg]]

Book series running from 1983 to 2003, created by Francine Pascal. Spawned a TV series made by Creator/SabanEntertainment, several SpinOff book series, a board game and other merchandise. Almost 200 books were published in the main series alone; over 600 were published including the spinoff series. Stories were handed off to ghost writers and generally hit bookstores once a month.

The series centers on Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, identical twins living in Sweet Valley, California. Elizabeth is serious, studious and levelheaded. Jessica is flirtatious and free-spirited; often her {{zany scheme}}s drive the plot.

Until book #95, plots alternated between two types. In some, the main plot focused on the twins. In others, the focus was on another student at Sweet Valley High School, with a subplot devoted to the twins. In some of the latter type, Elizabeth Wakefield helped the focus character with some personal problem. Social issues such as racism, anorexia, and drug abuse were addressed in this manner.

Beginning with book #95, the series' format shifted. Books were grouped into miniseries, usually of three books, based on a theme. The first such series, which spanned seven books, was about a sociopath named Margo, who [[IdenticalStranger happened to look just like the twins]], traveling to Sweet Valley intent on assuming Elizabeth's identity. (This EvilTwin later turned out to have an EvilTwin of her own.) With the shift in format, the storylines became increasingly fantastic, some dealing with such topics as [[SupernaturalSoapOpera werewolves and vampires]].

'''In addition to the standard, numbered books, special editions included:'''
* Super Editions. The twins go on vacation and/or celebrate holidays. Later in the series, the Super Editions focused on supporting characters.
* Super Thrillers. The twins become entangled in mysteries.
* Super Star Stories. These focus on supporting characters.
* Magna Editions. Large-scale stories. Included the Sagas, which revealed the twins' family history, and the Secret Diaries, which were basically [[ClipShow clip shows]].
* A Night To Remember: Special super-sized novel, the only one of the rare few specials which is canon in the main series. Taking place inbetween #94 and #95 of the main series, it tells the story of the "Jungle Prom", a dance that destroys the status quo of the main books and sets up the "Evil Twin" arc.

'''Series in TheVerse included:'''
* ''Sweet Valley High'': the flagship. The twins are 16-year-old juniors at Sweet Valley High. Jessica is a cheerleader and Elizabeth writes for the school paper. (181 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Twins'': the first SpinOff. The twins are 12-year-old sixth-graders at Sweet Valley Middle School (and in case you were working on the math, no, it's not right; they should have been 11 years old.) Jessica is in a clique called the Unicorns, who got their own SpinOff. (144 books)
* ''Sweet Valley University'': the twins go off to college. Jessica quickly loses her virginity and briefly gets married. Elizabeth attracts a cyber-stalker. (81 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Kids'': the twins are 7 year-old second-graders. Sometimes they solve mysteries. (88 books)
* ''Unicorn Club'': SpinOff of ''Sweet Valley Twins''.(25 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Junior High'': the twins are now eighth-graders at a new school following rezoning. (30 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Senior Year'': the twins are now 17-year-old seniors. After a devastating earthquake hits Sweet Valley (on the twins' birthday, no less,) many students from flattened El Carro High transfer to Sweet Valley High. With this entry, the series reverted to less fantastic storylines, and the characters were more culturally diverse. (48 books)
* ''Elizabeth'': Elizabeth travels to England, works as a maid, and loses her virginity. (6 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Confidential'': this is a stand alone novel which was released in March 2011 and chronicles the lives of the twins and their friends at age 27.
* ''The Sweet Life'': a six-part ebook series that began in July 2012, which is a SpinOff of sorts. It picks up three years after ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' and the twins and their friends are 30.
----
!!This series provides examples of:

