Hi gang!

Unfortunately, we have to take a break for about six weeks so that Anna can finish her next book. We'll keep you posted and let you know as soon as we have a return date, so thank you for bearing with us. We've released the third episode of our Caitlin bonus series today as an apology.Caitlin is back, and determined to put her frankly half-arsed plan to woo Jed into action. When shy Diana joins the weekend party at Ryan Acres, Caitlin is determined to make the scholarship girl feel as uncomfortable as possible - but will her scheme just make Diana and Jed closer? This episode has scheming, poisoning and many, many outfits - what more could you want?

To hear more of The Caitlin series and access ad-free episodes sign up to HeadStuff+!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lila's behind bars! And while Steven rides to the rescue to spring her from jail, Lila's supposed best friend and her sanctimonious twin truly do not care that Lila has just been charged with FIRE BOMBING A RESTAURANT. They're more concerned with splitting up her and Steven. Steven is willing to sacrifice his internship to prove Lila's innocence - and he might just have found some crucial evidence that could clear her name. If only he weren't so annoying when he tells her about it... Meanwhile Devon, our least favourite orphan, finally reaches Sweet Valley - and reunites with someone from his past. Sadly, not Pete. 

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when we thought we couldn't hate Devon Whitelaw any more than we already did, he manages to outdo himself in the second half of this terrible book. He's serving as Pete and Linda's go between, but when a casino patron is robbed, Devon starts wondering where Pete gets all his jewels. Is trouble in store for our favourite grifter? Meanwhile Liz is unspeakably awful, Jessica is preposterously angry and as for Lila... well, let's just say we did not expect what happens in the book's final scene. All this and a LOT of people chuckling (seriously, just wait for the stats). 

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We regret to inform you that an alarming amount of this book is devoted to the least sympathetic teenage orphan in literary history, Devon Whitelaw. Having insulted service industry workers and deprived himself of sleep and food for no good reason, Devon hits Vegas where he miraculously finds his black sheep uncle Pete by just...wandering around casinos. Despite being an actual grifter with a touch of OTG, Pete is far too good for Devon and is our favourite character in this book. Meanwhile, back in Sweet Valley, the DA's office continues to be wildly unprofessional, Jessica turns on Lila and Steven finds out about a traumatic incident from Lila's past that we never thought would be referenced again. All this and a Cara Walker reference! Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At this stage, we really thought we couldn't be surprised by Sweet Valley's approach to law enforcement and detective work. But then we learned that the only person investigating the crime scene at Fowler Crest, which was almost burned to the ground by an unknown arsonist, is... Steven Wakefield. Yes, who better to figure out how and why a fire started than an 18-year-old intern? And that's just one of the many preposterous things that happen in the latter half of this book! As an increasingly worried Lila starts to wonder if the arsonist is still after her, she and Steven get closer - but he's not totally convinced of her innocence. Meanwhile Jessica proves herself to be a surprisingly good friend, Liz and Todd continue to be deeply annoying, and Devon is betrayed (although he's so insufferable we simply can't be outraged on his behalf). 

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At last, we're back in Sweet Valley! What with Flair and the Chateau, it feels like we haven't seen the SVH cafeteria in months, but the gang's all here this week, and there's only one topic of conversation: the fire that just destroyed Fowler Crest! Yes, after a sorrowful Lila burns her love letters from Bo while home alone one night, she wakes to find her home in ablaze. She assumes it was an accident - but the DA's office is sure it was arson, and, for some preposterous reason, they enlist none other than Stephen Wakefield to investigate the case. Why? Don't ask us, we've given up hoping for any semblance of logic from the Sweet Valley justice system. Meanwhile, Pob II: The Revenge, aka Devon Whitelaw, is making his way across the country and being absolutely insufferable. 

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's our last visit to the Chateau d'Amour Inconnu, and we're leaving on a high note, because the second half of the book is full of unhinged drama, including one scene which immediately earns its place in the Sweet Valley gallery of iconic moments. With Jacques nobly sacrificing himself to prove the twins' innocence, will he spend the rest of his days in the dungeon? Will Laurent grow a spine? And will we ever find out the source of the Countess's seemingly limitless power? The answer to all three questions is no!

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Release the hounds! The twins have escaped the dungeon, but being the big eejits they are, they can't resist returning to the Chateau for... reasons. Don't expect anything here to make sense, especially the geography of the de Sainte-Maries' kingdom which becomes even more confusing in this book. But there's still a lot to enjoy/mock, including Jessica's surprising bushcraft skills, Laurent having the backbone of a jellyfish (seriously, he might be the biggest sap we've ever encountered in this series and that's saying something) and Jacques's 19th century-style origin story. Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alas, our hopes for some Frank Cobra level excitement in the second half of this book were not realised, as most of it consists of Jessica being unbearable, Jacques acting like a prize fool, Laurent being a spineless embarrassment and Liz running away crying. Only the constantly shrieking Countess di Rimini and her total disregard for the laws of France bring the drama, and boy does she leave the best until last - yes, it may have been (insanely) spoilered in the book, and yes, we may have to wait until the very end of the book to see it happen, but we do get the see the Wakefield twins where they belong - chained to the walls of a medieval dungeon!

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back at the Château, where both twins feel like they've found their happily ever afters with handsome Frenchmen (is Laurent actually French or is he a citizen of the unnamed principality? Unclear). But there's trouble in paradise. Jessica's dreams of being accepted by her royal bosses as the girlfriend of the heir to the Norveaux dukedom are shattered when Jacques spins her a preposterous yarn about ancient feuds, while Liz's initially fairy tale romance with Prince Laurent takes a turn when his parents give him a preposterous ultimatum. This book is full of tedious banter, annoying children and a shameful retconning of the previously charming Louis and Jacques but don't lose hope - the blurb promises us that the twins will end up imprisoned in a dungeon in part two! 

Remember, if you can help us expand our SVU collection, which we would really appreciate, you can see what we need here and mail us at [email protected]: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgq5a-0C3zoTC065tOzJmSkI2kNBBe2K38Hu8jn8qg8/edit?usp=sharing 

This show is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network. For more, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com, where you can also become a member of HeadStuff+ and get exclusive access to bonus material and lots more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices