Book Review: Elizabeth: University, Interrupted

The Book

Title: Elizabeth: University, Interrupted

Author: Laurie John

Created By: Francine Pascal

Cover Art: 17th Street Productions

Publishing: Bantom Books - January 9, 2001

Type: Fiction

Pages: 231

Series: Elizabeth 1/6 (continuing the Sweet Valley University series)

Genre: Young Adult

Subgenres: Chick-Lit, Contemporary, Family Feud, Travel

Audience: Teen, Young Adult

Content Advisory: Minor mentions of sex; no graphic details.

My Details

Purchase Date: 2012

Purchased At: McKay's (Knoxville)

Cost: $1.65

List Price: $4.50

Version: Paperback

Read: October 2025 - January 2026

Rating

1/5

Quick Overview

Elizabeth: University, Interrupted is the continuation of the Sweet Valley University series that followed the Wakefield twins from the popular 1980's Sweet Valley High books. However, this book doesn't even feel like it's really a part of the franchise. It undoes most of the character building up to this point, specifically for Elizabeth, which makes her feel inconsistent and completely out of character. The overly repetitive narrative is annoying and delays the progression of the adventure. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter. There are several unrealistic occurrences, along with several characters that add little substance to the story. While the early 2000s references offer a nostalgic “blast from the past”, they aren’t enough to save this novel. The plot doesn't take off until chapter 13 - 3 chapters away from the end, and the conclusion feels rushed, almost as if the author ran out of time before she could fully develop it.

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Publisher Synopsis

Elizabeth Wakefield is not going back to Sweet Valley University. Her sister betrayed her. Her boyfriend broke her heart. And her parents are against her. There's nothing for her to go home to. So where is she supposed to go? How about London . . . as far away as possible?

How did this book make it this far?

I bought this book around 2012 at: McKay's, a used bookstore in Knoxville, Tennessee. - Although, it's closing this location on May 3, 2026. This used to be one of the best used bookstores that I have ever encountered! But I digress.

Over the last 14 years, I have moved four times, and somehow it has managed to stay with me through every packing, unpacking, organizing, and repeat. Originally, I bought this book for nostalgia, and I'm not sure I fully intended to read it. Then last year (2025) I welcomed cheesy, predictable romance back into my life and this book appeared.

I thought to myself:

Dear Book,

Take me back to my youth! Take me back to the fictional world of Sweet Valley and the Wakefield twins with all of their drama, and love, and adventures!

Sadly, this book turned out to be a huge disappointment. It was so far removed from what I remembered the series being. It didn't even feel like it was a Sweet Valley book. The characters, their history, and the overall tone seemed to be erased in just one book -this book.

The Writing

Before I dive into the nitty-gritty of this book and my disappointment as a Sweet Valley fan, it should be noted that the writing and narrative were just. plain. bad.

The book takes repetitive to a new level of obnoxious. The main character's (Elizabeth) heartbreak, furry, and sadness are drilled into us like we're cramming for a second grade spelling bee. The emotions are never explored in a fresh way or from a different angle; we're just repeatedly told the same things: how upset she is with her ex, how strained her relationship is with her sister now, how distant she feels from her family, and how angry she is about all of it. It's the repetitive narrative that holds the story back from diving into this exciting adventure Elizabeth in embarking on in a foreign country, and it never allows the story to develop fully.

The story - and the plane - doesn't take off until page 110. At this point, it's over half way through the book. The actual plot doesn't form until chapter 13, which is three chapters away from the end. This book could have easily been 100 pages shorter and still given us readers the same story. Better yet! those 100 pages could have been used to advance the story instead of ending it in a rush. - The author literally wasted a whole chapter to simply stereotype the city of London (England).

The ending attempts to be a cliffhanger, but it's obvious where the story is headed and how it will play out. And because everything is so rushed, it reads less like a deliberate narrative choice and more like the author ran out of time.

So many plot holes............

There are so many plot holes, the book goes over like a U.S. city road that the county office has been ignoring for decades - abruptly damaging the flow of the story and impossible to ignore.

Before page 25, the first major one appears!

Jessica - who we're constantly reminded is in the middle of nowhere, alone, and knows no one - runs outside of her hotel room with the door open, leaving everything inside unattended. She then abandons it all to deal with the hotel bill and her belongings are never mentioned again. No concern, no consequence, no follow-up. It’s as if they cease to exist or are of any concern.

There are minor details that come off as inexperience from the author, as well. Such as the pilot of the plane announcing they have one minute until arrival and the crew should prepare the cabin for landing. One minute?! The stewards of the plane would begin this process 45-60 minutes before landing. There is no way a plane could fully prepare itself after an 8+ hour flight in one minute.

