Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

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Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

2.35 of 5 stars 2.35 · rating details · 4,563 ratings · 1,590 reviews

Now with this striking new adult novel from author and creator Francine Pascal, millions of devoted fans can finally return to the idyllic Sweet Valley, home of the phenomenally successful book series and franchise. Iconic and beloved identical twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are back and all grown up, dealing with the complicated adult world of love, careers, betray...more

Hardcover, 293 pages

Published March 29th 2011 by St. Martin's Press

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Apr 26, 2011 faeriemyst rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those who want their beloved childhood series stomped on, given a swirly&then flung into a dung heap

Shelves: young-adult-fiction, chick-lit, fiction-literature, brain-candy, library-loan, brain-damaging-fluff, give-me-back-my-time, humor, sweet-valley-high, what-was-i-thinking, waste-of-time, my-iq-dropped, wtf, what-the-hell-happened, author-made-deal-with-the-devil, my-childhood-has-was-a-lie, sarcastic-review-alert

"What a stupid book."

That was my initial thought after turning the final page of Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later.

As a pre-teen, I was addicted to the Sweet Valley High series, and then later, the Sweet Valley University series as well. Before that even, I had read some of the Twins and Kids series, so when I heard this was coming out last year, I just knew I had to read it. I was excited beyond compare and went into full geek-out mode. Where are the perfect size-six Wakefield twins,...more

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May 03, 2011 Erika rated it 1 of 5 stars

I don't care, laugh, but I am going to read this. I loved SVH books when I was young! Now if they would only give us "Trixie Belden: The Adult Years" I'd be set.

I downloaded the first chapter for free yesterday on iBooks! Just got a gift card for my bday, can't wait for 3/29...

April 2011: Sad to say this was GOD AWFUL. Not even nostalgia could make it tolerable. If you insist on reading it, do yourself a favor and borrow it from someone. Although that would not leave you the option to burn after...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

*Additional note 06/12* For whatever reason, the subject of this book has ended up in a couple of conversations of mine this week. Apparently, people aren't aware that the book was so extremely far off from the original Sweet Valley High series. Maybe it won't be a big deal to some people but I wanted to say again to those who didn't know : If you feel like you wouldn't be able to handle major character/personality changes from your beloved childhood book friends, keep your memories intact by av...more

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Aug 06, 2012 Lindsay rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Listen, y'all. I love me some Steinbeck as much as the next bookworm. But sometimes, you have to fluff everything up with some pure, unadulterated shit. As soon as this horrible book came out, I had it on my eReader.

And I burned through it in one evening.

I should clarify - I grew up with Jessica and Elizabeth. They made me want to be blonde, to have a twin, to be the bubbly, vivacious girl (Jessica) while inside I was really the nerdy one (Elizabeth). I desperately wanted to be friends with Lila...more

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Jul 14, 2012 Lux Zakari rated it 3 of 5 stars

I’m considered a grown woman by many accounts, yet in 2008, I made it my mission to read the entire Sweet Valley High series. Upon completing this patience-taxing (Liz and Todd are fighting again?) yet guiltily pleasurable goal, I learned Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later was in the works. Perfect timing. I couldn’t wait, and last night I finally got a glimpse of the infamous twins at twenty-seven, living their perfect size-six lives.

Only their lives are not so perfect. (There wasn’t me...more I’m considered a grown woman by many accounts, yet in 2008, I made it my mission to read the entire Sweet Valley High series. Upon completing this patience-taxing (Liz and Todd are fighting again?) yet guiltily pleasurable goal, I learned Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later was in the works. Perfect timing. I couldn’t wait, and last night I finally got a glimpse of the infamous twins at twenty-seven, living their perfect size-six lives.

Only their lives are not so perfect. (There wasn’t mention of anyone being a size six, although we can be assured that our blond, aqua-eyed heroines are still absolutely “gorgeous” and “amazing.”) Older twin Elizabeth lives in New York, hating the guts of her twin Jessica, who committed the ultimate betrayal. I won’t disclose what the betrayal was, but it featured prominently in Jessica’s Secret Diary Volume II, a fact that was conveniently not mentioned. It was obvious Francine chose to stick with canon SVH stories (#1 Double Love, #40 On the Edge), and slip-ups like this will go unnoticed by the casual SVH readers.

