Sweet Valley High, the books & the TV series

[Dustyblue]

I was tempted to put this in the Telly section but this seemed better.

As a massive fan of the books (I have a few hundred of them... they're getting harder and harder to find in decent condition) I've watched many of the TV series episodes. Even though they butchered the books, I'm that much of a fan I kept watching 😁

The actors who played Elizabeth & Jessica, Brittany & Cynthia Daniels, are interviewed here years later. Wow, what a story... Francine Pascal herself didn't come up with this!

Brittany Daniel Had a Baby Using Her Twin Sister Cynthia's Donor Egg (people.com)

Yes weren’t there historic Wakefield twins called Elisabeth and Jesinym? One died on a horse at the circus?

I also remember the @PolkadotsAndMoonbeams fantasy one with the dolls. I think the ‘evil’ sorcerer was called Medwin and he ended up being turned into a doll and Lila got him for Christmas. This series was absolutely nuts thinking back on it! 😂

I loved Janet Quin-Harkin's SD too! I was 11 when they first published Sweet Dreams books and I had the first 40 or so titles.

My grandmother used to read them when she visited us from the UK, she loved them to the amusment of my mum, who couldn't believe any adult would willingly read them.

The cancer boy in the first one was called Paul Strobe, and the girl was Mariah - Mariah Carey wasn;'t famous yet and I couldn't work out how to pronou nce her name.

Often the girl would have a hobby instead of a personality which would provide the setting - a gymnist, swimmer, tennis player, painter, budding politician, musician etc.

I spent all my pocket money and paper round money on these things.

There was a slightly more edgy (you couldn'ty get less edgy!) series from another publisher that had more actual problems as well as some romance - Wildfire, they were called.

Wow this has jogged some memories! I remember loving a book or set of books where Todd and some other guys snuck into a cheerleading camp dressed as female cheerleaders. Thought it was hilarious 😂

I didn't read a lot of the SVH books but was obsessed with 'Sweet Valley Twins' the middle school ones. I had a all of them I think but they were lost when we moved abroad 😒

Particularly loved the 'specials' eg Unicorns go Hawaiian

In slight mitigation, I think that's an American 6, so a 10 here which is a bit more realistic.

I was very disappointed with Sweet Valley Confidential. It was set "ten years later" but as it was published in 2011 it kind of meant they graduated in 2001 !
The first book came out in 83 ish so technically they would have finished school in 85 ish. It would have been much more fun to have them as being from that era and a novel "set" in 2011 would have had them in their 40s.

I loved these books! I also read 'Sweet Valley Kids' when they were meant to be about 7. All I really remember of those is lots of talk about the different coloured 'barrettes' they wore in their hair. And Sweet Valley Twins when they were about 12. I think though each series was about those specific twins each one 'forgot' certain details from the previous series. So Elizabeth's love interest in SVH was her best friend in SVK but then she met him for the first time in SVT and started going out with him and then met him again for the first time in SVH!

I used to love those books!

This thread has given me so much joy today! I wish I still had my copies to reread

I remember that one. Didn’t they go into some kind of time warp or something? It was so weird! I lovedsweet valley twins. Was so envious of the rich unicorn friend Lila, she got a huge allowance every week and could buy jeans at the Mall in every colour! 😊

This is so funny because just the other day I found a load of Sweet Dreams books at my local supermarket- they have one of those second hand book swaps. They were all my era - so early to mid 80s (I'm 50) and I was so close to scooping them all up and bringing them home. Does anyone remember the one about the girl who pretended to be her own twin?!

I loved SVH. I am v bookish so Elizabeth was my favourite. I HATED Todd and I was v glad when he moved to Vermont!

I didn't know there were adult books and I was too old for Sweet Valley Twins though I always read them when I was babysitting when I was an older teen!

I loved the Caitlin series. She started off mean but then turned nice. I think she left a shed open and a little boy ate some weed killer and was paralysed. The scholarship student got the blame and then Caitlin felt really guilty and did end up confessing.

Oh and I loved the SVH books but my favourite ones were the ones where they were at college. Think they were called Sweet Valley University.

In SVH I remember Jessica and Sam being my favourite characters and I was devasted when Sam died! And then I vaguely remember there being an evil twin (triplet??) who looked exactly like Elizabeth and Jessica!!

Did anyone read the Point Romance books? They were all individual stories (like the Point Horror books), I can't remember them all but my favourite was called Summer Dreams, Winter Love.

I loved these! Sweet valley twins were great. I remember one with Lila pretending to be able to sing whilst it was someone else 'less cool' backstage and she was miming, and the ballet one where Jessica was overlooked for the main part instead of Elizabeth..wasn't there a psychic sister's one too

I had the first few Sweet Valley University books until I felt I got too old for them. Had the Caitlin series too but didn't enjoy them as much. Does anyone remember the SVH board game?! A friend had it, you had to be the first to get a boyfriend to go on a date or something.

Lots of you on this thread might like Paperback Crush which is the history of all these American 80s teen books. It’s full of nostalgia.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paperback-Crush-Totally-Radical-History/dp/1683690788/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2TZYWZNH0V6AX&keywords=paperback+crush&qid=1704389759&sprefix=papreback+crush%2Caps%2C74&sr=8-3

I loved Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High. I was too old for the Sweet Valley Kids books by the time they came out. The University ones were good too. I really didn’t like the later Confidential books with them as adults though - almost every character had a complete personality transplant. It was as if the author sat down and thought ‘Now, what would this character be doing now?’ and then wrote the complete opposite.

I also loved The Babysitters Club. The idea of allowing a load of 11 and 13 year olds to babysit seems mad now!

Lol.Sadly they are currently in a box in my closet. I have always imagined rereading them when I'm 80 in a retirement home.

And the original, twins, and special edition ones, but none of the adult ones.

@ChessieFL I recently reread some of the Babysitters Club books. Looking at them now those kids were essentially latchkey kids and it was a "you're the oldest so you're in charge" thing 😂.
But because they were mostly middle class families in "nice" neighbourhoods it was perfectly fine.

Love this thread. I would love to read them but I read “If you lived here” as mentioned above and I was WTAF all the way through!

Not ideal role models today 😂

Yes the evil twin was called Margo and the story ran for several books. I was enthralled at the time 😂😂 but can’t remember any more details now.

I remember Mr Collins looking like a ‘young Robert Redford’ though.

Evil Margo murders her way across the country to try and kill Elizabeth and replace her!
There was another short series As well, The Sweet life. The twins are estranged and Jessica is now with Todd and they have a child.. bit of a deviation!

There's a lot of the SVH books on Kindle Unlimited. If you don't have it it's worth getting the free trial or signing up for a month to read them

I loved them and the TV series was on Irish TV when I was a teen and I loved it too.

This keeps popping into my mind randomly on a regular basis .....in one if the books it mentions Jessica put on her jeans and then soaked them wet in a bath and would let them dry while wearing them so they would be skin tight. Like how random is it that is burned into my mind.

Thank you so much for linking that!! Just read about 70 reviews and it brought back many memories and made me laugh!!