If you're a teenager right now, then chances are you haven't read the Sweet Valley High books by Francine Pascal. They were more popular when I was in middle school (about 350 years ago) and I had a lot of friends who read them. (Sorry, Francine Pascal. I was too busy sneaking my dad's Stephen King books and reading L.J. Smith - the
first time her books came out - to read
Sweet Valley High).
The books are about twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. Elizabeth is basically the good one and Jessica is pretty much the bad one, but more in a snobby, conniving way and not so much an evil way. The stories rotate between the sisters and their many friends at Sweet Valley High. There was also a
television show that ran from 1994 to 1997 and starred twin actresses Brittany and Cynthia Daniel.
There has been some controversy surrounding the books, mostly because back in 1983 the girls were described as "a perfect size 6" and when the books were updated in 2008, they were described as "a perfect size 4."
You can check that out here.
Screenwriter Diablo Cody has been hired to write the script for a
Sweet Valley High movie. Having recently seen and enjoyed the horror flick
Jennifer's Body (definitely not a kid-friendly movie!) with a group of high school seniors and knowing the popularity of Diablo Cody's first film,
Juno, I have high hopes that Cody will put her own unique, sarcastic, hilarious, and very smart twist on the pretty blonde twins from Sweet Valley, California. Can Cody transcend Sweet Valley's reputation for idealistic blonde beauties, hunky quarterbacks, and cutesy romances? I sure hope so.