* AdultsAreUseless: This applies to Ned and Alice, as well as many of the parents in the series (to the point of neglect or even abuse in some cases). The twins' parents can't even tell when complete strangers are impersonating their daughters. ''Todd'' notices a difference in the fake Elizabeth before her own parents!
** All this was going on during Liz's trial for manslaughter. Mrs. Wakefield had a nervous breakdown and morphed into this obsessive-compulsive June Cleaver-type mom who only cared about a clean house and homemade dinners. Mr. Wakefield was defending Liz, and Jessica was mad at everybody, so it was the perfect time for Margo to slip in and fool the family. They got fooled again by ''both'' Margo and Nora in the sequel, when they have no excuse.
** They were also quick to make excuses for Elizabeth's misdeeds while reading Jessica the riot act for hers--in one especially bad example, they blame Jessica for something they KNOW Elizabeth did (though Jessica usually manages to weasel her way out of punishment), not to mention completely oblivious and insensitive to Jessica's genuine insecurity about Elizabeth's "perfection." It took Jessica ''running away - twice -'' for it to dawn on them how troubled she was.
** In the original series, it seems that Mr. Collins (the English teacher) is the only helpful adult as most of the kids at SVH talk to him about their problems.
** The inevitable outcome of this can clearly be seen in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' where we see how screwed up everyone has now become! Good job, Ned and Alice!
** Although Jessica and Elizabeth are adults in ''The Sweet Life'', their lives are falling apart. Where are Ned and Alice? On a cruise. They don't bother to come home when [[spoiler: Steven and Aaron's baby is kidnapped]]!
* AesopAmnesia: Jessica would frequently try to pull off a zany scheme. More often than not, it would blow up in her face, yet it wouldn't be long before she was trying to pull off another stunt. Sadly, some of these stunts were genuine efforts at improving herself or trying something new--cooking class, music lessons--so it seems rather unfair that this should go as badly as her usual conniving.
* AllJustADream: Several times.
** In the super-special ''Winter Carnival'', Elizabeth gets fed up with Jessica's selfishness and flat-out tells her, "I wish I'd never HAD a sister!" (Ironically, this is after misinterpreting Jessica's genuine attempts to ''fix'' the mess that has resulted from her self-centered behavior.) She then promptly has a lengthy dream sequence in which Jessica dies. Naturally this leads to a reconciliation.
** The Sweet Valley Kids book ''A Curse On Elizabeth'' features a museum trip gone bad, involving the twins being chased by an Egyptian mummy. It is revealed to be AllJustADream, but ends with an OrWasItADream twist when Elizabeth realizes that she's lost her jacket, which she took off to save them from escaped cobras in the dream.
** The Sweet Valley Kids mystery ''The Case of the Alien Princess'' features the twins and a group of their friends being taken aboard a spaceship.
** The Sweet Valley Twins book ''The Class Trip'' involves Elizabeth going on a boat ride with Tom Sawyer, only discovering at the end that it was a dream induced by a head injury.
* AlphaBitch: Lila Fowler and Amy. Later, Enid/Alex Rollins (SVU), Janet Howell (Twins) and Kimberly (Unicorn Club). Jessica has her moments too, the best example being ''Wrong Kind of Girl.''
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins
* AngstySurvivingTwin: Jessamyn from the Saga ''The Wakefields of Sweet Valley.'' Amanda and Sarah (also from the Sagas) may qualify as well.
** [[spoiler:Lisa/Helen]] from ''The Roommate'' in SVU.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Despite being only 4 minutes younger, Jessica was frequently this to Elizabeth, and they often both were to big brother Steven (who could be pretty annoying himself).
* AttemptedRape: Numerous examples, including ''Dear Sister'' (#7) and ''Don't Go Home With John'' (#90)
* BackFromTheDead:
** [[spoiler: Margo]] is a straight example of the trope.
** There are a number of "examples" that are a result of the different series being written at different times by different authors and in non-chronological order. Thus a character might be killed in one series only to appear in a chronologically later book. Some of the most infamous examples:
*** [[spoiler: Olivia Davidson made a brief appearance in the ''Sweet Valley University'' series, despite having been killed in the earthquake that ended original series.]]
*** [[spoiler:Roger Patman was declared dead in ''Senior Year'', but gets an epilogue in ''Confidential''.]]
* BeautyIsBad: In a series where practically everyone is gorgeous, the story in question will always make the nice protagonist feel unattractive in comparison to their bitchy rival--even Elizabeth and Jessica, described ad nauseam as among the prettiest girls at school, have felt like this. Even Elizabeth has felt like this in comparison to Jessica, even though they're ''identical twins'' (this is pulled off by the fact that Elizabeth dresses and acts in a far more conservative manner than Jessica).
* BigDamnHeroes: Happens in the super specials a lot. Special mention goes to Josh in ''The Evil Twin.''
* BigBrotherInstinct: Steve can be very protective of the twins when it's necessary, and the twins themselves are very protective of each other when it counts. Also, one of the characters in the 'Evil Twin' saga, Josh, goes out for revenge when Margo kills his little brother.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: A lot of the fandom see Elizabeth as this.
* BittersweetEnding: One book involves a girl getting her reputation smeared after the AlphaBitch spread vicious rumors about her and becoming the school pariah after her boyfriend dumps her. Even though the AlphaBitch was caught and her name was cleared, she and her boyfriend never reconciled, and she became disillusioned by how easily turned he was.
* BlackBestFriend: Maria Slater to Elizabeth in ''Senior Year'' and Nina Harper to Elizabeth again in SVU. Danny to Tom Watts in SVU.
* BreakTheHaughty: Lila Fowler's nervous breakdown after nearly being raped.
* BrilliantButLazy: Jessica. Although her primary concerns are boys, clothes, and parties, it is stated in one of the early books that she gets good grades in most of her classes. Later books indicate that she's a poor student, but one who could do better if she applied herself (which in fact ''does'' happen several times throughout the series). In particular, one book has her getting an excellent score on the [=SATs=] and considerably outscoring Elizabeth, despite barely studying, and everyone assuming that she must have cheated somehow, as this is inconsistent with her typical academic performance.
** Later, Jessica and Elizabeth had to retake the test (due to the aforementioned cheating accusations). This time it was Jessica who studied like crazy and Elizabeth who relaxed and didn't care. The result? Poor Jessica gets horrible scores and Elizabeth gets great scores, lending even ''more'' credence to the (untrue) cheating accusations.
* BrokenAesop: Repeatedly. Elizabeth would go on and on ad nauseam about how people deserved to be forgiven for their mistakes and given a second chance. Apparently, this only applied to ''her'' friends, as she never once showed the same compassion to Jessica's clique. Additionally, Jessica was constantly criticized for her bad behavior (promiscuity, snobbery, unfaithfulness, etc) whereas similar behavior from Elizabeth was glossed over.
** A perfect example is book 10, ''Wrong Kind of Girl'': Annie Whitman [[SlutShaming is called "Easy Annie"]] because she goes out with a different boy every night and dresses provocatively. Jessica, who does the EXACT same thing, [[{{Hypocrite}} condemns Annie for it and goes as far to keep her off the cheerleading squad,]] while on the other hand Elizabeth insists that Annie shouldn't be judged for her behavior--even though she constantly chastises Jessica for the same thing.
** An even better example if you compare how Elizabeth treated her friend Enid to how she treated Jessica's friend Cara. Elizabeth practically demanded that everyone give Enid a second chance and went berserk if anyone dared to even mention her wild past, but she refused to acknowledge that Cara had changed and was just as deserving of redemption.
* BrokenBird:
** Elizabeth, in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''. Alone in New York, estranged from her sister and basically making her living sneaking into off-Broadway plays for a third-rate magazine that reviews off-Broadway plays, and socially isolated from everyone, even the various one-night stands she has.
** Winston; in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'', he's gained power and wealth and the ability to get revenge on anyone who ever tormented him. But he's lost everyone who ever cared for him and when Elizabeth rejects him for reformed former tormentor Bruce Patman, he kills himself.
* ButLiquorIsQuicker: [[spoiler:Bruce]] attempts this with [[spoiler:Elizabeth]] in ''Dear Sister.''
* ButtMonkey: Jessica, of all people. Her schemes and stunts consistently blow up in her face, leaving her humiliated (though given her often malicious intent, this is often deserved). Her genuine efforts at improving herself (music lessons, cooking classes) end up the same way. Virtually everyone, even her own parents, appear to blatantly favor Elizabeth over her--not until she runs away, TWICE, does it finally dawn on anyone how troubled she is. When she aces the [=SATs=], instead of congratulating her, everyone, including her own sister, assumes she must have cheated somehow. Speaking of which, Elizabeth herself frequently treats her like something she stepped in. And the few times she genuinely likes a guy enough to have a steady relationship with him, it never works out.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Elizabeth drives while drunk ''once'', crashes her car and gets arrested. For worse, Jessica's then-boyfriend was with her and died; that's punishment for ''Jessica'', who had pranked Elizabeth by spiking her drink.
** Regina Morrow isn't much better. [[spoiler:The first and only time she tries cocaine, she dies.]]
** Isabella Ricci in ''SVU'' decides to go to a party and let her hair down after a nasty breakup with her boyfriend. What happens? She gets her cigarette spiked with drugs, hallucinates, jumps off a roof, falls into a coma, becomes paralyzed, loses her memory and then has to leave Sweet Valley as her wealthy parents send her to Switzerland to recover in a private clinic.
* CartwrightCurse: Jessica, whose boyfriends often died.
* ComicBookTime: Just how many birthdays/junior proms/summer vacations, etc. have the twins had?
* ContinuitySnarl: The series has the occasional snarl like dead people coming back to life for no reason. [[spoiler: Hi Olivia!]]
* ConvenientMiscarriage: Stephen's girlfriend Billie has one in ''Sweet Valley University''. Especially convenient because it's likely that she would otherwise have decided to [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion have an abortion.]]
* CupidHatesOddCouples: The twins are constantly stealing each other's boyfriends and fighting about it, only to realize that sisterhood was more important. It happened repeatedly with Todd, as well as several less important boyfriends, but the worst example stemmed from Jessica's jealousy over Elizabeth and Sam dancing at the Jungle Prom, which only happened due to Jessica spiking Elizabeth's drink.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: Gia Allen in the ''Sweet Valley University'' series, who assumed the identity of a popular sorority girl at her old university in order to continue stalking a guy who had taken out a restraining order against her.
** Margo's character arc was based around her desire to kill Elizabeth and assume Elizabeth's identity forever. When she discovers that she has a twin sister of her own, they agree to kill ''both'' twins and "replace" them (although now Margo wants to be Jessica).
* DownerEnding: ''A Night To Remember'' (the prequel to the Evil Twin Novel): [[spoiler: the big prom that Elizabeth planned, to the point of going all Captain Ahabian, goes horribly horribly wrong when a rival school crashes the prom and a full-scale riot breaks out with Todd leading the charge. Furthermore, the violence of the riot causes Lila (mentally unstable from being nearly raped) to have a nervous breakdown and attack a guidance counselor who she thinks is trying to rape her, and she basically has to be placed in a mental institution that very night. And Elizabeth, after Jessica spikes her drink, drives home with Jessica's boyfriend (the only one who was actually good to her) and kills him dead.]]
** ''On the Edge'' ends with [[spoiler: Regina Marrow dying.]]
** In ''The Sweet Life,'' [[spoiler: Elizabeth successfully clears Bruce's name after he is framed for sexually assaulting a woman, only for him to dump Elizabeth (who risked everything to clear his name, to the point of becoming estranged from everyone around her) for Annie Whitman, his LAWYER! At the freaking press conference being held in his honor after Elizabeth cleared his name! Also, Jessica and Todd reaffirm their relationship (much to the horror of those who were hoping they would break up) and Lila, who has been faking a pregnancy to keep her husband from leaving her, is exposed BUT is forgiven, as it turns out that the sex Lila had with her husband, right before she started the pregnancy scam, DID lead to her becoming pregnant. So she escapes punishment by way of her husband forgiving the big lie after it came true, by pure luck!]]
** The Original Series: An earthquake hits Sweet Valley on the twins' 17th birthday. It destroys most of the town and the following characters die: [[spoiler: Olivia Davidson and Ronnie Edwards; Roger Patman is believed dead but turns up later]]. Devon abandons Elizabeth, Todd wants nothing to do with Elizabeth and leaves Sweet Valley for a while, Jessica tries (and fails) to save a little girl and falls into a deep depression.
* DrugsAreBad: When Bruce breaks Regina's heart, she befriends a guy who takes her to a drug party. [[spoiler: She dies as a direct result.]]
** In ''Sweet Valley University'', Isabella's cigarette is spiked with drugs at a party, causing her to jump off a balcony in her drugged state and be left with serious injuries and IdentityAmnesia.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Beautiful with sun-streaked blonde silky hair, blue-green eyes and a tiny dimple in the left cheek, Jessica and Elizabeth are easily two of the most beautiful and popular girls in the school.
* EvilTwin: Margo and Nora.
** Jessica herself may qualify in the early books when her schemes were less zany and more downright nasty.
* FaceHeelTurn: Amy Sutton between ''Sweet Valley Twins'' and ''Sweet Valley High'', Lila Fowler in ''Sweet Valley High Senior Year'', Enid Rollins in ''Sweet Valley Senior Year'' and ''Sweet Valley University'', Winston Egbert in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''.
* [[FakeTwinGambit Fake Triplet Gambit]]: In one of the ''Twins'' books, Elizabeth and Jessica invent a third sister, Jennifer, and take turns pretending to be her. In SVH #45, ''Family Secrets'', the twins do this with their visiting cousin Kelly and confuse everyone at school.
* FallenPrincess: When Jessica goes from being popular girl to outcast in ''Sweet Valley Junior High'', ''Sweet Valley High Senior Year'' and ''Sweet Valley University''.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Jessica and Elizabeth (along with big brother Steven), in spades.
* FriendToAllChildren: Lila in the "Twins" series.
* FriendsRentControl: Elizabeth's NYC apartment in ''Sweet Valley Confidential.''
** In the "Sweet Valley University" book ''The Roommate'', the bill from Isabella's car accident leaves her unable to pay the rent, and she is forced to get a roommate. Isabella doesn't have a job and refuses to take money from her parents; this leaves the reader wondering how she has thus far paid for the spacious, beautifully decorated apartment described in the book.
* GenderBlenderName: Steven's one-time girlfriend Billie.
* GenerationXerox: A spin-off focused on the twins' great-aunts Elisabeth and Jessamyn, identical twins who have the same personalities, romantic woes, etc. as Elizabeth and Jessica. Other books reference the likeness too.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In ''The Wakefields Of Sweet Valley'' novel, two characters embrace passionately. One asks, "Should we stop?", The other says, "No". [[SexyDiscretionShot The scene cuts there]], but several months later, when the female half of the couple discovers that she's pregnant, it's pretty obvious what happened. There are also a handful of other scenes that allude to the possibility of sexual activity.
* GirlPosse: Jessica and friends, especially with the Unicorns.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry
* GossipyHens: Of course Jessica and her friends, but special mention goes to Caroline Pearce, especially in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' and ''The Sweet Life''.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Played straight with Elizabeth, subverted with Jessica. Or at least that was what the writer was going for.