However, these feel minor as the story rolls on. As it continues, the inconsistencies pile up and contribute to a broader sense that the story lacks cohesion and attention to detail, which made it difficult for me to finish the book.

The majority of the first half of the book is

taken up by unrealistic character reactions to international travel from Elizabeth. It doesn't make sense for her to not understand foreign travel or for her to be so bewildered by an international airport.  Elizabeth has already been to Europe, twice. In the 1980's, there was a special edition book that takes place over one of their spring breaks in high school, and the twins go somewhere along the Mediterranean Sea; though, I've never read it. I'd also like to reference the Chateau d'Amour trilogy from the Sweet Valley High series, which are my favorites! That whole trilogy takes place in France over a different summer.

The same issue shows up in how the book frames international travel itself. The author tries to paint this weird ideal of Chicago's O'hare airport being the U.S. mecca of international travel, which is an unrealistic narrative because Elizabeth and Jessica come from the fictional city of Sweet Valley - a suburb of Los Angeles, California. This means they would have experienced the LAX airport, which is also a major player in international travel; and LAX kept on par with international travel in the early 2000's, when this book was written.

The bewilderment we see here doesn’t feel authentic, but rather like a reset of her character for convenience. Instead of building on an established character and continuing her story, this book reshapes Elizabeth into someone less experienced and less grounded than we know her to be.

The author also takes great strides to point out Elizabeth's fascination with the diversity of London, but I'd like to point out again: Elizabeth is from L.A., which is also a very diverse area. This reaction of hers feels out of place for someone who grew up in a city melded with many cultures from around the world.

The inconsistencies and contradictions left me to wonder if multiple authors worked on the book without actually working together on it. There are several instances that highlight this disconnect. For example, Elizabeth is never told about her sister’s ankle injury, yet later she somehow just knows about it without explanation. Similarly, the book repeatedly emphasizes her studies in English literature and her familiarity with British history, but she somehow doesn’t know what a viscount is???

There were moments.

While I didn't find much nostalgia from the characters or continuation of the series, there were some references to the early millennium that I enjoyed.

The mentions of landlines and all that came with them, were fun. I was reminded of not being able to get through to someone and then hearing the busy tone. There was also the callback to multiple people in a home participating in the same phone call just by picking up another phone in the house! This feels so odd now, since most homes don't even have a landline today.

The book also referenced collect calls. This is when people had to accept your call before you could speak to them, which also meant they were billed for that call as well.

The reminder that cell phones weren't always a phablet we rely on daily was both a flash-of-the-past and painful. Wi-fi wasn't accessible in a lot of places and one would need a laptop to access most computer-type functions. Phones needed international sim cards in order to work abroad or one would have to buy a phone overseas. So, it wasn't easy to communicate outside of the country and calling cards were still a thing. - And because everything wasn't on our phones, we had to rely on physical copies of things. When Jessica has to go to the emergency room she is initially refused service, since Elizabeth has her insurance card. Back then, there was no digital backup or quick way to pull up the information. It was a stark contrast to today, where the past feels limited.

These elements don’t fix the story’s larger issues, but they added an interesting layer of realism that stands out from the rest of the book.

There were a few other moments the author added in the book that I did relate to. When the twins' parents get involved we're shown how self-centered we tend to be as young adults. I am also old enough, now, to realize that the parents weren't wrong in their compassion towards Jessica and calling out how irresponsible Elizabeth actually was in neglecting her sister.

There is also a moment in the book where Elizabeth is marveling at how much older the buildings in London are compared to the U.S., which is also an observation that I have been struck by in multiple European cities.

However, these moments do not outweigh the unnecessary length of a book that doesn't seem to know the fictional universe or its characters that its written for.

Recommended

This book is a one-star due to its lack of knowledge of the Sweet Valley series it is a part of and the disregard for the characters' established history and build, especially Elizabeth's. As well as it being poorly written and inconsistent in both details and overall narrative. It is entirely too long, simply because it repeats the same key points over and over without any new insight, which holds back the story from truly progressing.

I actually wouldn't recommend this book. For fans of the Sweet Valley series- just end your reading at the original University series. As far as I am concerned, that's where Elizabeth and Jessica's narrative ends. This book ignores almost everything written about Elizabeth prior and strips her down to someone us fans wouldn't recognize. Young Adult (YA) fiction tends to be juvenile in nature and we the readers can expect to see the main character's inexperience in life at her young age, but the author makes illogical choices for this character for what feels like convenience for her lazy writing.

The character destruction won't be noticeable to those who never read anything from the franchise, and it may have some appeal to readers interested in travel and narratives around mending a broken heart. However, you'll have to look past the overwhelming amount of flaws.