Francine Pascal Quotes & Sayings

That was one plus about profound self-loathing. Nobody could hate you worse than you hated yourself. — Francine Pascal

Fifteen love,' Chris said in a strong, clear voice as he set up for his next serve, and Elizabeth sensed that in addition to announcing the score, he was sending her a special message. A message about love ... — Francine Pascal

Another funny thing about having friends was that they expected things of you. they made you want to not be a terrible, awful, execrable person. They made you feel worse when you were one. It was a lot easier not to have any friends. — Francine Pascal

He nodded and half smiled. "Right-you're the hearts-and-flowers girl."
Her cheeks warmed with anger. His smile didn't make up for his sarcasm. "And you're the scorn-and-bile boy. — Francine Pascal

I always loved reading. Growing up, my favorite book was 'A Child's Garden of Verses,' by Robert Louis Stevenson. — Francine Pascal

This was law? she thought. Where was the excitement of court cases, the challenge of defending the people that her father was always talking about? This was no fun at all. — Francine Pascal

David had said something about her 'distinctive features'. Was he going to make her look ethnic? Jade worried. She was trying so hard to look just like everyone else! — Francine Pascal

I like to play poker. I have a nice poker group that's been going on for years. — Francine Pascal

Where's Mom? I can't wait to tell her all about this." "She's going to be late. An appointment, I think." "Again?" Jessica pouted. "That makes three nights in a row! I thought mothers were supposed to stay home and fix dinner once in a while! — Francine Pascal

It's so trendy, almost bleeding to death. All the cool girls are doing it. — Francine Pascal

Dana was lead singer for The Droids, Sweet Valley High's answer to the Rolling Stones. They had a reputation for being pretty wild, but most of it was just conjecture. Not many outsiders knew what went on in the smoky confines of Max Dellon's basement, where they held their practice sessions. — Francine Pascal

There was only one blonde in the room, and she didn't even have a tan. — Francine Pascal

His eyes narrowed with scorn. I know a lot of things about you I didn't know before, Enid. I know, for instance, that you're not as pure as you'd like me to believe. — Francine Pascal

Elizabeth scowled, feeling like a nobody, a nothing. She felt like her entire self had been made worthless. She could change her interests, but she couldn't change her looks. She'd never be six feet tall. She'd never look like a supermodel. — Francine Pascal

As pathetic as it was, she'd rather hold on to the possibility of something perfect than be hit with the reality of nothing much. — Francine Pascal

Guy struck a jangling chord on the keyboards and then another. 'You know,' he announced, sitting back and crossing his arms. 'We need some new material. We've got to write some new songs.'
'Like what?'
He shrugged. 'I don't know. Throw out some ideas.'
'Love! Death! Existential struggle!' Emily intoned dramatically, rattling out a drumroll. 'Agriculture! — Francine Pascal

But the way I see it, dying without knowing love would be a tragedy. — Francine Pascal

The Pi Betas had accepted the fact that Rose was Mexican, but it was obvious they would just as soon ignore it. And they seemed to assume Rose wanted to do that, too. The other girls might not be overtly disturbed by the fact that Rose was a chicana, but they certainly were not going to encourage her to explore her heritage. No, if Rose joined the Pi Betas, she would have to deny the biggest part of herself. She would have to become completely American. — Francine Pascal

I think I'm going to cut down on my dating,' Annie said. 'I used to need a lot of attention. You know, to make up for that empty feeling inside. But boys aren't always the answer. — Francine Pascal

Bob grinned. 'Wear that white swimsuit you bought last week, OK?' he said. 'I want all the other guys to wish you were their girlfriend.'
Sara felt vaguely uncomfortable, but she ignored the sensation. Bob just wanted her to look her best, she figured. There was nothing wrong with that. — Francine Pascal

I just can't wait to get out of Sweet Valley,' Jessica explained. 'I feel like I've been dancing with the same ten cute guys my whole life. — Francine Pascal

Since I was a small child, I was always writing either poems or plays ... plays in which I had the starring part. — Francine Pascal

It's not just that I'm a horny seventeen year old male and she's a beautiful girl, although I don't necessarily expect you to believe me. — Francine Pascal

Life's one great lesson was: Do not care. Not caring was a person's real protection. — Francine Pascal

Everything works out for the best. It's one of those things we say to comfort ourselves. A phrase that gets repeated so often we cease to question the absence of logic inherent in the statement. Since we have no way of knowing what the alternate reality might have been, we have no way of knowing if things worked out of the best or not. — Francine Pascal