* HeroicSacrifice: Attempted in The Evil Twin when [[spoiler: Jessica tries to shield Elizabeth's body with her own]]
* HighSchoolDance: most plots in SVH revolve around or climax with this. Eight of the first 10 books alone has a dance as part of the story.
* IdenticalGrandson / GenerationXerox: Almost every book in the series mentions that the twins' mother was frequently mistaken for their older sister, and that their brother Steven was a carbon copy of their father. Taken to extremes in the ''Saga'' books, in which almost every generation of the twins' maternal and paternal lines tend to be nearly-exact copies, particularly the two ''other'' sets of blonde {{Polar Opposite Twin|s}} girls on their mother's side of the family tree.
* IdenticalStranger [=/=] ReplacementGoldfish: Margo and Nora. Also:
** Surfer Bill Chase fell in love with Elizabeth because she resembled (in looks and personality) his late girlfriend.
** Elizabeth became infatuated with a guy who looks like Todd until she discovers he's a jerk.
** The twins' brother Steve repeatedly dumped girlfriend Cara to pursue girls who resembled his dead girlfriend Tricia. Adding insult to injury, he refused to see any of the girls as their own person and instead tried to mold them to his memories of Tricia, including the way they wore their hair ("Don't put your hair up, Tricia always wore it down."), the things they did ("Let's go to the aquarium! Tricia loved the aquarium!"), things they were interested in ("You like science? Just like Tricia! She wanted to be a doctor!"), and even the food they ate ("Vanilla? But Tricia always had ''chocolate'' ice cream!"), making them feel bad when they wouldn't comply, all the while insisting "She's just like Tricia!" Only when one of the girls finally blasts him for this and declares that she deserves better than being used as a substitute does he realize how unhealthy his behavior is.
** One of the books in the ''Twins'' series had Mary, a classmate of the girls', constantly coming over to spend time with them. It soon became obvious that her motive was to spend time with the girls' mother. Even Elizabeth eventually got irritated with this, until it was finally revealed that Alice Wakefield bore a strong resemblance to Mary's mother, whom she hadn't seen since she was a little girl. (In an especially dark plotline for this genre, it was revealed that Mary had been abducted by a friend of her mother's, then eventually abandoned and shipped from one foster home to another.)
* IfICantHaveYou: Pulled many times on many characters over the course of the series. William White, who gets a whole mini-series about his obsession with Elizabeth, is a prominent example. In ''Sweet Valley University'', Jessica has an affair with her professor Louis Miles, who's subsequently murdered by his deranged ex-wife because she can't stand to see him happy with Jessica.
* ItsAWonderfulPlot: One of the ''Twins'' special editions did this with Elizabeth in the George Bailey role.
* JerkJock: Bruce Patman.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lila really can be nice when she wants to be. Bruce as well in later books. Jessica has her moments.
* KarmaHoudini: Jessica Wakefield. She spikes Elizabeth's punch at the prom and lets her drive off with Sam. [[spoiler: Sam was killed as a result of the crash]] and Elizabeth was arrested and put on trial for manslaughter. During this whole ordeal, Jessica does not speak up and completely abandons her twin. In fact, she even blamed Elizabeth for killing Sam, and to get revenge, she hooks up with Todd. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has to deal with the guilt of "killing" Sam, being an outcast at school and possibly being sent to prison.
** In book 100, ''The Evil Twin'', Elizabeth realizes that Jessica spiked the punch. She never really confronts her about it, but after [[spoiler: Margo "dies"]] she forgives Jessica.
* LongLostRelative: Mild-mannered Roger turns out to be the missing son of Bruce's uncle.
* LongRunningBookSeries
* MissingMom: Lila's mom, Grace. [[spoiler: she returns and remarries Lila's dad in the Evil Twin miniseries.]]
* MostWritersAreWriters: Elizabeth's dream is to be a journalist of some sort.
* TheMovie: Currently in the works and is rumored to be a musical.
* MumLooksLikeASister: Alice Wakefield, who, we're told, looks at least a decade younger than her actual age and is often mistaken for the twins' sister.
* NonIndicativeTitle: ''The Wakefields of Sweet Valley'' is about a family of women not named Wakefield who for the most part don't live in Sweet Valley.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. In the "Twins" series, a secondary character gets hers and is dismayed as she thinks this means having to give up playing baseball as well as hanging out with boys. In a later book, Elizabeth starts hers and Jessica is upset as she hasn't (though she does by the book's conclusion). In another book, Jessica refuses to give evidence in court about a store hold-up because she was embarrassed about buying pads at the time.
* PassFail: One book focused on Rosa Jameson, a white-passing Latina girl who lies about her background in an attempt to hide her Mexican ancestry. She does eventually learn to be proud of her heritage.
* PolarOppositeTwins: The twins are polar opposites.
* PrecisionFStrike: Alice in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'': "Bring out the FUCKING CAKE!"
* RealityEnsues: One book involves a girl has vicious rumors spread about her by [[AlphaBitch her rival]]. Sure enough, she's ostracized and her crush dumps her. While the rumors are eventually proven to be false and the AlphaBitch punished for her actions, the girl and her crush never reconcile. Aside from being hurt and angry over how he treated her, she realizes how [[DirtyCoward spineless he is]] and that she can't trust him.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Book #40, ''On The Edge,'' was inspired in part by the Len Bias tragedy.
* [[RecycledInSPACE Recycled in SWEET VALLEY]]: A common device in many of the later books, especially the Super Editions, was to take a movie plot and replace the main characters with the twins or one of their friends. In addition to the YetAnotherChristmasCarol and ItsAWonderfulPlot mentioned in their own tropes, there was also:
** ''The Roommate'': ''Film/SingleWhiteFemale'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''Running for Her Life'': ''Film/ThePelicanBrief'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''BIG for Christmas'': ''Film/{{Big}}'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''The "Fear" Miniseries'': ''Film/CapeFear'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''She's Not What She Seems'': ''Film/AllAboutEve'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''The Ghost Of Tricia Martin'' echoes ''{{Film/Vertigo}}'', what with Steve's obsessive efforts to mold Andrea into Tricia.
* RetCon: The Secret Diaries - interspersed with clips from prior books, these diaries each tell how, while those events were happening, one twin was hooking up with the other's boyfriend.
** ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' does the same by altering the events of ''Sweet Valley University'' to introduce a long-standing affair between Todd and Jessica that began while they were in college.
* RichBitch: Lila Fowler
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Margo
* RunawayBride: In the first "Saga" book, Alice (the twins' mother) ditches her fiance Hank Patman (who would later become Bruce's father) at the altar, partly because she's suddenly realized he isn't the man for her, but mostly because she's fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with Ned Wakefield--and as you recall from the book, their ancestors have missed numerous chances to get together in the past.
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: Played with. It's averted every time a tertiary character acts like this, showing how it affects both the victim and the perpetrator--no one wants to be his friend, no one believes his sincere efforts at redeeming himself. But it's sometimes played straight with the main or secondary characters--Jessica and her friends often get called out for doing this to others--but rarely explicitly punished, whereas behavior from Elizabeth that could be considered this is rarely even acknowledged.
* SeriesContinuityError: Could be the trope namer for how much stuff gets mixed up or wrong.
* ShoutOut: The girl's father is named [[NancyDrew "Ned"]]
* SiblingSenioritySquabble: As [[ViewersAreGoldfish the reader is constantly reminded of]], Elizabeth is 4 minutes older than Jessica; and In-Universe, whenever Jessica does something stupid again, Elizabeth reminds herself that she "is 4 minutes older tthan Jessica, but it often feels like 4 ''years''..."
* SlutShaming: The plot of ''Wrong Kind of Girl'' involves Jessica and her friends bullying Annie Whitman (nicknamed "Easy") because they worry that her reputation for promiscuity will make the cheerleading squad look bad. After she [[spoiler:[[DrivenToSuicide makes a suicide attempt]] because of this]], they learn to stop being so judgmental.
** Elizabeth frequently does this to Jessica as well, [[{{Hypocrite}} conveniently forgetting that she herself often cheats on her boyfriends]]
* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: Annie Whitman pulls this when she gets a black stepsister by inviting a lot of kids she doesn't know to a party because they're black.
* SpoilerTitle:
** One book has Elizabeth rejecting a would-be boyfriend who gets his revenge by going around telling Elizabeth's friends about all the embarrassing things Elizabeth "told" him about them. Jessica is sure Elizabeth wouldn't have told these secrets, but how could he have known them otherwise? It might have been quite the mystery, had the book not been titled ''The Stolen Diary''.
** There's also the book where Lila is trying to get her divorced parents back together. Title: [[spoiler: ''The Wedding'']].
* StalkerWithACrush: Both twins have at least one during the series. Elizabeth gets abducted by hers; Jessica's pursues her relentlessly and finally kidnaps Elizabeth by mistake.
* SuddenlySexuality: Steven comes out as gay in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'', despite having supposedly been heterosexual for the whole of the original series, being married to Cara at the start of the book, getting engaged to Billie in ''Sweet Valley University'', and having a nervous breakdown over the death of ''another'' girlfriend (Tricia Martin - see IdenticalStranger above). His eventual boyfriend [[spoiler: (husband in The Sweet Life)]] is Aaron Dallas, whose case of the trope is even more pronounced as it is stated that he "became" gay simply by living in San Francisco.
* TextualCelebrityResemblance: In the original versions, Mr. Collins is described as looking like Robert Redford. In the new, updated editions he's just described as looking like "a movie star".
* ThereAreNoTherapists: You would think that everything the twins have gone though (trials for manslaughter, abductions, attempts on their lives, being stalked by identical impersonators) would qualify them for months and months of therapy. Nope, doesn't happen.
** Steve also clearly needs one. Anyone so hung up on the memories of a long dead girlfriend that he can't bring himself to enter a new relationship is need of help.
** This is played with in Lila's case. Following her near date rape, she goes to therapy at Project Youth (at first just going to get her dad to stop worrying about her), but [[spoiler: becomes attached to the therapist there and accuses him of assaulting her when the fight breaks out at the Jungle Prom]].
** Played straight in ''The Sweet Life'' as Jessica and Todd (and Lila and Ken) are having marital problems but they don't see a therapist.
** For that matter, neither do the Wakefield parents during their marital problems.
** This could probably apply to ''all'' the characters at some point--Emily Mayer's family could certainly have used some counseling, Bruce could have, etc.
* TokenMinority: In the original series, it's Patty Gilbert, Maria Slater, and Annie Whitman's stepsister Cheryl (all African-Americans), Jade Wu (Asian-American), and Rosa Jameson (Latina-American). In Senior Year, it's Maria Slater (African-American), Tia Ramirez (Latina-American), and her friend Andy Marsh (gay). In SVU, it's Nina Harper, her boyfriend Bryan Nelson, and Tom Watt's best friend Danny (all African-American). When the twins are sophomores at SVU, their gay friend Neil lives with them.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Sam, Jessica's boyfriend who dies in a drunk driving accident. Unlike a lot of men Jessica dates, Sam is pretty much a nice guy who brings out the best in Jessica and makes her want to be a better person. So naturally he ends up dead. This also applies to:
** ''Sweet Valley High'': Tricia Martin (Steven's girlfriend), Regina Morrow, Christian Gorman (another one of Jessica's boyfriends who died as a result of a school war), Roger Barrett Patman, and Olivia Davidson (the last one died in the earthquake when the original series ended and Senior Year began). Roger Barrett Patman's death is later retconned in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''.
** ''Sweet Valley University'': Gin-Yun Suh (Todd's girlfriend) [[spoiler: tells him on her deathbed to get back together with Elizabeth.]]
* TwinSwitch
* TwinTelepathy
* TheBoardGame:
--> "You can be a Sweet Valley girl. Living in a Sweet Valley world. Our school! is so! cool! Sweet Valley High!"
* TheUnFavourite: Several books in the series deal with Jessica's feelings of insecurity about Elizabeth's perfection--#21, ''Runaway'' and #83, ''Kidnapped By The Cult''--as well as several in the "Twins" series.
** An extreme example occurs in ''The Roommate'': [[spoiler:Lisa/Helen Mueller's]] parents locked her in a dark basement while lavishing affection on their other daughter.
* ViewersAreGoldfish: A rare literary example.
** Try to find a volume in the main series that doesn't mention that the Wakefields live in a split-level, ranch-style home on Calico Drive; have a Spanish-style kitchen; that Jessica's room is completely brown and dubbed "The Hershey Bar" (in later books, it's completely purple) and is always a complete mess; that the twins drive a Spider Fiat (Jeep Wrangler in later books); and have identical gold lavalieres they received from their parents on their 16th birthday. These facts will be burned into your mind forever.
** Not to mention the twins' appearance: they're both 5'6", with perfect size 6 figures, matching dimples, sparkling blue-green eyes, golden tans and sun-kissed blonde hair...
** And that their only difference is that Elizabeth has a small birthmark on her shoulder which Jessica doesn't and that Jessica NEVER wears a watch (it's how their cheating boyfriends can tell them apart, or realise they've been duped into snogging the wrong girl... again).
** The fact that Jessica always is "borrowing without permission" Elizabeth's clothes - despite Jessica also always putting down Elizabeth for the latter's clothes being too plain. It's probably due to a combination of Jessica's room being such a mess that she can't ''find'' her own stuff and her not keeping up her laundry, and Jessica's indecision and fickleness.
* VisitByDivorcedDad: Gender-flipped as Lila's mom is the divorced parent who visits her following Lila's near date rape experience.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** In SVU, Steven had a live-in girlfriend named Billie. They were engaged and expecting a child [[spoiler: she had a miscarriage]]. Then she just disappeared with no explanation.
** Jessica's ex-husband Mike got PutOnABus and in a later book, TheBusCameBack.
** Nina Harper also suddenly disappeared. She lived with the twins and two male friends, but got fed up with Sam's messiness and moved out with no further mention. Although she was Elizabeth's best friend, there was no explanation given for her disappearance.
* WouldHurtAChild: Margo murders both her foster sister and a child in her care as a nanny.
* YetAnotherChristmasCarol: Done with Jessica in a ''Sweet Valley Twins'' Special Edition. She's not shunning Christmas like most "Scrooge" characters, but instead, is only thinking of her own pleasure. Sure enough, she's visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (showing how she used to love sharing her gifts with her sister), Present (Jessica is now selfish and refusing to share), and Future (Jessica is loathed by everyone, even those she was once friends with, because of her horrible treatment of people).
* YourCheatingHeart: Sweet Valley is the town for this trope.
----
!!The TV series provides examples of:
* BookDumb: Jessica.
-->'''Teacher:''' I'm going to let you take a make-up test.
-->'''Jessica:''' Perfect! I know all about makeup.
** In the books, while fun-loving and boy-crazy, it was mentioned at least once that Jessica got decent grades in her classes.
* DenserAndWackier: Compared to the book series, which is actually quite an accomplishment.
* {{Flanderization}}: Jessica was much more of an [[BrainlessBeauty airhead]] in later episodes.
* ThereAreNoAdults: Notably applies to the twins' parents, who are rarely, if ever, seen or referred to throughout the series.
----