For me, however, the inconsistencies were glaring and frustrating. To note a few: Two characters had a monumental first kiss—only it wasn’t (#102 Almost Married). The book also mentions “bad boy” A.J. Morgan, with his long blond hair, who touched one of the twins’ breasts in seventh grade, completely deviating from #48 Slam Book Fever when redheaded army brat A.J. Morgan moved to Sweet Valley junior year and was so shy that girls who were too flirty scared the hell out of him. The last epilogue-y chapter recaps nearly everyone so incorrectly that I had to skim the write-ups after a point. Perhaps my aggravation is due from knowing too much more than what’s appropriate in regards to Sweet Valley High, but I don’t find that an excuse for sloppy content editing and fact-checking.

Furthermore, Winston Egbert is unapologetically killed off in what feels like a weak attempt to avoid thinking up a storyline for one of the more likable but far less attractive Sweet Valley characters. To make his death “forgivable” (although it’s actually made even worse), the rest of the characters talk vaguely about what an unbearable “asshole” Winston became and how he had no friends at the point of his demise. The thought is absurd and groundless, as SVH readers left off knowing Winston as a goofy, fun-loving character and there is zero evidence actually shown in SVC:10YL of him behaving otherwise; we have to rely on everyone’s catty word. It’s hard not to feel sorry for Winston, who perpetually got the shaft right up to the very end – clearly a deserving fate for a character who never lived up to the foxy, rich and over-privileged heroes in Sweet Valley. Also nauseating was hearing the twins consider people like Enid Rollins to be conceited and pretentious after fifteen years of her living in Elizabeth’s shadow and SVH’s inadvertent portrayal of the twins as the most arrogant people alive.

And yet – the story was riveting. I ate it up like a Dairi Burger special. Francine certainly weaves a mesmerizing, updated yarn using her trademark bread-and-butter series. The characters’ relationships and romances were charming, fascinating and believable, which is downright shocking considering it’s a Sweet Valley book. Aside from the inconsistencies, I liked the throwbacks and inside jokes to the series, but a reader doesn’t have to be well-versed in SVH lore to enjoy this story, although those who’ve grown up with the series will certainly find perverse delight in the twins getting down to business in the bedroom and Alice Wakefield dropping the F-bomb.
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Jul 14, 2011 Jennifer Jensen (Literally Jen) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: gift-from-friend

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Just like thousands of other women, I grew up reading the Sweet Valley books. So when I learned that a brand spankin' new Sweet Valley book was coming out--and that the twins were all grown up--I was ecstatic! I wasn't a religious fan of the series and haven't read every single book in the various series; I chose the ones to read based on their individual story arcs. The Elizabeth and Jessica Secret Diaries were a quick and easy way to know about the events of previous books all mashed into one...more Just like thousands of other women, I grew up reading the Sweet Valley books. So when I learned that a brand spankin' new Sweet Valley book was coming out--and that the twins were all grown up--I was ecstatic! I wasn't a religious fan of the series and haven't read every single book in the various series; I chose the ones to read based on their individual story arcs. The Elizabeth and Jessica Secret Diaries were a quick and easy way to know about the events of previous books all mashed into one nifty volume.

I was also excited about this book because the series creator, Francine Pascal, was writing this one herself. But after reading Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later, I think the writing should have been done by those who have done it best all these years.

Where to start on the writing...the structure of this book is all over the place. It begins in 3rd person past tense, then switches to a flashback in 3rd person past tense, and then to a 1st person POV in present tense. We get to hear from Elizabeth, Todd, Jessica, and even Bruce and Steven. I wasn't really a fan of the flashbacks because it seems like they were just summaries from the last books in the SVU series. I didn't read those, so I can't say for certain if that hunch is correct or not. Additionally, there was too much repetition; first we'd get Elizabeth's thoughts on a specific situation, and then a few pages later we'd get the same situation rehashed from from someone else's perspective. There just wasn't enough "new" material to make this a truly satisfying read.

