Sweet Valley, a love letter.
Dec. 3rd, 2012 08:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
impy As I mentioned Saturday, I've been a Sweet Valley High fan since I was eight or nine. I know for sure I was a fan by the time I was nine because I have a very distinct memory of going to the library and checking out as many SVH books as I could possibly carry. We're talking two hands, books piled up to my chin, and the librarian giving me a Look for taking out so many books of one kind at one time. "What if other people want to read them?" which has always been my least favorite question when asked by a librarian. Isn't the point of libraries to check books out and read them? Didn't deter me, which was kind of surprising since I normally would crumble under such a combined attack. (That Look would put Kristy Thomas to shame.) "Don't worry. Half of them will be back in a week," and away I went. That week I went to school with a new SVH book each day, perched on the corner of my desk so I could have something to look forward to at the end of each lesson.
In sixth grade things got really interesting when A Night to Remember was published. I remember being done with the book and calling Ari because the end was so shocking. It was really late for us but that ending could not wait. I remember sitting at the top of the stairs kind of shaking with the awesomeness and horribleness of it all. Seventh grade brought The Evil Twin and that just upped the awesome factor by a thousand. In retrospect this is the moment I consider the series to have jumped the shark as nothing that came afterward was anywhere near as good for me, though the cheerleader arc does come close. It was another book where I could not wait to discuss the WTF moments with someone. After that I lent a lot of my SVH books to Ari and Cass until one came back green. (Books and green markers should never meet in bookbags, kids.) The library of me closed for awhile and when it reopened it resulted in a book coming back in pieces (Ann Rice's Lasher, I think.)
The Earthquake books happened as we were moving and the reboot as Senior Year was an interesting idea that didn't work well for me, but we'll detail that later.
I was too old for the kids books by the time they came out, but I had a couple. I loved the cover on Sweet Valley Trick or Treat because if ever there was a more perfect representation of how I felt concerning Halloween costumes, I don't know what it could be.
I loved a lot of the Twins books (though I still feel that Lila should sue for almost all of her book covers) and the Unicorn books were crack for me until they shifted tone considerably. (I didn't realize they'd continued them honestly.)
And can we take a moment to discuss SVU? Yes. Yes we can. I'm not sure who decided Nancy Drew and the Wakefields needed to go to college, but bless them. Bless them from the bottom of my heart. I loved SVU more than is healthy for a series that did my head in so thoroughly. Whatever I loved, I found something to loathe in equal measure. I'm really not sure how they managed that balancing act, but they did.
Cass still checks to make sure her copy of #8, Home for Christmas, is still on my bookshelf because she's oddly attached to the last book with just about everyone on the cover. I'm not sure if she doesn't realize there were three more books with the original models or what, but that's the one she loves. She was not a fan of the Daniel Twin switcharoo that happened, let me tell you. And for some reason this just adds to my love of the series.
For me, Sweet Valley was my preferred crack of choice. I loved many other series during the same time (Sleepover friends! Gymnasts! Saddleclub! BSC!) but something about the over the top theatrics of the SVH crew held my imagination just a little bit more. Maybe it was the twin aspect, or maybe it was that they could go to the beach whenever they wanted. I'm really not sure what it was, but it's my go to series more often than not for when I'm feeling less than happy. I may snark it (and I do) but I love it fiercely, flaws and all.
It's why when I read SVC I wanted to throttle everyone involved. It's why I read The Sweet Life even when it became obvious that things were just going to end in pain. It's why I hold out hope for things to get better one day. I still believe in my Wakefield twins, their friends and loves, and the the magic that resides in a little town called Sweet Valley.
In sixth grade things got really interesting when A Night to Remember was published. I remember being done with the book and calling Ari because the end was so shocking. It was really late for us but that ending could not wait. I remember sitting at the top of the stairs kind of shaking with the awesomeness and horribleness of it all. Seventh grade brought The Evil Twin and that just upped the awesome factor by a thousand. In retrospect this is the moment I consider the series to have jumped the shark as nothing that came afterward was anywhere near as good for me, though the cheerleader arc does come close. It was another book where I could not wait to discuss the WTF moments with someone. After that I lent a lot of my SVH books to Ari and Cass until one came back green. (Books and green markers should never meet in bookbags, kids.) The library of me closed for awhile and when it reopened it resulted in a book coming back in pieces (Ann Rice's Lasher, I think.)
The Earthquake books happened as we were moving and the reboot as Senior Year was an interesting idea that didn't work well for me, but we'll detail that later.
I was too old for the kids books by the time they came out, but I had a couple. I loved the cover on Sweet Valley Trick or Treat because if ever there was a more perfect representation of how I felt concerning Halloween costumes, I don't know what it could be.
I loved a lot of the Twins books (though I still feel that Lila should sue for almost all of her book covers) and the Unicorn books were crack for me until they shifted tone considerably. (I didn't realize they'd continued them honestly.)
And can we take a moment to discuss SVU? Yes. Yes we can. I'm not sure who decided Nancy Drew and the Wakefields needed to go to college, but bless them. Bless them from the bottom of my heart. I loved SVU more than is healthy for a series that did my head in so thoroughly. Whatever I loved, I found something to loathe in equal measure. I'm really not sure how they managed that balancing act, but they did.
Cass still checks to make sure her copy of #8, Home for Christmas, is still on my bookshelf because she's oddly attached to the last book with just about everyone on the cover. I'm not sure if she doesn't realize there were three more books with the original models or what, but that's the one she loves. She was not a fan of the Daniel Twin switcharoo that happened, let me tell you. And for some reason this just adds to my love of the series.
For me, Sweet Valley was my preferred crack of choice. I loved many other series during the same time (Sleepover friends! Gymnasts! Saddleclub! BSC!) but something about the over the top theatrics of the SVH crew held my imagination just a little bit more. Maybe it was the twin aspect, or maybe it was that they could go to the beach whenever they wanted. I'm really not sure what it was, but it's my go to series more often than not for when I'm feeling less than happy. I may snark it (and I do) but I love it fiercely, flaws and all.
It's why when I read SVC I wanted to throttle everyone involved. It's why I read The Sweet Life even when it became obvious that things were just going to end in pain. It's why I hold out hope for things to get better one day. I still believe in my Wakefield twins, their friends and loves, and the the magic that resides in a little town called Sweet Valley.