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In Praise of Totally Awesome '80s YA
Gabrielle Moss has charted the history of ‘80s and ‘90s YA novels, from The Baby-Sitters Club to Wildfire, in Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction. Here she takes us through hidden gems from the era.
If you were a tween girl in the ‘80s or ‘90s, you almost certainly have it: that box of pastel paperbacks, tucked away in your mom’s basement.
Inside each volume was a story about well-adjusted, well-groomed suburban teens, engaging in various all-American activities (Baby-sitting! Riding horses! Fighting over some guy named Steve!). Series like The Baby-Sitters Club, Wildfire, Sleepover Friends, Sweet Valley High, and The Fabulous Five turned young adult literature into big business in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In 1985, Sweet Valley High Super Edition #1: Perfect Summer became the first YA novel to fight its way onto the New York Times bestseller list, and other series that never made it that far still had hundreds of thousands of copies in print, as well as official tie-in videos, dolls, notepads, board games, and lip balm to their name.
But while these books were popular, they weren’t acclaimed—parents and educators alike were often disappointed that tweens had dropped the “serious” novels of Judy Blume, S.E. Hinton, or Richard Peck, in favor of books about how, you know, sleepovers were fun. We absorbed these messages, too, and by the time we reached adulthood, most of us viewed these books as guilty pleasures, at best. Those books seemed silly and superficial, not to mention exclusionary—searching for stories about girls who weren’t white, straight, and middle-class in these books felt next to impossible. It seemed like they were best left up in the attic.
But I’d like to encourage you to dig them out (or, if your mom threw them out when you left for college, buy them on eBay). Because, as I learned while researching Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction, though these books were very imperfect, there was also more to them than meets the eye. They didn’t just help create the YA market that gave us Harry Potter and Katniss—they made us the women we are today.
Take, for instance, teen romances. The first YA series to appear in the ‘80s was Wildfire, a romance series which had two million books in print by 1982. Parents protested that Wildfire and its imitators taught girls to be shallow and boy-crazy—they even got a tie-in teen magazine pulled from production in 1981! But while some of the early YA romance featured teen characters chastely swooning and giving up what little agency they had, others suggested that love was something shared between two equals. Contemporary teen romances like Wildfire’s Nice Girls Don’t, historical romances like the Sunfire series, and even supernatural romances like the Windswept series said that the real Mr. Right would never ask you to make yourself small. In an era of great social change for women, these books could be lifelines for girls growing up in families that didn't yet believe a woman was entitled to her own identity.
And while the ‘70s are remembered as the era of the teen social issues novel, plenty of YA books in the ‘80s and ‘90s brought up social issues in a naturalistic way. Marie G. Lee’s middle grade novel, If It Hadn’t Been For Yoon Jun, examines transracial adoption and small-town racism alongside bullying and the cruel politics of middle school popularity. Cynthia D. Grant’s Uncle Vampire is both a spooky gothic horror novel and a sensitive exploration of how incest victims cope with the horror of their abuse. A. M. Stephenson’s Unbirthday walks confused, curious teens through every step of getting an abortion, while also spinning a sweet romance about a high school relationship.
Some series were obviously crafted to teach young girls that independence and creativity were cool—Ann M. Martin told The New Yorker in 2016 that “I certainly had a feminist perspective” when creating The Baby-Sitters Club. But while other, lesser-known series about groups might not have had such political motivation, looking back at The Gymnasts or The Pink Parrots makes their messages clear: It’s fulfilling to have your own passions, to work for the things that matter to you, and to find your tribe while you do it.
Of course, this isn’t to say that every book from this era was covertly progressive or empowering—many series had no higher agenda than selling books, and even series with ideals often fell short when it came to showcasing any kind of real diversity. But while this era wasn’t perfect, it’s still worth remembering. ‘80s YA was marketed directly to tweens, rather than teachers or librarians—which means that the books were about what they actually wanted to read, rather than what adults thought they should want to read. Without that, who knows if we’d have gotten Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or any other series fueled more by reader tastes than what your 7th grade teacher thought was proper.
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction is on sale October 30. Don’t forget to add it to your Want to Read shelf!
Inside each volume was a story about well-adjusted, well-groomed suburban teens, engaging in various all-American activities (Baby-sitting! Riding horses! Fighting over some guy named Steve!). Series like The Baby-Sitters Club, Wildfire, Sleepover Friends, Sweet Valley High, and The Fabulous Five turned young adult literature into big business in the ‘80s and ‘90s. In 1985, Sweet Valley High Super Edition #1: Perfect Summer became the first YA novel to fight its way onto the New York Times bestseller list, and other series that never made it that far still had hundreds of thousands of copies in print, as well as official tie-in videos, dolls, notepads, board games, and lip balm to their name.