[[redirect:Franchise/SweetValleyHigh]]

[[quoteright:209:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Wakefield_Twins.jpg]]

Book series running from 1983 to 2003, created by Francine Pascal. Spawned a TV series made by Creator/SabanEntertainment, several SpinOff book series, a board game and other merchandise. Almost 200 books were published in the main series alone; over 600 were published including the spinoff series. Stories were handed off to ghost writers and generally hit bookstores once a month.

The series centers on Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, identical twins living in Sweet Valley, California. Elizabeth is serious, studious and levelheaded. Jessica is flirtatious and free-spirited; often her {{zany scheme}}s drive the plot.

Until book #95, plots alternated between two types. In some, the main plot focused on the twins. In others, the focus was on another student at Sweet Valley High School, with a subplot devoted to the twins. In some of the latter type, Elizabeth Wakefield helped the focus character with some personal problem. Social issues such as racism, anorexia, and drug abuse were addressed in this manner.

Beginning with book #95, the series' format shifted. Books were grouped into miniseries, usually of three books, based on a theme. The first such series, which spanned seven books, was about a sociopath named Margo, who [[IdenticalStranger happened to look just like the twins]], traveling to Sweet Valley intent on assuming Elizabeth's identity. (This EvilTwin later turned out to have an EvilTwin of her own.) With the shift in format, the storylines became increasingly fantastic, some dealing with such topics as [[SupernaturalSoapOpera werewolves and vampires]].

'''In addition to the standard, numbered books, special editions included:'''
* Super Editions. The twins go on vacation and/or celebrate holidays. Later in the series, the Super Editions focused on supporting characters.
* Super Thrillers. The twins become entangled in mysteries.
* Super Star Stories. These focus on supporting characters.
* Magna Editions. Large-scale stories. Included the Sagas, which revealed the twins' family history, and the Secret Diaries, which were basically [[ClipShow clip shows]].
* A Night To Remember: Special super-sized novel, the only one of the rare few specials which is canon in the main series. Taking place inbetween #94 and #95 of the main series, it tells the story of the "Jungle Prom", a dance that destroys the status quo of the main books and sets up the "Evil Twin" arc.

'''Series in TheVerse included:'''
* ''Sweet Valley High'': the flagship. The twins are 16-year-old juniors at Sweet Valley High. Jessica is a cheerleader and Elizabeth writes for the school paper. (181 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Twins'': the first SpinOff. The twins are 12-year-old sixth-graders at Sweet Valley Middle School (and in case you were working on the math, no, it's not right; they should have been 11 years old.) Jessica is in a clique called the Unicorns, who got their own SpinOff. (144 books)
* ''Sweet Valley University'': the twins go off to college. Jessica quickly loses her virginity and briefly gets married. Elizabeth attracts a cyber-stalker. (81 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Kids'': the twins are 7 year-old second-graders. Sometimes they solve mysteries. (88 books)
* ''Unicorn Club'': SpinOff of ''Sweet Valley Twins''.(25 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Junior High'': the twins are now eighth-graders at a new school following rezoning. (30 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Senior Year'': the twins are now 17-year-old seniors. After a devastating earthquake hits Sweet Valley (on the twins' birthday, no less,) many students from flattened El Carro High transfer to Sweet Valley High. With this entry, the series reverted to less fantastic storylines, and the characters were more culturally diverse. (48 books)
* ''Elizabeth'': Elizabeth travels to England, works as a maid, and loses her virginity. (6 books)
* ''Sweet Valley Confidential'': this is a stand alone novel which was released in March 2011 and chronicles the lives of the twins and their friends at age 27.
* ''The Sweet Life'': a six-part ebook series that began in July 2012, which is a SpinOff of sorts. It picks up three years after ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' and the twins and their friends are 30.
----
!!This series provides examples of:

