Perfect Summer

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Perfect Summer was the first of many special "Super Editions" of the Sweet Valley High book series. These books weren't always considered to be part of the regular continuity of the Sweet Valley series, but the books were in a way connected with the regulation story.

Elizabeth; Jessica, her twin sister and many of their friends are taking a bicycle trip up the California coastline, eventually making their way to San Francisco, during a month of their summer. The story focuses on the fun and adventure they encounter, as well as the difficulties that ensue.

Their plans were to make stopovers in campgrounds and youth hostels. They also had to come up with accomodations of their own, those were called "Phantom days" and there were two of them; they also had a couple of stopovers where they would stay for more than a day.

Others who are on the trip, aside from the twins, are Todd Wilkins; Elizabeth's boyfriend; Jessica's friend and rival, Lila Fowler; Jessica's cheerleading teammate, Annie Whitman; Elizabeth's friend and newspaper co-worker, Olivia Davidson; her boyfriend at the time, Roger Barrett Patman; his arrogant and egotistical cousin, Bruce Patman; Bruce's tennis teammate, Charlie Markus; and Barry Cooper, the nephew of Sweet Valley's principal, Mr. Cooper. The two chaperones for the trip were English teacher and advisor for The Oracle, Roger Collins and French teacher, Nora Dalton.

However, during the course of the trip, trouble is never far behind. During a three day stopover in Los Angeles, Courtney Thomas, the spoiled daughter of a Patman family friend, is persuaded to join the group. At first, she is anything but coridal to the Sweet Valley group, but after her father, Hollywood agent, Steve Thomas, explains to Mr. Collins and Ms. Dalton that he wants to get her away from the destructive crowd of kids she is hanging out with (most notably her mohawk sporting; drug addicted and thieving boyfriend, Nolan Ruggers) she decided to fake being nice to get away from the group and to attempt to get back to Beverly Hills.

Courtney used Todd to attempt to get off the trip, making an enemy of the normally placid Elizabeth; and also incurring Jessica's wrath as well. (Jessica could be conniving, but by the same virtue, she loves her sister so much that she will be just as protective of Elizabeth as she is of her.) At first Elizabeth is uncertain, because she doesn't usually fight; but she realizes she is matching wits with a professional and expert liar.

The group feuded intensely as they proceed up the coast. Mr. Collins and Ms. Dalton, who had once dated, are cool, if not outright cold towards one another. She returned to dating Lila's father, which angers Lila, who had little time to see her father in the first place; and then, by virtue of a chance meeting with two boys who are also at the same hostel they were, discovers Ms. Dalton's real identity, and confronts the teacher on it.

It was revealed that her real name was Beth Curtis and that she used to teach French in a small town in Arizona, the same town the two boys are from, and also that she was married to a man named John Mayfield Curtis, III, who was a heavy drinker and was very abusive to her.

His wealthy and powerful family seemed to turn a blind eye to his antics, and he later commits suicide. A year and a half after his death, she moved to Sweet Valley. They made it clear that she was to blame for his death (they said she drove him to it which was a lie); and they knew Lila's father, (they were business associates) and used that as blackmail to keep George and Nora together. Eventually, Ms. Dalton bravely told the group the whole story and nobody condemned her for it, least of all Mr. Collins. In the end, even Lila admitted that it took courage to tell her whole story; and while they aren't friends, the teacher and Lila respect one another.

During a life-threatening situation where a brush fire occurs which was started by the selfish Courtney, who carelessly tossed a burning cigarette into a bush, (in flagrant violation of the rules. There had been a drought, and a high risk of forest fires) she makes everyone believe that Elizabeth had thought she had started it. During the course of the story, she and Todd are almost broken up, thanks to Courtney's treacherous lies, which she tried to manipulate everyone else into believing.

Feeling ashamed for what she had thought she had done, she almost leaves the trip, until Todd revealed that he and Courtney were out after Elizabeth, and that Courtney was smoking a cigarette while she was waiting to talk to him. After a heated denial and a vicious confrontation by Elizabeth, who when she is pushed hard enough, can be just as tough as her twin can be; Courtney's vicious scheme was exposed and eventually she is sent from Santa Cruz, by Mr. Collins to her aunt in New Mexico.

Jessica schemed to go out with a handsome young man named Robbie October, who, with his brother, is traveling the same route the group is; who ignores her until they slip away at Big Sur. Then they are confronted by a brown bear. During this time, Robbie is shown to be somewhat cowardly, which angered Jessica.

It takes Barry Cooper, whom until that time, Jessica and most of the others have scorned and made fun of, because he was chubby, and extremely shy; to put his knowledge of animals to work and to allow the cave to open long enough for Jessica to get away from the cave to her sister. After the near double catastrophes, the rest of the trip goes off without a hitch, and everyone and everything was back to normal. It proved that people who were easily written off, could really surprise those who don't know the real person.