But I’d like to encourage you to dig them out (or, if your mom threw them out when you left for college, buy them on eBay). Because, as I learned while researching Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction, though these books were very imperfect, there was also more to them than meets the eye. They didn’t just help create the YA market that gave us Harry Potter and Katniss—they made us the women we are today.
Take, for instance, teen romances. The first YA series to appear in the ‘80s was Wildfire, a romance series which had two million books in print by 1982. Parents protested that Wildfire and its imitators taught girls to be shallow and boy-crazy—they even got a tie-in teen magazine pulled from production in 1981! But while some of the early YA romance featured teen characters chastely swooning and giving up what little agency they had, others suggested that love was something shared between two equals. Contemporary teen romances like Wildfire’s Nice Girls Don’t, historical romances like the Sunfire series, and even supernatural romances like the Windswept series said that the real Mr. Right would never ask you to make yourself small. In an era of great social change for women, these books could be lifelines for girls growing up in families that didn't yet believe a woman was entitled to her own identity.
Some series were obviously crafted to teach young girls that independence and creativity were cool—Ann M. Martin told The New Yorker in 2016 that “I certainly had a feminist perspective” when creating The Baby-Sitters Club. But while other, lesser-known series about groups might not have had such political motivation, looking back at The Gymnasts or The Pink Parrots makes their messages clear: It’s fulfilling to have your own passions, to work for the things that matter to you, and to find your tribe while you do it.
Of course, this isn’t to say that every book from this era was covertly progressive or empowering—many series had no higher agenda than selling books, and even series with ideals often fell short when it came to showcasing any kind of real diversity. But while this era wasn’t perfect, it’s still worth remembering. ‘80s YA was marketed directly to tweens, rather than teachers or librarians—which means that the books were about what they actually wanted to read, rather than what adults thought they should want to read. Without that, who knows if we’d have gotten Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or any other series fueled more by reader tastes than what your 7th grade teacher thought was proper.
Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction is on sale October 30. Don’t forget to add it to your Want to Read shelf!
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Meghan
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Oct 09, 2018 06:35AM
There's a Wildfire book on there, but how about Sunfire? I found those a few years ago and some of them are pretty good. Being born in the 90's, the two 80's series I grew up with were Babysitter's Club and American Girl (though I wouldn't consider either of those YA).
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Loved The Babysitters Club and continued to read them into my adulthood. I find it hilariously ironic that these and other such series were often labeled by parents as “saccharine”, “unrealistic”, “too clean”, etc, and that the books they would have preferred their children to read have since ended up on Banned Books lists!🤣
Yup. Babysitters Club set (about 90% of all the books) is currently in my mom's attic. I refuse to part with them. They may have been silly and not as high class as Judy Blume, but they lead me to discover a love for reading. If they hadn't hooked me in elementary school, I probably wouldn't be the devoted reader I am today. I'm a firm believer in letting kids read what THEY want to read and a love of reading will more than likely blossom.
I didn't like most of the series--liked BSC but thought the reading level was insultingly low, especially after the "Little Sister" books forgot how to use contractions. However, it wasn't that the series needed banning, certainly not that Blume or Hinton were "better." If, as a young library aide, I steered teenagers to even more awesome YA books by e.g. Cynthia Voigt, Madeleine L'Engle, Robert Westall, et al., it was because there *were* real novels about young characters that were (and are) as well done as novels written for and about people over 25 years old.I thought of BSC as really written for 8-10-year-olds who were looking forward to being 11-13-year-old baby-sitters, like the protagonists. For that audience I recommended it, and still do. It's just a bit of a shock to see it classified as YA. I think of YA as either about teenagers with adult-size problems, or about older teens and college students actually moving into the adult world--part-time employment, not just baby-sitting. I can't picture teen readers accepting BSC on the YA shelf.
Nancy Drew, they might have accepted as YA, if that series hadn't been so far out of style and/or if most baby-boomers hadn't read it in grade five.