* AdultsAreUseless: This applies to Ned and Alice, as well as many of the parents in the series (to the point of neglect or even abuse in some cases). The twins' parents can't even tell when complete strangers are impersonating their daughters. ''Todd'' notices a difference in the fake Elizabeth before her own parents!
** All this was going on during Liz's trial for manslaughter. Mrs. Wakefield had a nervous breakdown and morphed into this obsessive-compulsive June Cleaver-type mom who only cared about a clean house and homemade dinners. Mr. Wakefield was defending Liz, and Jessica was mad at everybody, so it was the perfect time for Margo to slip in and fool the family. They got fooled again by ''both'' Margo and Nora in the sequel, when they have no excuse.
** They were also quick to make excuses for Elizabeth's misdeeds while reading Jessica the riot act for hers--in one especially bad example, they blame Jessica for something they KNOW Elizabeth did (though Jessica usually manages to weasel her way out of punishment), not to mention completely oblivious and insensitive to Jessica's genuine insecurity about Elizabeth's "perfection." It took Jessica ''running away - twice -'' for it to dawn on them how troubled she was.
** In the original series, it seems that Mr. Collins (the English teacher) is the only helpful adult as most of the kids at SVH talk to him about their problems.
** The inevitable outcome of this can clearly be seen in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' where we see how screwed up everyone has now become! Good job, Ned and Alice!
** Although Jessica and Elizabeth are adults in ''The Sweet Life'', their lives are falling apart. Where are Ned and Alice? On a cruise. They don't bother to come home when [[spoiler: Steven and Aaron's baby is kidnapped]]!
* AesopAmnesia: Jessica would frequently try to pull off a zany scheme. More often than not, it would blow up in her face, yet it wouldn't be long before she was trying to pull off another stunt. Sadly, some of these stunts were genuine efforts at improving herself or trying something new--cooking class, music lessons--so it seems rather unfair that this should go as badly as her usual conniving.
* AllJustADream: Several times.
** In the super-special ''Winter Carnival'', Elizabeth gets fed up with Jessica's selfishness and flat-out tells her, "I wish I'd never HAD a sister!" (Ironically, this is after misinterpreting Jessica's genuine attempts to ''fix'' the mess that has resulted from her self-centered behavior.) She then promptly has a lengthy dream sequence in which Jessica dies. Naturally this leads to a reconciliation.
** The Sweet Valley Kids book ''A Curse On Elizabeth'' features a museum trip gone bad, involving the twins being chased by an Egyptian mummy. It is revealed to be AllJustADream, but ends with an OrWasItADream twist when Elizabeth realizes that she's lost her jacket, which she took off to save them from escaped cobras in the dream.
** The Sweet Valley Kids mystery ''The Case of the Alien Princess'' features the twins and a group of their friends being taken aboard a spaceship.
** The Sweet Valley Twins book ''The Class Trip'' involves Elizabeth going on a boat ride with Tom Sawyer, only discovering at the end that it was a dream induced by a head injury.
* AlphaBitch: Lila Fowler and Amy. Later, Enid/Alex Rollins (SVU), Janet Howell (Twins) and Kimberly (Unicorn Club). Jessica has her moments too, the best example being ''Wrong Kind of Girl.''
* AlwaysIdenticalTwins
* AngstySurvivingTwin: Jessamyn from the Saga ''The Wakefields of Sweet Valley.'' Amanda and Sarah (also from the Sagas) may qualify as well.
** [[spoiler:Lisa/Helen]] from ''The Roommate'' in SVU.
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Despite being only 4 minutes younger, Jessica was frequently this to Elizabeth, and they often both were to big brother Steven (who could be pretty annoying himself).
* AttemptedRape: Numerous examples, including ''Dear Sister'' (#7) and ''Don't Go Home With John'' (#90)
* BackFromTheDead:
** [[spoiler: Margo]] is a straight example of the trope.
** There are a number of "examples" that are a result of the different series being written at different times by different authors and in non-chronological order. Thus a character might be killed in one series only to appear in a chronologically later book. Some of the most infamous examples:
*** [[spoiler: Olivia Davidson made a brief appearance in the ''Sweet Valley University'' series, despite having been killed in the earthquake that ended original series.]]
*** [[spoiler:Roger Patman was declared dead in ''Senior Year'', but gets an epilogue in ''Confidential''.]]
* BeautyIsBad: In a series where practically everyone is gorgeous, the story in question will always make the nice protagonist feel unattractive in comparison to their bitchy rival--even Elizabeth and Jessica, described ad nauseam as among the prettiest girls at school, have felt like this. Even Elizabeth has felt like this in comparison to Jessica, even though they're ''identical twins'' (this is pulled off by the fact that Elizabeth dresses and acts in a far more conservative manner than Jessica).
* BigDamnHeroes: Happens in the super specials a lot. Special mention goes to Josh in ''The Evil Twin.''
* BigBrotherInstinct: Steve can be very protective of the twins when it's necessary, and the twins themselves are very protective of each other when it counts. Also, one of the characters in the 'Evil Twin' saga, Josh, goes out for revenge when Margo kills his little brother.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: A lot of the fandom see Elizabeth as this.
* BittersweetEnding: One book involves a girl getting her reputation smeared after the AlphaBitch spread vicious rumors about her and becoming the school pariah after her boyfriend dumps her. Even though the AlphaBitch was caught and her name was cleared, she and her boyfriend never reconciled, and she became disillusioned by how easily turned he was.
* BlackBestFriend: Maria Slater to Elizabeth in ''Senior Year'' and Nina Harper to Elizabeth again in SVU. Danny to Tom Watts in SVU.
* BreakTheHaughty: Lila Fowler's nervous breakdown after nearly being raped.
* BrilliantButLazy: Jessica. Although her primary concerns are boys, clothes, and parties, it is stated in one of the early books that she gets good grades in most of her classes. Later books indicate that she's a poor student, but one who could do better if she applied herself (which in fact ''does'' happen several times throughout the series). In particular, one book has her getting an excellent score on the [=SATs=] and considerably outscoring Elizabeth, despite barely studying, and everyone assuming that she must have cheated somehow, as this is inconsistent with her typical academic performance.
** Later, Jessica and Elizabeth had to retake the test (due to the aforementioned cheating accusations). This time it was Jessica who studied like crazy and Elizabeth who relaxed and didn't care. The result? Poor Jessica gets horrible scores and Elizabeth gets great scores, lending even ''more'' credence to the (untrue) cheating accusations.
* BrokenAesop: Repeatedly. Elizabeth would go on and on ad nauseam about how people deserved to be forgiven for their mistakes and given a second chance. Apparently, this only applied to ''her'' friends, as she never once showed the same compassion to Jessica's clique. Additionally, Jessica was constantly criticized for her bad behavior (promiscuity, snobbery, unfaithfulness, etc) whereas similar behavior from Elizabeth was glossed over.
** A perfect example is book 10, ''Wrong Kind of Girl'': Annie Whitman [[SlutShaming is called "Easy Annie"]] because she goes out with a different boy every night and dresses provocatively. Jessica, who does the EXACT same thing, [[{{Hypocrite}} condemns Annie for it and goes as far to keep her off the cheerleading squad,]] while on the other hand Elizabeth insists that Annie shouldn't be judged for her behavior--even though she constantly chastises Jessica for the same thing.
** An even better example if you compare how Elizabeth treated her friend Enid to how she treated Jessica's friend Cara. Elizabeth practically demanded that everyone give Enid a second chance and went berserk if anyone dared to even mention her wild past, but she refused to acknowledge that Cara had changed and was just as deserving of redemption.
* BrokenBird:
** Elizabeth, in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''. Alone in New York, estranged from her sister and basically making her living sneaking into off-Broadway plays for a third-rate magazine that reviews off-Broadway plays, and socially isolated from everyone, even the various one-night stands she has.
** Winston; in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'', he's gained power and wealth and the ability to get revenge on anyone who ever tormented him. But he's lost everyone who ever cared for him and when Elizabeth rejects him for reformed former tormentor Bruce Patman, he kills himself.
* ButLiquorIsQuicker: [[spoiler:Bruce]] attempts this with [[spoiler:Elizabeth]] in ''Dear Sister.''
* ButtMonkey: Jessica, of all people. Her schemes and stunts consistently blow up in her face, leaving her humiliated (though given her often malicious intent, this is often deserved). Her genuine efforts at improving herself (music lessons, cooking classes) end up the same way. Virtually everyone, even her own parents, appear to blatantly favor Elizabeth over her--not until she runs away, TWICE, does it finally dawn on anyone how troubled she is. When she aces the [=SATs=], instead of congratulating her, everyone, including her own sister, assumes she must have cheated somehow. Speaking of which, Elizabeth herself frequently treats her like something she stepped in. And the few times she genuinely likes a guy enough to have a steady relationship with him, it never works out.
* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: Elizabeth drives while drunk ''once'', crashes her car and gets arrested. For worse, Jessica's then-boyfriend was with her and died; that's punishment for ''Jessica'', who had pranked Elizabeth by spiking her drink.
** Regina Morrow isn't much better. [[spoiler:The first and only time she tries cocaine, she dies.]]
** Isabella Ricci in ''SVU'' decides to go to a party and let her hair down after a nasty breakup with her boyfriend. What happens? She gets her cigarette spiked with drugs, hallucinates, jumps off a roof, falls into a coma, becomes paralyzed, loses her memory and then has to leave Sweet Valley as her wealthy parents send her to Switzerland to recover in a private clinic.
* CartwrightCurse: Jessica, whose boyfriends often died.
* ComicBookTime: Just how many birthdays/junior proms/summer vacations, etc. have the twins had?
* ContinuitySnarl: The series has the occasional snarl like dead people coming back to life for no reason. [[spoiler: Hi Olivia!]]
* ConvenientMiscarriage: Stephen's girlfriend Billie has one in ''Sweet Valley University''. Especially convenient because it's likely that she would otherwise have decided to [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion have an abortion.]]
* CupidHatesOddCouples: The twins are constantly stealing each other's boyfriends and fighting about it, only to realize that sisterhood was more important. It happened repeatedly with Todd, as well as several less important boyfriends, but the worst example stemmed from Jessica's jealousy over Elizabeth and Sam dancing at the Jungle Prom, which only happened due to Jessica spiking Elizabeth's drink.
