Last week, Jami and I expressed our frustration at Jessica’s inability to make good decisions. Dating Scott is another poor decision but it doesn’t excuse his treatment of her. We’ll get to that in just a bit!
Series: Sweet Valley High #5
Published by St. Martin’s Press on September 1st, 1984
Genres: Contemporary Women, Fiction, General, Social Themes, Young Adult
Pages: 250Is Jessica as grown-up as she thinks she is?
Elizabeth Wakefield knows her beautiful twin is more than a match for almost any guy out there. Most guys easily fall prey to Jessica’s seductive charms. But Scott Daniels, Jessica’s latest love, may be more than she bargained for. He’s much older and much more experienced than anyone Jessica’s ever dated.
When Jessica sneaks off to a college beach party with Scott, Elizabeth’s afraid of what might happen. And when her twin sister isn’t back by morning, Elizabeth fears the worst. Where is Jessica? Why has she stayed out all night long? All Night Long is an original Sweet Valley High story by Francine Pascal.
Warning: This post may contain spoilers about All Night Long (Sweet Valley High #5) by Francine Pascal.
It’s no easy thing to watch Jessica make poor decisions. But, I want to talk about an even bigger issue here. Scott. If you remember in my post last week, Scott is an older boy who Jessica is dating. He talks her into sneaking away for the weekend. A weekend filled with booze and drugs, despite the fact that Jessica is underage. Things progress and Jessica finds herself alone with Scott who then forces himself on Jessica. Of course, this is Sweet Valley and the author—though she pushed the envelope for the time—wouldn’t have let things progress too far. He does force kiss her and sticks his hands down the back of her pants. For a moment Jessica worries that he is going to rape her but she manages to push him off.
Though Scott didn’t continue with the act, let’s talk about the fact that he assaulted Jessica! According to the website teenhelp.Com, 44% of rape victims are under the age of 18. My frustration that no one reported this situation, is, unfortunately, a realistic one. According to the same site, when drugs or alcohol is involved, a teen is less likely to report the rape due to legal repercussions of underage drinking or drug use. (1)
I don’t know how many teen readers that I have of my blog. I do know that I have parents that read my reviews. I urge you to talk to your children about the dangers of date rape and offer tips to keep them safe. These might include advising they drink only from containers they open themselves and never leave a drink unattended.(2) To learn more about how you or your teen can become educated about date rape, please visit this link.
Important things to remember if you are a victim:
- What happened was not your fault.
- Call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673). You’ll be connected to a trained staff member from a local sexual assault service provider in your area. They will direct you to the appropriate local health facility that can care for survivors of sexual assault.(3)
Source:
1.https://www.teenhelp.com/sexual-abuse-trauma/teen-date-rape/
2.https://www.rainn.org/articles/alcohol-safety
3.https://www.rainn.org/articles/steps-you-can-take-after-sexual-assault
Due to the serious nature of this post, I’m not answering any questions nor previewing the next book in this week’s post. I encourage you to come back next week when we dive into book #6, Dangerous Love.
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