A book your mom loves: Sweet Valley High

I remember seeing the Sweet Valley High books in our shelves (and reading one of them) like sixteen years ago, on top of the Danielle Steel collection, and quite a number of Filipino romance pocket books. Yes, my mom used to love reading. She stopped the moment I learned to love it too. I’m not really sure why.

For this challenge, I chose “Double Love,” the first book of Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley High series. I couldn’t find the old books anymore because we’ve been moving from time to time so I just bought the kindle version.

The Story:

Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield are identical twins with different interests and temperaments. Jess, being the outgoing type, is more concerned with her appearance and reputation than her sister. Liz, the simple and reserved one, is busy fulfulling her dream to become a famous writer. Different as they are, two girls are both attracted to Todd Wilkins– the most popular guy from the basketball team.

My Rating: 2 stars

While I’m sure that I loved that Sweet Valley High book (can’t remember the title) that I’ve read from years back, I can’t help but realize how much YA stories have evolved through time. The story didn’t have enough depth for me to reflect upon. I also didn’t like Jessica’s character, and the stunt that Liz pulled at the end, though it was just for fun. I didn’t like Todd at all. Or maybe I’m just too old to be reading this kind of story. The third person POV is also confusing in some chapters.
Quotes I liked:

“Anybody who would believe things about me without even finding out the truth isn’t anybody I care about.”

“Write, she told herself. Keep on writing. Forget everything else.“