* DeadPersonImpersonation: Gia Allen in the ''Sweet Valley University'' series, who assumed the identity of a popular sorority girl at her old university in order to continue stalking a guy who had taken out a restraining order against her.
** Margo's character arc was based around her desire to kill Elizabeth and assume Elizabeth's identity forever. When she discovers that she has a twin sister of her own, they agree to kill ''both'' twins and "replace" them (although now Margo wants to be Jessica).
* DownerEnding: ''A Night To Remember'' (the prequel to the Evil Twin Novel): [[spoiler: the big prom that Elizabeth planned, to the point of going all Captain Ahabian, goes horribly horribly wrong when a rival school crashes the prom and a full-scale riot breaks out with Todd leading the charge. Furthermore, the violence of the riot causes Lila (mentally unstable from being nearly raped) to have a nervous breakdown and attack a guidance counselor who she thinks is trying to rape her, and she basically has to be placed in a mental institution that very night. And Elizabeth, after Jessica spikes her drink, drives home with Jessica's boyfriend (the only one who was actually good to her) and kills him dead.]]
** ''On the Edge'' ends with [[spoiler: Regina Marrow dying.]]
** In ''The Sweet Life,'' [[spoiler: Elizabeth successfully clears Bruce's name after he is framed for sexually assaulting a woman, only for him to dump Elizabeth (who risked everything to clear his name, to the point of becoming estranged from everyone around her) for Annie Whitman, his LAWYER! At the freaking press conference being held in his honor after Elizabeth cleared his name! Also, Jessica and Todd reaffirm their relationship (much to the horror of those who were hoping they would break up) and Lila, who has been faking a pregnancy to keep her husband from leaving her, is exposed BUT is forgiven, as it turns out that the sex Lila had with her husband, right before she started the pregnancy scam, DID lead to her becoming pregnant. So she escapes punishment by way of her husband forgiving the big lie after it came true, by pure luck!]]
** The Original Series: An earthquake hits Sweet Valley on the twins' 17th birthday. It destroys most of the town and the following characters die: [[spoiler: Olivia Davidson and Ronnie Edwards; Roger Patman is believed dead but turns up later]]. Devon abandons Elizabeth, Todd wants nothing to do with Elizabeth and leaves Sweet Valley for a while, Jessica tries (and fails) to save a little girl and falls into a deep depression.
* DrugsAreBad: When Bruce breaks Regina's heart, she befriends a guy who takes her to a drug party. [[spoiler: She dies as a direct result.]]
** In ''Sweet Valley University'', Isabella's cigarette is spiked with drugs at a party, causing her to jump off a balcony in her drugged state and be left with serious injuries and IdentityAmnesia.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Beautiful with sun-streaked blonde silky hair, blue-green eyes and a tiny dimple in the left cheek, Jessica and Elizabeth are easily two of the most beautiful and popular girls in the school.
* EvilTwin: Margo and Nora.
** Jessica herself may qualify in the early books when her schemes were less zany and more downright nasty.
* FaceHeelTurn: Amy Sutton between ''Sweet Valley Twins'' and ''Sweet Valley High'', Lila Fowler in ''Sweet Valley High Senior Year'', Enid Rollins in ''Sweet Valley Senior Year'' and ''Sweet Valley University'', Winston Egbert in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''.
* [[FakeTwinGambit Fake Triplet Gambit]]: In one of the ''Twins'' books, Elizabeth and Jessica invent a third sister, Jennifer, and take turns pretending to be her. In SVH #45, ''Family Secrets'', the twins do this with their visiting cousin Kelly and confuse everyone at school.
* FallenPrincess: When Jessica goes from being popular girl to outcast in ''Sweet Valley Junior High'', ''Sweet Valley High Senior Year'' and ''Sweet Valley University''.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Jessica and Elizabeth (along with big brother Steven), in spades.
* FriendToAllChildren: Lila in the "Twins" series.
* FriendsRentControl: Elizabeth's NYC apartment in ''Sweet Valley Confidential.''
** In the "Sweet Valley University" book ''The Roommate'', the bill from Isabella's car accident leaves her unable to pay the rent, and she is forced to get a roommate. Isabella doesn't have a job and refuses to take money from her parents; this leaves the reader wondering how she has thus far paid for the spacious, beautifully decorated apartment described in the book.
* GenderBlenderName: Steven's one-time girlfriend Billie.
* GenerationXerox: A spin-off focused on the twins' great-aunts Elisabeth and Jessamyn, identical twins who have the same personalities, romantic woes, etc. as Elizabeth and Jessica. Other books reference the likeness too.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: In ''The Wakefields Of Sweet Valley'' novel, two characters embrace passionately. One asks, "Should we stop?", The other says, "No". [[SexyDiscretionShot The scene cuts there]], but several months later, when the female half of the couple discovers that she's pregnant, it's pretty obvious what happened. There are also a handful of other scenes that allude to the possibility of sexual activity.
* GirlPosse: Jessica and friends, especially with the Unicorns.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry
* GossipyHens: Of course Jessica and her friends, but special mention goes to Caroline Pearce, especially in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' and ''The Sweet Life''.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Played straight with Elizabeth, subverted with Jessica. Or at least that was what the writer was going for.
* HeroicSacrifice: Attempted in The Evil Twin when [[spoiler: Jessica tries to shield Elizabeth's body with her own]]
* HighSchoolDance: most plots in SVH revolve around or climax with this. Eight of the first 10 books alone has a dance as part of the story.
* IdenticalGrandson / GenerationXerox: Almost every book in the series mentions that the twins' mother was frequently mistaken for their older sister, and that their brother Steven was a carbon copy of their father. Taken to extremes in the ''Saga'' books, in which almost every generation of the twins' maternal and paternal lines tend to be nearly-exact copies, particularly the two ''other'' sets of blonde {{Polar Opposite Twin|s}} girls on their mother's side of the family tree.
* IdenticalStranger [=/=] ReplacementGoldfish: Margo and Nora. Also:
** Surfer Bill Chase fell in love with Elizabeth because she resembled (in looks and personality) his late girlfriend.
** Elizabeth became infatuated with a guy who looks like Todd until she discovers he's a jerk.
** The twins' brother Steve repeatedly dumped girlfriend Cara to pursue girls who resembled his dead girlfriend Tricia. Adding insult to injury, he refused to see any of the girls as their own person and instead tried to mold them to his memories of Tricia, including the way they wore their hair ("Don't put your hair up, Tricia always wore it down."), the things they did ("Let's go to the aquarium! Tricia loved the aquarium!"), things they were interested in ("You like science? Just like Tricia! She wanted to be a doctor!"), and even the food they ate ("Vanilla? But Tricia always had ''chocolate'' ice cream!"), making them feel bad when they wouldn't comply, all the while insisting "She's just like Tricia!" Only when one of the girls finally blasts him for this and declares that she deserves better than being used as a substitute does he realize how unhealthy his behavior is.
** One of the books in the ''Twins'' series had Mary, a classmate of the girls', constantly coming over to spend time with them. It soon became obvious that her motive was to spend time with the girls' mother. Even Elizabeth eventually got irritated with this, until it was finally revealed that Alice Wakefield bore a strong resemblance to Mary's mother, whom she hadn't seen since she was a little girl. (In an especially dark plotline for this genre, it was revealed that Mary had been abducted by a friend of her mother's, then eventually abandoned and shipped from one foster home to another.)
* IfICantHaveYou: Pulled many times on many characters over the course of the series. William White, who gets a whole mini-series about his obsession with Elizabeth, is a prominent example. In ''Sweet Valley University'', Jessica has an affair with her professor Louis Miles, who's subsequently murdered by his deranged ex-wife because she can't stand to see him happy with Jessica.
* ItsAWonderfulPlot: One of the ''Twins'' special editions did this with Elizabeth in the George Bailey role.
* JerkJock: Bruce Patman.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lila really can be nice when she wants to be. Bruce as well in later books. Jessica has her moments.
* KarmaHoudini: Jessica Wakefield. She spikes Elizabeth's punch at the prom and lets her drive off with Sam. [[spoiler: Sam was killed as a result of the crash]] and Elizabeth was arrested and put on trial for manslaughter. During this whole ordeal, Jessica does not speak up and completely abandons her twin. In fact, she even blamed Elizabeth for killing Sam, and to get revenge, she hooks up with Todd. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has to deal with the guilt of "killing" Sam, being an outcast at school and possibly being sent to prison.
** In book 100, ''The Evil Twin'', Elizabeth realizes that Jessica spiked the punch. She never really confronts her about it, but after [[spoiler: Margo "dies"]] she forgives Jessica.
* LongLostRelative: Mild-mannered Roger turns out to be the missing son of Bruce's uncle.
* LongRunningBookSeries
* MissingMom: Lila's mom, Grace. [[spoiler: she returns and remarries Lila's dad in the Evil Twin miniseries.]]
* MostWritersAreWriters: Elizabeth's dream is to be a journalist of some sort.
* TheMovie: Currently in the works and is rumored to be a musical.
* MumLooksLikeASister: Alice Wakefield, who, we're told, looks at least a decade younger than her actual age and is often mistaken for the twins' sister.
* NonIndicativeTitle: ''The Wakefields of Sweet Valley'' is about a family of women not named Wakefield who for the most part don't live in Sweet Valley.
* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. In the "Twins" series, a secondary character gets hers and is dismayed as she thinks this means having to give up playing baseball as well as hanging out with boys. In a later book, Elizabeth starts hers and Jessica is upset as she hasn't (though she does by the book's conclusion). In another book, Jessica refuses to give evidence in court about a store hold-up because she was embarrassed about buying pads at the time.
* PassFail: One book focused on Rosa Jameson, a white-passing Latina girl who lies about her background in an attempt to hide her Mexican ancestry. She does eventually learn to be proud of her heritage.
* PolarOppositeTwins: The twins are polar opposites.
* PrecisionFStrike: Alice in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'': "Bring out the FUCKING CAKE!"