I get some of my ideas from watching my three daughters, but most of them come from my own memories of growing up. I can remember how romantic I was, not just about love, but romance in the classic sense - the romantic ideals: of honor and truth, of loyalty, sacrifice and fairness. Those were the elements that made a story satisfying to me. — Francine Pascal

Don't make light of werewolves, Jessica,' Luke said in a quiet voice. 'They're very serious business. — Francine Pascal

When I first heard the word existential, I didn't know what it meant. But then I found out that no one knows what it means, so now I use it all the time. — Francine Pascal

But Bruce pushed her back ever so slightly. "In dancing, at least, the guy still takes the lead." His meaning wasn't lost on Jessica. She'd have to be less aggressive if she wanted to keep him interested. "Then I'll follow wherever you lead," she said with uncharacteristic submissiveness. — Francine Pascal

Your friend Lila is calling from her car phone,' Ned said, half amused and half annoyed. 'Apparently something earth-shattering has come up, and unless she can talk to you this very second, she claims she will die. — Francine Pascal

In Bruce's opinion, the only fun in dating was the sport of it. The more it was like a tennis match, where he had to wear down his opponent through expertise and sheer force of will, the better he liked it. — Francine Pascal

After all, she told herself, if Todd preferred Jessica - and that certainly was how it looked - she would not stand in the way. She'd do the decent thing. Die. — Francine Pascal

No matter when you were born or where, puberty is the same. It's the same for your parents as it is for you - what's happening in your body dictates everything. — Francine Pascal

Renny was smarter and funnier and more original than they'd ever be, but he was thirteen. He was at the brutal age when many kids would sell all their uniqueness in their character for the right pair of shoes. — Francine Pascal

Humiliation, by the way, is a truly terrible emotion. It's at the bottom of the pile. — Francine Pascal

She walked away without bothering to look further. She knew he'd be fine. Her specialty was subduing without causing any real damage. He'd lie there for a few minutes. He'd be sore, maybe bruised tomorrow. He'd brush the cobwebs off his imagination to invent a story for his buddies about how three seven-foot, three-hundred-pound male karate black belts attacked him in the park.
But she would bet her life on the fact that he would never sneak up on another fragile-looking woman without remembering this night. And that was the point. That was what Gaia lived for. — Francine Pascal

I am seventeen. The good things about seventeen is that you're not sixteen. Sixteen goes with the word sweet, and I am so far from sweet. — Francine Pascal

Elizabeth walked past just as Mrs. Ferguson, pulling down her wide-brimmed hat, announced that teenagers today were the most inconsiderate creatures she had ever seen.
'I'm afraid I have to agree with you,' Elizabeth had heard her twin say mournfully, clearly distinguishing herself from the inconsiderate teenagers milling all around them. — Francine Pascal

Imagine a world full of Elizabeth Wakefields,' Lila said. 'Could you imagine a duller, more predictable place? I think I'd go crazy. — Francine Pascal

Elizabeth remembered how foolish everyone had felt when they discovered Mr. Mercandy was the victim of a stroke and not a zombie as they'd thought. — Francine Pascal

If she had anything to say about it, the pageant would be called off and the dignity of Sweet Valley womanhood would be preserved. The truth was, no one seemed to care as much about the beauty pageant issue as she did. — Francine Pascal

The human heart was undeniably the stupidest organ in the body. — Francine Pascal

Ed felt faint. Milk shake, as it turned out, was much less handy in your veins then, say, oxygen. — Francine Pascal

Luck doesn't shine her light on each of us equally. She is arbitrary, irrational, unfair and sometimes downright cruel. — Francine Pascal

When people try to take their own lives, they often don't want to be brought back. When you catch them in time, as is this case, they have a second chance. But they have to want that chance. You see Mrs. Whitman, I have no idea why your daughter did this to herself, but she seems to have no will to live. — Francine Pascal

Look, girls. It is important to all of us that we win this game, right? Well, when it comes to athletics, boys are simply better suited than girls. It's a fact of nature that no one can change. I'm sorry, but maybe you can play next time when it's less crucial. — Francine Pascal

If you want to mess with me, you'd rather be ready for the consequences. — Francine Pascal

She used to write all the time,' Elizabeth explained, 'before she lost all that weight. Remember? When she was the butt of everyone's jokes instead of the girl all the boys want to date? — Francine Pascal

Ella's supersonic voice followed her all the way to Bleecker Street and then dissolved amid the noisy profusion of shops, cafes, and restaurants and the crush of people that made the West Village of Manhattan unique in the world. In a single block you could buy fertility statues from Tanzania, rare Amazonian orchids, a pawned brass tuba, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, or the best, most expensive cup of coffee you ever tasted. It was the doughnuts, incidentally, that attracted Gaia. — Francine Pascal

