Book reccs.

[impy]

Things I have learned today:
Walgreens Nice Iced Ginger cookies taste horrible. I'm giving the rest of the package to Mums. Maybe she or the Widget will like them. (So why did I eat three cookies before making this decision?)

The Fudge Kit I bought at work was less work than my usual fudge recipe (it's like they shrunk that one down, honestly) but the bits that were left in the pan don't taste as yummy as my usual recipe. I'm thinking my initial "there isn't enough sugar or butter in this. My arteries aren't screaming for mercy!" reaction may be correct, but it's still setting. As it is, I'm pretty sure I'm going to wind up buying the ingredients for my fudge and killing my arm to make it. Mmm. Fudge.


The humidity around here is making my ornaments take forever to dry. But I know they will. Eventually. One day. (I knew this already but hey.)



In SV land, I find it's not the holidays until I have read The Evil Twin, The Return of the Evil Twin, and Magic Christmas. Some years I read the mini series leading up to Evil Twin but most years I don't. I always try to leave one of these three for Christmas Eve reading because as twisted as I am, that's what makes the holiday. That and a Psych holiday special, a viewing of The Family Stone and enough jam thumbprints to kill a person. Usually I try to make it Evil Twin or Magic Christmas as The Return is more of a New Year's story.


I'm pretty sure most SV fans have read The Evil Twin, but let's take a moment to discuss The Magic Christmas. Maybe this will be the year I learn what it's a rip-off of?


Liz and Jessica are given dolls by their grandparents. Neither is all that thrilled because they're 12 and too old for such weird dolls. Each doll comes with a poem, and despite the fight the twins are engaged in come Christmas (always and forever, man) they come up with the same answer at the same time. When they do, the dolls come alive and hobble off to return to the realm. The twins follow and are sucked into a strange land, each with the doll turned young prince who is essentially their twin but in prince form.

Mermaids, unicorns, flying leaves, and an evil wizard all play big roles in the book and things are just so completely over the top and fabulous that I have to love it. There's a cameo by Amanda and Samantha from the Wakefield Saga (ee!) and the twins learn the true meaning of Christmas. Or twinhood.

And Lila ends up with an even uglier doll.

In the grand hierarchy of holiday SV books, I figure this one is right after Evil Twin and above Return.

We also enjoy Big for Christmas, where the ripoff is obvious in the title alone. A Christmas Without Elizabeth is... special (I'd rather know how the Valley would be different without Jessica), and The Year Without Christmas is Jessica being her shallow best.

We don't know why we are suddenly we but there you go.

Fudge should be set. Wish me luck.

Comments

[luxken27]

Considering how long and hard I searched for a copy of Magic Christmas, I should probably, y'know, actually reread it at some point :P

UGH! If only I didn't have so much on my holiday plate :(

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

*offers plate o' fudge* Y'know, to help with your holiday plate. ;)

[irishgypsie.livejournal.com]

I read a few Sweet Valley High books way back when, and I think I liked them well enough but was never as enthralled with them the way I was BSC. But from what I recall they were just normal high school/teenage drama stuff with school and boys and jealous friends. I remember nothing about magic, mermaids, wizards, and other craziness. When did that happen??

[snarky-imp.livejournal.com]

SVH got werewolves around book 104, vampires were 120-something (and again in SVU's Thriller books) but mostly the magic was contained within the Christmas books for the twins in middle school. This book is just so outside the realm of their usual groundhog day type stuff that does crop up. It's also really good.