* RealityEnsues: One book involves a girl has vicious rumors spread about her by [[AlphaBitch her rival]]. Sure enough, she's ostracized and her crush dumps her. While the rumors are eventually proven to be false and the AlphaBitch punished for her actions, the girl and her crush never reconcile. Aside from being hurt and angry over how he treated her, she realizes how [[DirtyCoward spineless he is]] and that she can't trust him.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Book #40, ''On The Edge,'' was inspired in part by the Len Bias tragedy.
* [[RecycledInSPACE Recycled in SWEET VALLEY]]: A common device in many of the later books, especially the Super Editions, was to take a movie plot and replace the main characters with the twins or one of their friends. In addition to the YetAnotherChristmasCarol and ItsAWonderfulPlot mentioned in their own tropes, there was also:
** ''The Roommate'': ''Film/SingleWhiteFemale'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''Running for Her Life'': ''Film/ThePelicanBrief'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''BIG for Christmas'': ''Film/{{Big}}'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''The "Fear" Miniseries'': ''Film/CapeFear'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''She's Not What She Seems'': ''Film/AllAboutEve'' in SWEET VALLEY.
** ''The Ghost Of Tricia Martin'' echoes ''{{Film/Vertigo}}'', what with Steve's obsessive efforts to mold Andrea into Tricia.
* RetCon: The Secret Diaries - interspersed with clips from prior books, these diaries each tell how, while those events were happening, one twin was hooking up with the other's boyfriend.
** ''Sweet Valley Confidential'' does the same by altering the events of ''Sweet Valley University'' to introduce a long-standing affair between Todd and Jessica that began while they were in college.
* RichBitch: Lila Fowler
* RoomFullOfCrazy: Margo
* RunawayBride: In the first "Saga" book, Alice (the twins' mother) ditches her fiance Hank Patman (who would later become Bruce's father) at the altar, partly because she's suddenly realized he isn't the man for her, but mostly because she's fallen in LoveAtFirstSight with Ned Wakefield--and as you recall from the book, their ancestors have missed numerous chances to get together in the past.
* SchoolBullyingIsHarmless: Played with. It's averted every time a tertiary character acts like this, showing how it affects both the victim and the perpetrator--no one wants to be his friend, no one believes his sincere efforts at redeeming himself. But it's sometimes played straight with the main or secondary characters--Jessica and her friends often get called out for doing this to others--but rarely explicitly punished, whereas behavior from Elizabeth that could be considered this is rarely even acknowledged.
* SeriesContinuityError: Could be the trope namer for how much stuff gets mixed up or wrong.
* ShoutOut: The girl's father is named [[NancyDrew "Ned"]]
* SiblingSenioritySquabble: As [[ViewersAreGoldfish the reader is constantly reminded of]], Elizabeth is 4 minutes older than Jessica; and In-Universe, whenever Jessica does something stupid again, Elizabeth reminds herself that she "is 4 minutes older tthan Jessica, but it often feels like 4 ''years''..."
* SlutShaming: The plot of ''Wrong Kind of Girl'' involves Jessica and her friends bullying Annie Whitman (nicknamed "Easy") because they worry that her reputation for promiscuity will make the cheerleading squad look bad. After she [[spoiler:[[DrivenToSuicide makes a suicide attempt]] because of this]], they learn to stop being so judgmental.
** Elizabeth frequently does this to Jessica as well, [[{{Hypocrite}} conveniently forgetting that she herself often cheats on her boyfriends]]
* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: Annie Whitman pulls this when she gets a black stepsister by inviting a lot of kids she doesn't know to a party because they're black.
* SpoilerTitle:
** One book has Elizabeth rejecting a would-be boyfriend who gets his revenge by going around telling Elizabeth's friends about all the embarrassing things Elizabeth "told" him about them. Jessica is sure Elizabeth wouldn't have told these secrets, but how could he have known them otherwise? It might have been quite the mystery, had the book not been titled ''The Stolen Diary''.
** There's also the book where Lila is trying to get her divorced parents back together. Title: [[spoiler: ''The Wedding'']].
* StalkerWithACrush: Both twins have at least one during the series. Elizabeth gets abducted by hers; Jessica's pursues her relentlessly and finally kidnaps Elizabeth by mistake.
* SuddenlySexuality: Steven comes out as gay in ''Sweet Valley Confidential'', despite having supposedly been heterosexual for the whole of the original series, being married to Cara at the start of the book, getting engaged to Billie in ''Sweet Valley University'', and having a nervous breakdown over the death of ''another'' girlfriend (Tricia Martin - see IdenticalStranger above). His eventual boyfriend [[spoiler: (husband in The Sweet Life)]] is Aaron Dallas, whose case of the trope is even more pronounced as it is stated that he "became" gay simply by living in San Francisco.
* TextualCelebrityResemblance: In the original versions, Mr. Collins is described as looking like Robert Redford. In the new, updated editions he's just described as looking like "a movie star".
* ThereAreNoTherapists: You would think that everything the twins have gone though (trials for manslaughter, abductions, attempts on their lives, being stalked by identical impersonators) would qualify them for months and months of therapy. Nope, doesn't happen.
** Steve also clearly needs one. Anyone so hung up on the memories of a long dead girlfriend that he can't bring himself to enter a new relationship is need of help.
** This is played with in Lila's case. Following her near date rape, she goes to therapy at Project Youth (at first just going to get her dad to stop worrying about her), but [[spoiler: becomes attached to the therapist there and accuses him of assaulting her when the fight breaks out at the Jungle Prom]].
** Played straight in ''The Sweet Life'' as Jessica and Todd (and Lila and Ken) are having marital problems but they don't see a therapist.
** For that matter, neither do the Wakefield parents during their marital problems.
** This could probably apply to ''all'' the characters at some point--Emily Mayer's family could certainly have used some counseling, Bruce could have, etc.
* TokenMinority: In the original series, it's Patty Gilbert, Maria Slater, and Annie Whitman's stepsister Cheryl (all African-Americans), Jade Wu (Asian-American), and Rosa Jameson (Latina-American). In Senior Year, it's Maria Slater (African-American), Tia Ramirez (Latina-American), and her friend Andy Marsh (gay). In SVU, it's Nina Harper, her boyfriend Bryan Nelson, and Tom Watt's best friend Danny (all African-American). When the twins are sophomores at SVU, their gay friend Neil lives with them.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: Sam, Jessica's boyfriend who dies in a drunk driving accident. Unlike a lot of men Jessica dates, Sam is pretty much a nice guy who brings out the best in Jessica and makes her want to be a better person. So naturally he ends up dead. This also applies to:
** ''Sweet Valley High'': Tricia Martin (Steven's girlfriend), Regina Morrow, Christian Gorman (another one of Jessica's boyfriends who died as a result of a school war), Roger Barrett Patman, and Olivia Davidson (the last one died in the earthquake when the original series ended and Senior Year began). Roger Barrett Patman's death is later retconned in ''Sweet Valley Confidential''.
** ''Sweet Valley University'': Gin-Yun Suh (Todd's girlfriend) [[spoiler: tells him on her deathbed to get back together with Elizabeth.]]
* TwinSwitch
* TwinTelepathy
* TheBoardGame:
--> "You can be a Sweet Valley girl. Living in a Sweet Valley world. Our school! is so! cool! Sweet Valley High!"
* TheUnFavourite: Several books in the series deal with Jessica's feelings of insecurity about Elizabeth's perfection--#21, ''Runaway'' and #83, ''Kidnapped By The Cult''--as well as several in the "Twins" series.
** An extreme example occurs in ''The Roommate'': [[spoiler:Lisa/Helen Mueller's]] parents locked her in a dark basement while lavishing affection on their other daughter.
* ViewersAreGoldfish: A rare literary example.
** Try to find a volume in the main series that doesn't mention that the Wakefields live in a split-level, ranch-style home on Calico Drive; have a Spanish-style kitchen; that Jessica's room is completely brown and dubbed "The Hershey Bar" (in later books, it's completely purple) and is always a complete mess; that the twins drive a Spider Fiat (Jeep Wrangler in later books); and have identical gold lavalieres they received from their parents on their 16th birthday. These facts will be burned into your mind forever.
** Not to mention the twins' appearance: they're both 5'6", with perfect size 6 figures, matching dimples, sparkling blue-green eyes, golden tans and sun-kissed blonde hair...
** And that their only difference is that Elizabeth has a small birthmark on her shoulder which Jessica doesn't and that Jessica NEVER wears a watch (it's how their cheating boyfriends can tell them apart, or realise they've been duped into snogging the wrong girl... again).
** The fact that Jessica always is "borrowing without permission" Elizabeth's clothes - despite Jessica also always putting down Elizabeth for the latter's clothes being too plain. It's probably due to a combination of Jessica's room being such a mess that she can't ''find'' her own stuff and her not keeping up her laundry, and Jessica's indecision and fickleness.
* VisitByDivorcedDad: Gender-flipped as Lila's mom is the divorced parent who visits her following Lila's near date rape experience.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** In SVU, Steven had a live-in girlfriend named Billie. They were engaged and expecting a child [[spoiler: she had a miscarriage]]. Then she just disappeared with no explanation.
** Jessica's ex-husband Mike got PutOnABus and in a later book, TheBusCameBack.
** Nina Harper also suddenly disappeared. She lived with the twins and two male friends, but got fed up with Sam's messiness and moved out with no further mention. Although she was Elizabeth's best friend, there was no explanation given for her disappearance.
* WouldHurtAChild: Margo murders both her foster sister and a child in her care as a nanny.
* YetAnotherChristmasCarol: Done with Jessica in a ''Sweet Valley Twins'' Special Edition. She's not shunning Christmas like most "Scrooge" characters, but instead, is only thinking of her own pleasure. Sure enough, she's visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (showing how she used to love sharing her gifts with her sister), Present (Jessica is now selfish and refusing to share), and Future (Jessica is loathed by everyone, even those she was once friends with, because of her horrible treatment of people).
* YourCheatingHeart: Sweet Valley is the town for this trope.
----
!!The TV series provides examples of:
* BookDumb: Jessica.
-->'''Teacher:''' I'm going to let you take a make-up test.
-->'''Jessica:''' Perfect! I know all about makeup.
** In the books, while fun-loving and boy-crazy, it was mentioned at least once that Jessica got decent grades in her classes.
* DenserAndWackier: Compared to the book series, which is actually quite an accomplishment.
* {{Flanderization}}: Jessica was much more of an [[BrainlessBeauty airhead]] in later episodes.
* ThereAreNoAdults: Notably applies to the twins' parents, who are rarely, if ever, seen or referred to throughout the series.
----