I devoured the Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley Twins, and Sweet Valley High as a tween. Since then I've reflected on why, and I've come to the conclusion that Sweet Valley (both series) is really not the best thing for young girls to be reading. They're fun and addicting, sure, but the core takeaway for me was, "You must be beautiful to be happy." Nearly every female character, particularly the twins, has perfect faces and perfect bodies which are constantly remarked upon and described. Of course, there is the token "plain" friend -- Enid (great name!) -- whose subplots are never that interesting and there is even one whole book dedicated to her being brainwashed by this spa/plastic surgery clinic into nearly getting tons of plastic surgery because she's so jealous of her beautiful friends. Looking back, I totally internalized this message: all I wanted when I was young teen was to be beautiful, and then I assumed happiness would come. I for one am super grateful that MG and YA have come a lot further since I was a child (though I still think there are strides to be made in writing more "ugly" girls and teaching young girls that that's okay!)
I devoured the Sweet Valley books (Twins, High and University) were I was a tween and teen. I absolutely adored them. Yes, of course, now looking back they could be described as trashy and unrealistic. But, hey, they were a fun read at the time and that’s what they were all about! They made me enjoy reading which to this stay I still love reading and I am a firm believer that you should read what you enjoy. Books are to be read and enjoyed and the best books you will get lost in.
I’m going to plug for the Babysitters Club here. A big thing I really liked about those books was the diversity of the characters, racially, personality, and intelligence wise. Claudia was artistic, Japanese-American, and struggled in school.Stacey was diabetic and whip-smart in math.Mary Anne was painfully shy, but kind to a fault. Dawn was very environmentally-conscious. Mallory was from a family of eight children and loved to write. Kristy, founder of the club, was very sports-minded and not at all interested in fashion. And Jessie, Mallory’s best friend, was African-American and a talented ballerina. These girls had their arguments, but on the whole loved and accepted each other as they were. I recall several of the BSC books addressing racism, predjudice, handicaps,child abuse, bullying; all very relevant subjects of today’s society. Sounds like a pretty great series to me🤔😉💕(By the way, the BSC was “de-eightified” several years ago when re-issued, and in my opinion, Ruined!😱I’ll hang on to my originals, thank you!)
This list is very US focused. In the UK I was all about Jacqueline Wilson and the Georgia Nicholson books (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging etc).
The Sweet Valley series were my jam. They might have started in the 80s, but they were still pretty popular during the 90s
Sweet Valley High was the best. Don't care how bad it may be now but they were fun reads. Elizabeth was my boo Jessica was that bitch!
Love love Sweet Valley High dont care who may think it was a shallow series. I read Valley Twins, High and University. It was my thing in the 90's. Still have my books from that time.
I always loved these books and the YA of the 80s and 90s - such fun memories here.
I loved the BSC books and read them between the ages of about 9 to 11. Then I started reading VC Andrews.
Kd111600 wrote: "I'm a firm believer in letting kids read what THEY want to read and a love of reading will more than likely blossom."I completely agree!
Jess wrote: "This list is very US focused. In the UK I was all about Jacqueline Wilson and the Georgia Nicholson books (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging etc)."Although those were later. I was reading from the carousels of Sweet Valley books in a UK library before Jacqueline Wilson had been published. The most widely-available British equivalents back then seemed to be horse riding stories like the Jinny series and the Pullein-Thompson sisters. (As well as the more literary Puffin Plus books.)
I'm only 17 years old, but these books were my childhood! (thanks to some family friends who grew up in the 80s and 90s, and passed them down to me...)
They might seem kind of shallow and dated, looking back; but if I hadn't read series like Sweet Valley Twins, BSC, and Goosebumps as a preteen, I probably wouldn't enjoy fiction at all now.
So thank you for writing this post!! <3
They might seem kind of shallow and dated, looking back; but if I hadn't read series like Sweet Valley Twins, BSC, and Goosebumps as a preteen, I probably wouldn't enjoy fiction at all now.
So thank you for writing this post!! <3
Short recesses in the Library trying to check out all the babysitters club. books for the christmas holidays. I want to be a kid for a day again.
Yes!! The Sweet Valley High Series was my favorite!! Good Times...
I have always LOVED the cover pictures! *melts* I would like to figure out how to make my drawings/paintings look like that style. <3
I was born during the very end of the 90's so I wasn't around when many of these came out, BUT my local library was built in the 70's and had MANY of these books in the juvinale section in spin around plastic cubbies. However, many of the series never really grooved with me so I usually stopped after the first volume or two.