The writing style. I hope that we can all agree that we didn't read the Sweet Valley books because we thought the writing was top notch. This book could definitely have used some more editing. Pascal tried a little too hard to be hip on things like Facebook, Twitter, and emailing, but they are just thrown into the story to give it a more "modern" feel. I didn't really get the impression that Pascal understands how Facebook and Twitter are used.

Dialogue. I do not remember Jessica throwing a "like", "so", or "totally" into her speech in the old series. Why would she start doing this now at the age of 27? It didn't flow very well, and anytime I came across a "like" it was very out of place in the sentence. She also didn't consistently speak like this throughout the book.

And what was the point of the epilogue? It seemed like it was Pascal's character outlines thrown together just to add some more "meat" to the book. If you're reading this book right now, seriously skip the epilogue because it adds nothing to the rest of the book; it's just more of what we're already told throughout the rest of it.

I was really hoping for a more mature take on the Sweet Valley world, but all I got was a ton of disappointment. Pascal doesn't seem to "know" these characters at all. And why would she, since she didn't even write the books? There were a lot of things that should have been fact checked that weren't, even though Pascal credits someone in the acknowledgements with finding that information out for her. When Jeffrey French is mentioned the first time, he is married with some kids. When he's mentioned in the epilogue, he went to The Wedding as Lila's date and had moved back to Sweet Valley single and unattached. Sorry, but that is a really HUGE mistake! Even if the editor (if there was one) wasn't familiar with the Sweet Valley books, this mistake still should have been caught.

So even with all the flaws and no mention whatsoever of Amy Sutton (how on earth did she get left out of this, but Steven's and Bruce's dead girlfriends get mentions?), it was still nice to visit Sweet Valley again and get reacquainted with the twins. I can't say I won't read future Sweet Valley books, but I hope the publisher is paying attention to the critical reviews and gives Sweet Valley the respect it deserves.(less)

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Apr 02, 2011 Melissa rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, books-i-regret-reading, meh, read-in-2011, series, young-adult, nostalgia

Originally posted at Sweet Treats & Thrilling Tales

Let me begin this review by saying that I am an 80′s child. I started reading The Babysitter’s Club, Fear Street and Sweet Valley High when I was about 7. I grew up on Sweet Valley books. From SVH to Sweet Valley Twins to Sweet Valley University (released when I was about 14). So yes, when I saw that Sweet Valley Confidential was coming out, I had to have it. Even though I had to read SVC, my expectations were not high and that was definitel...more

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Apr 20, 2011 Kayla rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sweet Valley High (and all its spin-offs, from Twins to University) were pretty much all I read in elementary school and going into junior high, so obviously this book is a must-read.

Update: I finished this book in less than two days and I was left with very mixed feelings about it. I loved reading Elizabeth's chapters and learning about her new life as a journalist in NYC. Elizabeth has always been my favorite twin and it was nice to see her living the life she wanted (at least as far as her ca...more Sweet Valley High (and all its spin-offs, from Twins to University) were pretty much all I read in elementary school and going into junior high, so obviously this book is a must-read.

Update: I finished this book in less than two days and I was left with very mixed feelings about it. I loved reading Elizabeth's chapters and learning about her new life as a journalist in NYC. Elizabeth has always been my favorite twin and it was nice to see her living the life she wanted (at least as far as her career was concerned). As for Jessica, I outright hated her in this book. I always knew she was self-centered and narcissistic but she had always had a charm to her too. In this book, there was no charm. She was just a cold-hearted bitch who slept with her twin's fiance. (Thinking back on SVH books, though, I have to admit that Jessica has done some pretty screwed up things in the past. The first thing that comes to mind is when she spiked her sister's drink at a school dance. Elizabeth ended up leaving the party with Jessica's boyfriend (Sam Woodruff? I'm not 100% sure on the name)-not aware she was drunk-and crashed the car, killing Sam instantly. Jessica basically called Elizabeth a murderer and did not fess up to her part in all of it until Elizabeth had already begun defending herself in court for the charge of manslaughter. Yep, pretty screwed up. Alright, enough of memory lane. On with book at hand.) I hated reading about that part when she had the [month long!!] affair with Todd in college. Reading about how it all happened did not justify it for me at all. She didn't even try to stop herself. They kissed once in the car and then sped to Todd's apartment to have sex, while poor Elizabeth was lying oblivious in her room, sick with the flu.

