As a precocious 11-year-old bookworm, I wanted what most girls my age did: a golden lavaliere (even though I had no idea what that was), a Spider FIAT (despite the fact that I couldn’t drive), and a twin sister who had the same shoulder-length, sun-streaked blond hair, flashing aqua eyes, and perfect size six body, right down to the matching tiny dimples in our left cheeks.
Rather specific wishes perhaps, but common enough among tween girl readers who longed to be transported to that magical candy-colored land of beach parties and Dairi Burger runs: Sweet Valley, California. In the days before Gossip Girl, there were Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, the practically perfect twin sisters at the heart of Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High series.
The high school juniors were the epitome of good and evil (well, high school Mean Girl-style evil, anyway), clad in Jordache jeans and surrounded by an ensemble of stock characters (Spoiled rich girl Lila Fowler! Mousy BFF Enid Rollins! Porsche-driving BMOC Bruce Patman!), and tweenagers gorged themselves on the glamorous tales of their high school exploits. Most novels featured the twins facing off over a moral dilemma, while some focused on their friends’ struggles with various afflictions from deafness to drug abuse—sometimes at the same time! (Oh Regina Morrow! You were my favorite!)
Penned by a coterie of ghostwriters, including bestselling novelist Eileen Goudge and Emmy-winning writer Rodney Vaccaro, under Pascal’s direction, the books were so successful that the series, which debuted in 1983, ran for twenty years. It also spawned a host of special edition, sequels and spin-off series. For elementary school and junior high adventures, there was Sweet Valley Kids, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley Junior High, and The Unicorn Club. The twins finally got to progress to Sweet Valley High Senior Year and later there were Sweet Valley University books—which usually showcased Jessica making an extremely poor life decision. (How could you elope to Vegas with that shady Mike McAllery, Jess?!)
The plots got more outlandish as the years progressed, even featuring werewolves and vampires in a rather prescient move. My favorites were the holiday and special editions, which had the girls biking through France or celebrating Christmas with a boyfriend-stealing floozy who had to be forgiven because she was maybe-kinda-not really dying of some fatal disease! There were even novels who featured the Wakefields’ ancestors—convenient dopplegangers of the current day Twins—who ran away to the circus and became trapeze artists or lived through the Great San Francisco Fire. At the height of the series popularity, there was even a TV show adaptation that ran four seasons and had a theme song that is virtually impossible to get out of your head. No joke, I never even watched the show (I was a bit too old by then for it to be cool to admit that I had #1-100 socked away in my mom’s basement for re-reading!) and I could probably sing you the whole first verse. (“C’mon, join in, everyone! Look right down any crowded hall, you’ll see there’s a beauty standing. Is she really everywhere or a reflection?...”)
Today, there are hosts of weblogs like thedairiburger. com or 1bruce1.livejournal.com that lovingly mock and nostalgically reminisce about the Twins’ exploits, but there’s no denying that SVH left an indelible mark on pop culture history. Diablo Cody is rumored to be writing an SVH screenplay, and even their own creator missed them, as Pascal herself came out of retirement to pen a decidedly adult coda to the saga this year. Sweet Valley Confidential features the grown-up twins living on separate coasts (!), Liz having fled sunny Sweet Valley after a terrible fight with her sister. There’s drinking, casual sex, and dingy Manhattan dwellings—and that’s just in the first chapter! Devoted fans drove the hardcover up the bestseller charts on its debut, and this week, the paperback edition hits bookstores. Gas up those Fiats, and hang on to your lavalieres, the Wakefield twins are back!
Are you a Sweet Valley High fan? The first 50 people to email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with their name and mailing address will receive a Sweet Valley Confidential t-shirt (offer limited to the United States only, at this time). We’d also like to encourage everyone to “like” the Heroes and Heartbreakers Facebook page, where we’ll be giving away more exclusive romance goodies in the future!
Offer valid through October 24, 2011, or while supplies last. You must be a resident of the 50 United States or D.C. to take advantage of this offer. One per person or per household. No automated, programmed or similar requests. Allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Macmillan is not responsible for lost, undelivered or misdirected mail. Void where prohibited.
Tara Gelsomino is a reader, writer, pop culture junkie, and internet addict. You can tweet her at @taragel.