The series that did stick around were The Saddle Club, The Babysitter's Club, and a series that I can't remember the name of. It was about a girl that was fosterd by a family that had a farm (possibly also had horses) and had other foster children (?) as well as their own children. The girl's b-day was on Valentine's Day. I don't know if I would have stuck with the Fabulous Five but there was enough enjoyment for me to try and see if my library could get an interlibrary loan of the next books for me. But they were never able to so I'll probably never know. I never read the Sleepover Club books but I enjoyed the TV series.
But some of the older (not the newer editions) of the Saddle Club books led me to some stand alone stories I greatly enjoyed. Sadly, I can't remember their names, and at the time I hadn't started my habit of writing down stories I enjoyed.😩 And most of them were, and probably still are, out of print.
The only Judy Blume books I've read was the Fudge series, the only Richard Peck one's were A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder(?), and I don't think I've ever read any of Hinton's books.
That said, I've never read many books published as YA (Do comics kept in the teen section count if they weren't published under the YA lable?), and some of the ones I did read could also be placed in a library's juvnile section. I've also read books in the juvinile section that would probably be enjoyed by many teens. Most of the ones I did read I didn't find by serching through a bookstore's or library's YA section, so there are possibly more that I would enjoy if I wanted to take the time to search through the many I wouldn't.(=_=)
I was born during the very end of the 90's so I wasn't around when many of these came out, BUT my local library was built in the 70's and had MANY of these books in the juvinale section in spin around plastic cubbies. However, many of the series never really grooved with me so I usually stopped after the first volume or two.
The series that did stick around were The Saddle Club, The Babysitter's Club, and a series that I can't remember the name of. It was about a girl that was fosterd by a family that had a farm (possibly also had horses) and had other foster children (?) as well as their own children. The girl's b-day was on Valentine's Day. I don't know if I would have stuck with the Fabulous Five but there was enough enjoyment for me to try and see if my library could get an interlibrary loan of the next books for me. But they were never able to so I'll probably never know. I never read the Sleepover Club books but I enjoyed the TV series.
But some of the older (not the newer editions) of the Saddle Club books led me to some stand alone stories I greatly enjoyed. Sadly, I can't remember their names, and at the time I hadn't started my habit of writing down stories I enjoyed.😩 And most of them were, and probably still are, out of print.
The only Judy Blume books I've read was the Fudge series, the only Richard Peck one's were A Long Way From Chicago and A Year Down Yonder(?), and I don't think I've ever read any of Hinton's books.
That said, I've never read many books published as YA (Do comics kept in the teen section count if they weren't published under the YA lable?), and some of the ones I did read could also be placed in a library's juvnile section. I've also read books in the juvinile section that would probably be enjoyed by many teens. Most of the ones I did read I didn't find by serching through a bookstore's or library's YA section, so there are possibly more that I would enjoy if I wanted to take the time to search through the many I wouldn't.(=_=)
Sweet Valley High was my ultimate go to series during my teens followed by Sweet Valley University and the Sweet Dreams series! <3
What about Christopher Pike's books? A lot of them were published in the 80s but I only got a hold of them in the late 90s and early 2000s when I was a teen. He had a few interesting mysteries and some great supernatural stories with a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. And I loved his Spooksville series as a tween.
Rebecca wrote: "What about Christopher Pike's books? A lot of them were published in the 80s but I only got a hold of them in the late 90s and early 2000s when I was a teen. He had a few interesting mysteries and ..."Oh yes Christopher Pike too!! Like you I began reading his books, SVH and Sweet Dreams towards the mid and late 90s.
While I read some of the Sweet Valley High and Babysitter's Club books, my chosen go-to series was The Saddle Club. It combined my love of horses, mysteries, and good friendships, though much like the other series on this list, it could have done with more inclusion. African-American, Carole Hanson, was one of the three leading girls, but I felt there still could have been more diversity in the supporting cast (other than Carole's dad). Still, they were some of the best books I read in middle school, and I always looked forward to visiting the warehouse store with my dad in order to expand my collection. I can't even remember how many I had of the 101 (plus additional titles) book series, but I do remember loving every minute of reading.
Oh my goodness! Being the kid of poor immigrants, BSC were life savers! The only books I could own were ones I would buy with spare change whenever we went to our local goodwill and savers, and with such disorganized shelves, I always had a hard time finding something I would enjoy. But the pretty pastel covers of the BSC were always spotted quickly, so I quickly came to love them. I was addicted to them, and because I read them all out of order I would spend time just trying to analyze the progress of the series.I never enjoyed the SVH books, but Christopher Pike was always a spooky enjoyable guilty pleasure!
I was an enormous Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High fan as a girl, along with my Little House on the Prairie books and a much lesser known Camp Sunnyside Friends series.