Reading Jessica's parts was not only frustrating for me because of her actions but also because it was just poorly written. There were so many "likes" and "sos' thrown into her narrative, and it was like so totally annoying to read. It also made her sound stupid, as if she really was just some dumb barbie-doll Valley girl.

I have to admit, though, that I started to warm up (a tiny bit) to her character once Elizabeth finally confronted her. The twins had been split apart for the whole book, and the first real scene when they're together doesn't happen until about 200 pages in. Just having the twin dynamic back made me more open to Jessica--I was becoming more like Elizabeth and willing to forgive her for anything. However, despite all that, I thought Elizabeth forgave her twin way too quickly. What Jessica did was incredibly wrong and she had no justification for it (I just wasn't buying that she and Todd were truly in love-they had zero chemistry). Even after everything she did, she still got her happy ending. Ugh.

However, I was really happy that Elizabeth got together with Bruce Patman in the end. I thought they made an interesting couple. It almost made up for the screwed up way that her and Todd's meant-to-be relationship ended.

All in all, I'd recommend that you don't buy this book but check it out from the library instead. I don't think it's worth spending money on, but it's not a waste of time to read either, especially if you're a die-hard SV fan. (less)

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Apr 18, 2011 Alex rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am possibly more excited about this book than ANY other coming out in the next few years. What does that say about me...

UPDATE:

So the library was taking entirely too long to get this in, and the reviews (and spoilers) were all over the Internet and hard to avoid. So I actually went and bought it this weekend, which I haven't done since the BSC prequel. How I love my childhood books, I guess.

This book is kind of impossible to rate. It was not very good, but come on, it's a Sweet Valley book. Wh...more

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Apr 04, 2011 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: chick-lit

To say I was disappointed in this book is an understatement. To say that I felt my childhood was dragged out, beaten and raped and then set aflame would be more accurate. These are not the characters I loved. (view spoiler) I just...can't even begin to explain.

Above and beyond the falsification of my childhood, was the manner in which this book was writte...more

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Apr 10, 2011 Trish rated it 1 of 5 stars

Now I grew up with Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield. Being a pre-teen in the late 80's, who didn't? Now by the time Sweet Valley High the Senior Year or Sweet Valley University came along I was well into high school and much too cool so this series, but what can I say? When you hit the mid-thirties you look back on the things that are associated with our youth- at least I do.
I was very excited to see this available and downloaded it quickly to the Nook. I began reading and was prepared to meet m...more

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May 10, 2012 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: already-owned

If ever I had a guilty pleasure, it would be this book. Yes, I was a Sweet Valley High fan back in the day, and when I saw this for $5 in the bargain section of Barnes and Noble, I just couldn't resist. I'm almost embarrassed to have this on my list, but then again I'll bet some of my GoodReads buddies secretly would want to read it too! Something tells me this is going to be a piss-poor disappointment, but I'll give it a go anyway.

Review as of May 10, 2012 - OK, I've finished the book, and des...more

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May 12, 2011 Nicole rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 18, 2011 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars

Francine.
FRANCINE.
FRANCINE!

This was awful.

I have two questions that I would love anyone involved with this book to answer.

1) There must be hundreds of passable writers with tumblrs who grew up reading Sweet Valley books; any they could write a 10-years-later book with irony and some well-placed self-awareness. Why didn't you choose ANY OF THEM instead of the ghostwriter(s) you paid to write this shit. Or did you really write this one yourself? It isn't even consistent with the canon! The nods t...more

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Apr 13, 2011 Petra (Safari Poet) added it

I pretty much knew what I was going to write about fifty pages into the story and I've been dreading it and trying to figure out how to sugar-coat it. I didn't enjoy this book at all. My favourite part was the excerpt I read online, I type while cringing.