Ella was vapid and worthless at least nine-tenths of the time, but when she got really mad, her face became sharp and purposeful. Almost vicious. Like if Barbie were suddenly possessed by Atilla the Hun. — Francine Pascal

Enid was a terrific person, Elizabeth thought, and absolutely not a nerd, no matter what Jessica said. With her shoulder-length brown hair and large green eyes, she was really pretty. — Francine Pascal

As the crow flies. That's how she liked to walk. So what if she had nowhere to go? So what if no one on earth knew or probably cared where she was or when she'd get home? That wasn't the point. It didn't mean she had to take the long way. She was starting a new school in the morning, and she meant to put as much distance between herself and tomorrow as she could. Walking fast didn't stop the earth's slow roll, but sometimes it felt like it could. — Francine Pascal

I don't do rewrites. I put all the pages in a pile next to the typewriter. — Francine Pascal

It probably all boils down to three magic words: I don't care. And nobody can make me. — Francine Pascal

She imagined herself whirling breathlessly beneath the flashing lights of some impossibly chic Manhattan disco. Suddenly, a hand touches her arm. She turns. 'Pardon me,' Mick Jagger says, 'I believe this next dance is mine. — Francine Pascal

The more the merrier. so enjoy reading more books — Francine Pascal

Jessica stopped a few feet away so that Ken could get an optimal view of her body posed against the seductive backdrop of the sea, sand, and palm trees. — Francine Pascal

If you turned sideways and stuck your tongue out, you could probably pass for a zipper. — Francine Pascal

Love was more than blind. It was deaf and dumb, too. It was catatonic. It was vegetative. — Francine Pascal

A cult!' Elizabeth gasped. 'Here? In Sweet Valley? But that's impossible! — Francine Pascal

Jessica was clearly in her element, moving with the music naturally and without effort. Even her lustrous golden hair swayed to the beat, completing the perfect picture of a dancer caught up in ecstasy. — Francine Pascal

But Robin ... well, she's OK. We really don't have much in common, though. I get nervous around people who eat all the time. — Francine Pascal

Roger Collins wasn't the most popular teacher at school only because he was interesting in class. In fact, most of the girls would have loved a little after-class attention from this teacher. — Francine Pascal

Everybody at Sweet Valley High, even Elizabeth, seemed to forget that there was ever a fat and ugly Robin. But Robin would never forget. — Francine Pascal

How inappropriate,' Lila said coldly. 'Who'd ever dream of showing up at a dance in a wheelchair? What does she think she's going to do all night? — Francine Pascal

You see, Suzanne, history lectures bore me, art films bore me, your friends bore me, and, if you want to know the truth, I guess you bore me too. — Francine Pascal

Actually for a while Jessica had contemplated making a grand entrance wearing only the dress, thinking wickedly about how the sight of her cold, shivering body would prompt Nicholas to rush up and put his arms around her to warm her up. But evenings at this time of year were usually chilly, and she saw no reason to risk pneumonia just for a sympathy hug. She'd have to settle for throwing her coat off dramatically as she was being ushered into the Morrow mansion. — Francine Pascal

She needed to get out of there. Her brains, thankfully, were still safely in her skull, but her emotions were splattered on the pavement. — Francine Pascal

Ella is much younger. Maybe thirty. I don't know. And you certainly can't tell from the way she dresses. Middle of winter she finds a way to show her belly button. And she's got four hundred of these little elastic bands that can only pass for a skirt if you never move your legs. Top that with this unbelievable iridescent red hair and you've got one hot seventeen-year-old. At least that's what she thinks. — Francine Pascal

She had started driving past his apartment to see whether or not his car was out front. She had looked up his phone number, and twice she had called his apartment from the pay phone in school, knowing he wouldn't be at home, just so she could hear how sexy his voice sounded on his answering machine. Was this what falling in love was supposed to feel like? — Francine Pascal

Losers with no imagination say that if you start a new school, there has to be a first day. How come they haven't figure out how to be that? Just think existentially. All you do is take what is supposed to be the first day and bury someplace in the next month. By the time you get around to it a month later, who cares? — Francine Pascal

Oooh. Barbie has a brain, huh?" The smile was gone. His voice low, gravelly.
"Oooh. Ken has an attitude," she snapped back. — Francine Pascal

It was another one of her father's curses:I'll make you into a freak and not let you tell anyone. — Francine Pascal