I also read Christopher Pike, VC Andrews and RL Stine.
And yes, my favorites of those are safely stored at my parents' house! LOL
I still have my entire SVH collection, but my favourite reads as a tween were the Point Horror books (I still have all those too). I'm currently rereading the PH ones. I also remember reading Blubber and Forever, both by Judy Blume.
I think I have to be the only 80s girl alive who really hated Sweet Valley High. I read probably six or eight of them, but I just found the whole thing incredibly vapid. Both Wildfire and Sweet Dreams romances were things I could kind of take or leave, and I don't remember much from them, save I loved the font that Sweet Dreams used. On the other hand, I read nearly every single Sunfire romance before I just naturally aged out of them. What stays with me -- and what drew me in then -- was less the romance (I really never cared which boy she wound up with) and more the atmosphere. I've always been a lover of historical fiction and these were extremely approachable windows to the past. They weren't great literature, but I have a lasting fondness for them.
Loved the BSC series as a kid - even though I admit, I read Karen's series (the "Little Sister" books) interspersed with the original BSC series. I related to Mary-Ann because she was sheltered and shy, but I loved the fact that Kristy came from a big family. I remember even wanting to 'be like' Karen, and have a broken bone...yeah, maybe a bit extreme. Geez, I must've read the majority of them, picking them up at book fairs/sales, garage sales, and the like.
Never read the Sweet Valley High books but I imagine they were just as good for kid readers. :) I did make my way through all Judy Blume's "Fudge" books, and "Sheila the Great" around the same time...plus RL Stine's "Goosebumps" series. Even though I'm not a fan of true horror today, I can proudly say I read every Goosebumps book published!
I was a few years too old for the SVH books but I did read the First Love by Silhouette books, which are very similar. I also read a lot of Norma Klein's YA novels, all of Paula Danziger's novels (The Cat Ate My Gymsuit and The Pistachio Prescription among others) and loads of others. Most of Danziger's novels dealt with things going on in families, such as divorce, which I could relate to in 1983.
And also, what do I do with 3 boxes of these books? Some, I'm keeping like Judy Blume's books.
I love the RL Stine, Christoper Pike, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High and Babysitter's Club books. I still have some old copies from my childhood. Now, my daughter reads them. Lol.
Jess wrote: "This list is very US focused. In the UK I was all about Jacqueline Wilson and the Georgia Nicholson books (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging etc)."That could be because "Angus, Thongs..." wasn't published until 1999.
Stephanie wrote: "I’m going to plug for the Babysitters Club here. A big thing I really liked about those books was the diversity of the characters, racially, personality, and intelligence wise. Claudia was artistic..."I agree, Stephanie! I related most with Mary Ann and Dawn because I saw myself as this great, budding environmentalist; but I was also painfully shy throughout my school years, and rather sheltered compared to others. I liked Kristy too, because she was kind of a tomboy. Even now, I live in jeans and sneakers!
I wasn't into Sweet Valley High, but I loved the Couples books. And of course, Christopher Pike. There was another series called Dark Forces that was a lot of fun to read and had some romance in it.
Lots of girls I knew were into Babysitters Club and SVH, but they were never my thing. The vast majority of what I read in elementary/jr. high was either mystery/scary/"strange but true" or animal stories. I loved my Nancy Drew and also the zillions of junior "scary" anthologies that were around at this time. I occasionally also read books about young people surmounting some problem...Jerry Spinelli, etc.
Stephanie wrote: "I’m going to plug for the Babysitters Club here. A big thing I really liked about those books was the diversity of the characters, racially, personality, and intelligence wise. Claudia was artistic..."Thank you for your comment. I hate that the post made it seem like ALL these books were white upper middle class girls but BSC was very diverse with their characters as well as their topics. Even quite a few of the kids they babysat for were handicap or had issues. It was presented in a realistic was for middle grade kids to understand and accept without shoving it down our throats.
Sonja wrote: "I was an enormous Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High fan as a girl, along with my Little House on the Prairie books and a much lesser known Camp Sunnyside Friends series. [bookcover:No Boys ..."OMG! Camp Sunnyside! I could NOT remember the name of this series! Thank you!
DJL wrote: "While I read some of the Sweet Valley High and Babysitter's Club books, my chosen go-to series was The Saddle Club. It combined my love of horses, mysteries, and good friendships, though much like ..."