This book's potential readers are those who read the Sweet Valley High series when they were younger and are looking forward to seeing how the twins have grown and mature. I didn't read the series, but it wouldn't surprise me if the characters h...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Alice rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, 2011, literary

I won this book in Goodreads' First Reads.

I honestly can't remember the style of the original Sweet Valley High books, or if they were well-written. I remember reading them when most of my classmates were just starting chapter books, which isn't a zing on them so much as a comment on how having older sisters can influence one's reading habits.

That said, this matches up well with what I recall of Sweet Valley High, and that's not a compliment. None of the characters struck me as growing up into a...more I won this book in Goodreads' First Reads.

I honestly can't remember the style of the original Sweet Valley High books, or if they were well-written. I remember reading them when most of my classmates were just starting chapter books, which isn't a zing on them so much as a comment on how having older sisters can influence one's reading habits.

That said, this matches up well with what I recall of Sweet Valley High, and that's not a compliment. None of the characters struck me as growing up into an adult; with one exception, they seemed like they were high school students playing dress-up. The one exception, of course, was Elizabeth Wakefield, who was always the most mature of any of the high school kids.

The book begins with Jessica having stolen Todd, who Elizabeth has been dating for the last decade. Elizabeth was so pissed off by this betrayal that she took off for New York, where she has a burgeoning career as a journalist. It's been eight months, and she is, understandably, still mad. Then there's a contrived reunion at the grandmother's birthday party (because that's not going to be awkward or anything), things blow up, Elizabeth goes back to New York pissed off all over again, and Jessica chases after her to cry at her about how unfair it is there are consequences for lying and sneaking around.

The characters are beyond shallow. Jessica is commended, in the book, for rubbing cancer survival in a woman's face when she asks if she's heard from her sister. Perhaps Caroline's motives were less than kind, but there's no indication she's hounding her or saying anything inappropriate, and Jessica's tantrum struck me as childish and petty. But everyone pats her on the back and tells her, "Good job," with no indication that there was anything wrong with what she'd said.

The moral of the book, that you should forgive your shallow, vapid, selfish sister because she felt kinda bad about betraying you, made my teeth hurt. There's also a nice slap in the face to anyone who's ever been cheated on, because Jessica says, without any kind of challenge to her assertion, that she only flirted with every guy on the planet because she hadn't found the right one yet. And the description of her second husband as cute and rich foremost over his supposedly awful temper and possessiveness (which Todd, himself, displays readily within the text) left me tasting bile.

I can't recommend this book to others who grew up reading the series, because I assume you've outgrown the books as much as I have. Maybe some high school readers might enjoy it, though I should warn you there's some sex and strong language, if you're a parent looking into picking this up for your teenager. It seems the book tried to substitute actual maturity for elements that were too adult for the original series.

Overall, this was a disappointment. Even the epilogue that outlined what became of the entire cast made me roll my eyes.(less)

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Jul 01, 2012 Suzanne rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really can't believe I rated this book one star. I mean, I was so excited for it, and despite the rather terrible reviews from other readers, I still held out hope that I, being the diehard Sweet Valley fan I was growing up, would still enjoy it. As you can see, I was wrong.

Reading this book would be the equivalent of taking one of your favorite childhood memories, then going back in time to relive it, only to discover it was not a good memory at all. Let's say your favorite childhood memory...more I really can't believe I rated this book one star. I mean, I was so excited for it, and despite the rather terrible reviews from other readers, I still held out hope that I, being the diehard Sweet Valley fan I was growing up, would still enjoy it. As you can see, I was wrong.

Reading this book would be the equivalent of taking one of your favorite childhood memories, then going back in time to relive it, only to discover it was not a good memory at all. Let's say your favorite childhood memory is of being at a park with your family. You remember your father pushing you on the swing, the gentle, salty breeze blowing on your face while your mother stands smiling a few feet in front of you. Now, let's relive it. Instead of being pushed on a swing, you were just pushed to the floor. The salty breeze? Actually the smell of sewer. And the smile on your mother's face is because she is strung out on bath salts staring at you because you suffer from delicious face syndrom and finds this whole situation hilarious. This is the kind of life ruining I experienced by reading this book.