His tightly fitting jeans were unmistakably French. — Francine Pascal

He saw her right after the seventh-period bell rang. She seemed dressed for the sole purpose of blending in with the lockers, but she stood out, anyway. It didn't matter that her wide blue eyes were narrowed or that her pretty mouth was twisted into a near snarl - she was blatantly beautiful. It was kind of sick the way Ed was preoccupied with beautiful girls these days.
He felt a little sorry for her. (He was also preoccupied with finding ways of feeling sorry for people.) She was new and trying hard not to look it. She was confused and trying to look tough. It was endearing is what it was. — Francine Pascal

Pretty people do ugly things.
It was one of those laws of nature that Gaia had understood for years. If she ever started to forget that ride for a second, there always seemed to be some good-looking asshole ready to remind her. — Francine Pascal

Honestly,' she said when they were out of Bruce's earshot, 'he's as bad in the kitchen as you are. What do you people do on the servant's night off, anyway?' Lila looked Jessica straight in the eye. 'Cold lobster and caviar,' she said earnestly. — Francine Pascal

When I first thought of the idea for 'Sweet Valley High,' I loved the idea of high school as microcosm of the real world. And what I really liked was how it moved things on from 'Sleeping Beauty'-esque romance novels where the girl had to wait for the hero. This would be girl-driven, very different, I decided - and indeed it is. — Francine Pascal

Lynne looked as if she were really having fun, Elizabeth realized. With a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye, Lynne Henry was actually almost pretty! — Francine Pascal

The people with the most fear have the greatest opportunity to be brave. — Francine Pascal

Nature compensates for its mistakes. — Francine Pascal

He smiled all the way to physics class. He almost laughed out loud when he passed through the door and saw her shadowy, hunched-over form casting around for a seat in the back.
She was in his class; this was excellent. Maybe she'd call him a name if he struck up another conversation. Even curse him out. That might fun. God, he'd probably earn himself a restraining order if he tried to sit next to her.
He was so tired of saccharine smiles and cloying tones of voice. People always plastered their eyes to his face for fear of looking anywhere else. He was fed up with everybody being so goddamned nice.
That's why he'd already fallen in love with this weird, maladjusted, beautiful girl who carried a chip the size of Ohio on her shoulder. Because nobody was ever mean to the guy in the wheelchair. — Francine Pascal

She'll probably have all the work made up and a dozen stories written for The Oracle before I finish that one stupid book report on Moby Dick. I mean, Todd, who really cares about whales?'
Todd did, but he let the comment slide by. — Francine Pascal

I love 'Sweet Valley,' but I love it from a different angle. There are people for whom it is their adolescence. They own it, in a way that even I don't. I've come to respect the project more because of the response than I've had. It's more important than I realized it was. I didn't understand the breadth and depth of it. now I'm beginning to more. — Francine Pascal

Ever since her obsession with Jonathan Cain, a deranged transfer student who had been at Sweet Valley for a month, Enid's life had been entirely guyless. — Francine Pascal

Jessica felt like a heroine in a tragic, dramatic love story. She lifted her chin and turned away. It was all over. — Francine Pascal

The documents were in English - sort of - but the language was so convoluted that it was beginning to give her a headache. It made for even duller reading than her chemistry text. — Francine Pascal

She can take Dad to that new-wave nightclub downtown, where all those strange couples in their twenties hang out. — Francine Pascal

No one at college ever goes to a party before ten-thirty at the very earliest! They'd rather die. It's so uncool to be early. — Francine Pascal

He slowed down a bit more. "Gaia, how do you know these things?" She shrugged. "I'm smart." "And modest, too." "Modesty is a waste of time," she pronounced. "I'll keep that in mind. — Francine Pascal

I know you think that when you're 35, 45, 55, you'll be different. But I'm going to let you in on a bit of a secret. You're going to look different, and your life is going to be different, but in your head you'll always be that 16-year-old girl. — Francine Pascal

The same way that some people can play the piano, I can do plots! They just come! — Francine Pascal

Lila walked by with her nose in the air. In a straight line behind her, six obedient kindergartners waddled like baby geese, singing in unison, 'Row, row, row your yacht ... — Francine Pascal

Teling a little would ultimately mean telling a lot. — Francine Pascal

She figured if you weren't woman enough to carry your doughnuts with pride, you shouldn't be eating them. — Francine Pascal

What is with those Wakefield women that makes them think they're better than everybody?' Ken asked. — Francine Pascal

What sucked was that her room was on the fourth floor of a four-story house because she hated walking past every other room on her way in and out. She was like a latter-day Rapunzel except her hair was only a few inches below her shoulders, slightly fried, not all that blond, and furthermore, who the hell was ever going to climb up to give her a hand? The guy in the wheelchair from school?
What she - and Rapunzel, frankly - needed was a decent ladder. — Francine Pascal