Yeeeeessssss, Saddle Club! I still rent those from the library! I like how even though they have series wide recurring jokes each volume has its own set of jokes so that it doesn't start to feel stagnant. They also weren't trying to rush in the romance, and when it does come calling the girls don't change.
By the way, have you ever read the sequel series? I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to give it a go or not.
Yeeeeessssss, Saddle Club! I still rent those from the library! I like how even though they have series wide recurring jokes each volume has its own set of jokes so that it doesn't start to feel stagnant. They also weren't trying to rush in the romance, and when it does come calling the girls don't change.
By the way, have you ever read the sequel series? I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to give it a go or not.
Yeah! I used to read these books all the time! My favorite series was The Sleepover Friends. Then there was The Party Line, The Babysitters' Club, Sweet Valley Twins (the tween version of Sweet Valley High), and a whole bunch of others I can't exactly recall. I loved those books! They were what turned me onto reading in the first place! Now I'm a hard core sci-fi reader, as well as a reader of much non-fiction including history, biographies, science, and sociology. I have a Master's in Social Work, and I was at the top of my class in graduate school. I don't think these books hurt me one bit! I thought it was wonderful to read about girls who had my same issues and problems, who were a lot like me; girls who had personalities, dreams, and aspirations of careers.You want to talk about how "wonderful" YA books are today? Stephanie, Kate, Patti, and Lauren from the Sleepover Friends never killed a bunch of other kids in a fight-to-the-death match watched by the entire country! They never lost themselves in hopeless romances. They never turned on each like many girls do in today's YA books because a girl can't trust "other girls", only the males in her life! Those books were about being with your friends, having a good time, and being who you were inside! I loved them all!
Anyone remember the `Sweet Dreams' series? Such a huge part of my childhood reading.
Jo wrote: "Anyone remember the `Sweet Dreams' series? Such a huge part of my childhood reading."Loved the Sweet Dreams series. Not long ago I re-read "Two's a Crowd".
Do you remember the Scholastic book order forms? I bought most of my BSC books that way. I wouldn't classify them as YA though- more middle grades along with the Sweet Valley Twins. I loved them both. I didn't like Sweet Valley High. I read those cheap paperbacks alongside Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women and all the classics; plus Judy Blume and others. I still read cozy mysteries and sometimes chick lit to balance out to classics and heavier reading. I have an undergraduate degree in Literature and a graduate degree in Library and Information Studies so reading popular fiction books didn't hurt me any.
QNPoohBear wrote: "Do you remember the Scholastic book order forms? I bought most of my BSC books that way. I wouldn't classify them as YA though- more middle grades along with the Sweet Valley Twins. I loved them bo..."I used to get the Scholastic book order forms every month from the Quaker school I attended! I remember being so excited to have my mother look over the list and clip a check to the form so that I could take it in to my teachers the next day! I ordered tons of books that way.
Leane wrote: "Sonja wrote: "I was an enormous Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High fan as a girl, along with my Little House on the Prairie books and a much lesser known Camp Sunnyside Friends series. [bookc..."LOL OH YAAAAY!!!
Took me a second doo, Leane! :)
Rachel Adiyah wrote: "QNPoohBear wrote: "Do you remember the Scholastic book order forms? I bought most of my BSC books that way. I wouldn't classify them as YA though- more middle grades along with the Sweet Valley Twi..."Me too Rachel! I still get excited when my son gets these now! Love to sit and browse them! :)
I loved that my favorite series would release books almost every month. BSC, all the Sweet Valley Series, and Fear Street books were must reads. Now as an adult, I'm doing re-reads of each one of those series. Reading those books are like a blast from the past that is so fun divulge in
anyone remember the Bad News Ballet books? a smaller bundle of books, but they were a riot. (The Terrible Tryouts)
Meghan wrote: "There's a Wildfire book on there, but how about Sunfire? I found those a few years ago and some of them are pretty good. Being born in the 90's, the two 80's series I grew up with were Babysitter's..."Sunfire rocked! Not just romance, but history lessons, too.
I was hooked on the First Love from Silhouette and Sunfire for sure, but the most amusing thing that happened from reading Sweet Valley High...I read East of Eden because Elizabeth compared evil Suzanne to Cathy. It led me to the classics? Hmmm.
Priscilla wrote: "I steered teenagers to even more awesome YA books by e.g. Cynthia Voigt"Bless you. She's my all-time favorite writer for young readers.
Anyway, a question to all the Sweet Valley High readers--do the books hold up? One article I read said that they just don't work for someone who's actually experienced the time in life where they take place; is that correct or was the writer really wrong?