I was so fanatical about Sweet Valley. I read every book. I watched the T.V. show. I had the Sweet Valley dolls (The Prom Dolls featured on this page http://hbc.djarv.co.uk/sweet_valley_h...) and I would interchange their outfits and make them pretend to be each other, all the while never being fooled by who was who. Ok, you don't really need to hear about what a nerd I was, so moving on.

My point is, I remember the series as being fun and entertaining, and nothing short of addicting. Jessica was always a bit misguided, and Elizabeth was always a bit stiff, but at the end of the day, they were there for each other. At least, in my memory. And my memory of Sweet Valley would never have been so thoroughly corrupted had Francine Pascal decided not to jump on the hot and awesome train of young adult fever. Because let’s be honest, if the Young Adult genre wasn’t so smoking right now, good old Fran would have probably left Sweet Valley in retirement, where I am beginning to think it belonged.

In this book, Jessica was so completely shallow and one dimensional. Everything is about her, and I couldn’t relate to her at all; a character I once adored, and she was meaningless to me. Elizabeth was whiny and not at all proactive. In my memory I always recall Elizabeth handling things maturely and like an adult, so explain to me why 10 years later she is practically more immature than Jessica. This betrayal was a complete joke. No spoilers, as always, but the situation was completely unrealistic, even without my memories of the characters from Sweet Valley High. It was a “hey, let’s throw this in, and oooh, let’s throw that in, and they will never see this coming!” shock factor writing style, which instead of causing shock, made this a no-plot-whatsoever-drag-of-a-story-which-probably-shouldn’t-have-been-written-much-less-read. Not to mention the ridiculous ending.

If you want my opinion, I would say no matter how avid of a fan you were of Sweet Valley growing up, skip this book and keep your memories intact. Otherwise, you may find yourself wondering if all the books were really this terrible, and questioning why you were ever the type of person who would read them.

(less)

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Nov 02, 2011 Mary marked it as to-read

Okay, I've been meaning to put this on my to-read list--how could I not--I dreamed in Elizabeth and Jessica at one point in my life. God I was lucky that day my mom and I ran across the entire set of SVH books at a garage sale for 25 cents a piece!!! Jackpot!
I'm sad that the reviews of "10 years later" are so bad, but read some of the review--they are damn funny--especially the one a few down with all the errors. Maybe I just need to read the reviews--pretty entertaining.

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Sep 28, 2011 Joy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I realize this book has really bad reviews, but I'm trying it anyway. I don't see anything wrong with it in the first couple of pages - I'm kinda excited!

This book was kinda silly - It was fun to read about characters I loved growing up and seeing what happened to them. The main plot of the book was kinda sad/annoying, I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't based on the sisters not being friends anymore because Jessica stole Elizabeth's boyfriend..ugh. and the way that Jessica talked got old...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Shauna rated it 2 of 5 stars

The reviews I've read about this haven't been good - but I checked it out at the library and decided if anything it will at least be some mindless reading!:)

The reviews were right! But, like I said, it was good for mindless reading.

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May 05, 2011 Kelly rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, on-kindle, read-in-2011, girly-books

I owned practically all the Sweet Valley High books when I was a teenager, so of course I had to read this. Was it terrible? Yes. Did I expect it to be good? Nope. Is that ok? Definitely. Just please, tell me SVH wasn't this bad (who am I kidding, of course it was!)

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May 22, 2013 Julie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013, fiction

I was slightly tempted to put this in "humor" but it wasn't THAT funny...

When I saw that this book existed, I was seriously amused. The fact that they published this book at all is obviously a ploy to take money from the hands of people around my age who fondly remember all the exploits of the Wakefield twins and their long list of friends, enemies, and frenemies. If it's done well I don't mind this kind of thing at all - but that's a big if.

In this case, I wasn't a hardcore fan of Sweet Valley...more I was slightly tempted to put this in "humor" but it wasn't THAT funny...

When I saw that this book existed, I was seriously amused. The fact that they published this book at all is obviously a ploy to take money from the hands of people around my age who fondly remember all the exploits of the Wakefield twins and their long list of friends, enemies, and frenemies. If it's done well I don't mind this kind of thing at all - but that's a big if.