* SpoilerTitle: One book has Elizabeth rejecting a would-be boyfriend who gets his revenge by going around telling Elizabeth's friends about all the embarrassing things Elizabeth "told" him about them. Jessica is sure Elizabeth wouldn't have told these secrets, but how could he have known them otherwise? It might have been quite the mystery, had the book not been titled [[spoiler: ''The Stolen Diary'']].

* ViewersAreGoldfish: A rare literary example. Try to find a volume in the main series that doesn't mention the Wakefields' Spanish-style kitchen, the twins' Spider Fiat (Jeep Wrangler in later books), or the identical gold lavalieres they received from their parents on their 16th birthday. These facts will be burned into your mind forever.
** Or that the Wakefields live in a split-level, ranch-style home on Calico Drive.
** Not to mention that they're both 5'6, with perfect size 6 figures, matching dimples, sparkling blue-green eyes, golden tans and sun-kissed blonde hair...
** Also, Elizabeth has a small birthmark on her shoulder, Jessica doesn't; it's how their cheating boyfriends can tell them apart (or realise they've been duped into snogging the wrong girl...again)
** Or that Jessica NEVER wears a watch.
** Or that Jessica's room is completely brown and dubbed "The Hershey Bar" (in later books, it's completely purple) and is always a complete mess.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: in SVU, Steven had a live-in girlfriend named Billie. They were engaged and expecting a child [[spoiler: she had a miscarriage]]. Then she just disappeared with no explanation. Even Jessica's ex-husband Mike got PutOnABus and in a later book, TheBusCameBack! Same with Nina Harper. She lived with the twins and two male friends, but got fed up with Sam's messiness and moved out with no further mention. Although she was Elizabeth's best friend, there was no explanation given for her disappearance.