In this case, I wasn't a hardcore fan of Sweet Valley High. I read many of them, and also read many Sweet Valley Twins books. The book I actually liked the best was the historical epic special about the Wakefield family, that traced back what happened to several previous generations. I am also solidly Team Elizabeth and found Jessica almost entirely unlikable.

Anyway... I found a beat-up copy of this book at a yard sale for 50 cents and I was very excited. I knew it was surely going to be awful - and it was, OH, IT WAS - but I hoped that it would be enjoyably so.

I have to say, after reading this book, I feel that it was probably a good move to have ghostwriters do 99% of the work on this series. Francine Pascal's thank yous about helping her out with "current technology" (like Facebook and texting, apparently) and her horrible rendition of Valley speak every time Jessica opened her mouth were, like, sooooooo obviously hints that she was writing outside of her milieu. (I guess she threw in all the theater stuff so she could write a bit of what she knows.)

I found it really crazy how the twins managed to age, what? Ten years since the mid-80s? Someone needs a lesson in basic mathematics. Then, totally glossing over this egregious age-tampering, most of the characters have just about flip-flopped personalities. Elizabeth, Todd, Enid, Winston, Bruce... Jessica, not so much. It's like a giant dirtbag bomb hit Sweet Valley and turned even the nicer characters into jerks.

Now, I freely admit I was not a big enough fan to remember details like A.J. Morgan's hair color or Roger Collins' son's name, but I AM NOT THE AUTHOR/CREATOR. I am positive that any of these details could have been discovered after about two minutes of searching on the Internet, and thereby corrected. Of course, given Ms. Pascal's views of technology I guess the Internet would not have been an option. (SO GET SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT. SHEESH.)

The book is about what the original series was: full of gorgeous, "perfect"-looking characters with huge bank accounts and trashy relationships, and lots and lots of drama. So, on that level, it shouldn't disappoint; the problem is giving nearly every character a frontal lobotomy while creating said drama. I think that is the part that will really bother the devoted fans.(less)

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Apr 08, 2013 Bron rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: america

It's over 20 years since I read the SVH series, and I knew this book would be a piece of fluff, but didn't expect it to be quite so disappointing.

This is the story of everyone's lives 10 years on -and it is simply a soap opera. We hear all about the story of Jessica stealing Todd from Elizabeth and Steven Wakefield cheating on his wife with a guy..... And then there are the stories of Elizabeth having casual flings - who are these characters, and what happened to the teenagers I used to read ab...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Months ago I came across this title at B&N's bargain books section. I instantly smiled and was taken back to my childhood where I devoured the Sweet Valley series. I passed on the book and wished I hadn't. So the next time I went to the store, I snatched it up. I'm not sure how I feel about the book. It has been ages since I read one of the Sweet Valley books so I don't remember much. Heck, I had forgotten that the twins also had a brother. The story is definitely quite the soap opera. The c...more

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Jan 20, 2013 Khadija rated it 1 of 5 stars

I really, really loved and enjoyed the Sweet Valley series apart from Nancy Drew and the Babysitters Club. The only books that opened my eyes to reading and I remember being hyper and wanting to know everything. I even wished that I had a twin sister so that we could be similar to Jess and Liz and live in a small town known as Sweet Valley. Those years felt wonderful so when I heard a final book about their lives will come out, I thought yes. You grew up with those characters so see where they e...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit, youngadult

I admit to being intrigued when I saw they were doing a new Sweet Valley book (having devoured most of the series when I was younger) so though it wasn't high on my reading list, when I saw it at the bookstore for $2.99 I figured, why not? I should have heeded the discount price warning. This was TERRIBLE. My expectations were not high, but this was barely readable. The author, in what I can only imagine was an attempt to portray the vernacular of teenagers who grew up in southern california (th...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Imagine my elation when I found out that Sweet Valley was BACK! Like many women my age, I raced to the Barnes and Noble store and downloaded this gem to my nook immediately. Let's just say that the idea of Jessica and Elizabeth grown up is nice, the reality was AWKWARD.

Elizabeth is a poor excuse for a woman who cannot seem to have adult sex. Well, besides the fact that your childhood role model now aspires to hop in bed with whoever is just disturbing, you could at least preserve some of Elizab...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Cheryl rated it 2 of 5 stars

Jessica and Todd have broken the sister rule. Do not steal your sister’s old boyfriend. This is exactly what Jessica has done. Only this time it is more serious. Jessica and Todd say they love each other and they are planning on making it permanent by getting married.

Once learning the news about Jessica and Todd, Elizabeth runs away to New York to start a new life. Only Elizabeth can not stop thinking about the past.

I can remember growing up reading the Sweet Valley series and all the trouble...more

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Sep 09, 2012 Nicole rated it 1 of 5 stars

What was "Ms. Pascal" thinking when this book was written?! 30-something year old women fell in love with the Wakefields and idyllic Sweet Valley and were eager to return to see how their lives continued on the exact track we all expected. We wanted a reminiscent walk down memory lane but instead got a horribly written book that mutilated all of my happy memories.

The storyline was a disaster, I am not even going to waste time attempting to recapture it. It did not make chronological sense at all...more What was "Ms. Pascal" thinking when this book was written?! 30-something year old women fell in love with the Wakefields and idyllic Sweet Valley and were eager to return to see how their lives continued on the exact track we all expected. We wanted a reminiscent walk down memory lane but instead got a horribly written book that mutilated all of my happy memories.

The storyline was a disaster, I am not even going to waste time attempting to recapture it. It did not make chronological sense at all and it felt like all the character's names were entered into a hat and pairings were randomly drawn out with no respect for the history of the series. Did that person actually die in the Sweet Valley University book? No problem. They were magically made alive again with not even an attempt at explaining their miraculous rebirth. And don't even get me started on the guy Elizabeth meets and a mere 12 hours later asks him to fly from NYC to LA with her for a family function! Seriously?!

All the characters are perfect. Perfect looking. Have perfect jobs. Are perfectly rich. When I was younger, it was fun to pretend that life was really going to end up that way, but I'm 28 now and I know better. Flaws are what really make people interesting. If it was mentioned one more time how beautiful the Wakefield twins were (like that makes you instantly worthy of any adoration) I was going to vomit. The characters are so OUT of character that I hated reading about them. I wasn't looking for a soap opera dramatization of the personality-altering changes these characters made in the last ten years.

And the writing - oh, the painful attempt to make Jessica sound Valley by inserting a bazillion "like"s in the middle of all her sentences! It was overkill. And what little flow there was to the dialogue was further butchered by the unnaturalness of my new least-favorite word. The style of the book was told as current situations and flashbacks, but was not done in an interesting or compelling way. The characters lack connection to each other, to the reader, and to reality.

Harsh? Perhaps. But I am a great fan of chick lit and this is the worst rendition I have read in a long time. Not worth my time, energy, or money. Sweet Valley ten years later should have remained confidential.(less)

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Sep 09, 2012 Eleni Konstantine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, sweet-valley-high

2.5 stars

The book redeemed itself in the last half to get another half star. Maybe because I had gotten used to the style, which was different to the series of old. I was a huge fan of Sweet Valley High series as a teenager. The POV of the 'now' drifts from omniscient narrating (telling) style to third and at times it's hard to follow. Jessica still uses 'like' a lot and she sounds like a teen at times. They've moved on and use the F word, which I get why it can be used but it jerkd me out of th...more

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About Francine Pascal

Francine Pascal (May 13, 1938— ) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of novels. In 1982 she created the characters and the stories for the first six books and her agent, Amy Berkower of Writers House sold them to Bantam Books. Book number one is mostly written by Ms. Pascal. From then on she wrote the stories for every book ever published in the series. After the...more

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Playing with Fire (Sweet Valley High, #3)

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title link	preview: Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later
avg rating	preview: Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later Goodreads rating: 2.35 (4563 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8913852-sweet-valley-confidential?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312037580l/8913852.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8913852-sweet-valley-confidential?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later by Francine Pascal[/url]

Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

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