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Sweet Valley High Grows Up - Will You Read It?

Mandy Harris — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:16:35 PDT

Young adult novels are definitely not just for young adults; when we asked you which YA novel you'd read again, you had no shortage of suggestions. But what if, rather than staying frozen in time for you to nostalgically revisit, your favorite YA series grew up along with you? That's what the Sweet Valley High series is doing, and creator Francine Pascal tells the NY Times it's getting mixed reactions.

In Pascal's new series, Sweet Valley Confidential, Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are now 27 years old (OK, so they're not exactly aging in real time), and have had a serious falling out. Plus - brace yourselves - they drink and have sex. And orgasms.

If you read the Sweet Valley High books as a teenager (which 88 percent of you say you did), you'll remember that although there were a few miniseries-within-the-series that got a little intense, the books and their plots were pretty tame. Arguments were petty, reconciliations were quick, and relationships were chaste. Even "bad" twin Jessica was basically just a snotty and self-centered teen. The new series is definitely a departure from that, but if the Wakefield twins are going to grow up, their plotlines have to grow along with them.

Are you interested in reading the series? Or would you rather stick to the original and leave well enough alone?

Buzz Readers' Top 5 Favorite Book Series

BuzzSugar — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:30:00 PST

The Harry Potter series spawns yet another film when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 comes to theaters on Friday, but it's certainly not the only collection of literature that you love. We recently asked you for your favorite book series of all time, and you suggested some current offerings along with some beloved picks from the past. Check out the ones that made your top five!

Did You Read Sweet Valley High Books Growing Up?

TresSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 06:00:00 PDT

Sweet Valley High, a book series that had a twenty-year run starting in 1983, centered on the lives of teen twins Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield from - you guessed it - Sweet Valley, CA. There was even a television show based on the books.

Word on the street is that Jennifer's Body screenwriter Diablo Cody will be at the helm of a project to produce and direct an adaptation of the Sweet Valley High books. Something tells me she'll be perfect for this.

Diablo Cody to Attend Sweet Valley High

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:30:20 PDT

She's tackled pregnant teens, monster teens, and now Diablo Cody is going for . . . sweet teens? Yes, the dialogue diva herself has been tapped to produce and direct an adaptation of the Sweet Valley High books.

Even though the manufactured slang in Jennifer's Body started to get to me, I'm interested to see what Cody does with the beloved books. I read a lot of the series (and even watched the TV show), and I'm happy to see the books get revived in the pop-culture domain, even if it does involve Jessica telling Elizabeth that she's "Jello, so lime-green Jello."

UPDATE: Diablo herself replied to my tweet about made-up slang with "Thinking I might play it straight." There ya have it!

Should Older Books Be Updated For a Modern Audience?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:30:00 PDT

I spent a good portion of Thursday afternoon being horrified by the fact that, in the newly updated versions of the Sweet Valley High books, the gorgeous Wakefield twins' oft-referenced clothing size has been reduced from a "perfect" six to a "perfect" four - a fact the publisher proudly trumpeted in a press release. It's as though Random House sat down with the '80s editions and thought, "huh, these unrealistic expectations just aren't quite unrealistic enough!"

The Wakefield waistline isn't the only thing they've changed: Instead of a red Fiat, the girls now drive a red Jeep Wrangler (I thought they said 2008, not 1998!), and brainy Elizabeth edits her school's website and blogs rather than working for those boring dead tree things we used to call "newspapers."

This reminded me of an interview with Judy Blume I heard last Fall, where she talked about deleting some of the menstruation "equipment" from updated editions of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (and taking a mimeograph machine out of Fudge). She said she didn't want to confuse kids and make them ask their parents to explain how things were back in the day.

Do you think it's necessary to update references in older books so they make sense to a younger crowd? Or is the tinkering just unnecessary?

Source

5 Reasons a Real '90s Girl Will Love Young Adult

Lizzie Fuhr — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:30:12 PST

We are so excited that Young Adult hits theaters today! Charlize Theron plays Mavis, a girl who used to rule the school and is now dealing with some deep-rooted issues. She heads back to her sleepy Minnesota hometown to live out a sick twisted fantasy that she and her high school boyfriend are destined to be together. Doesn't sound too sick or twisted yet, right? The only problem is he's happily married with a sweet wife and newborn baby girl who Mavis refers to as "it." The movie makes you laugh and cringe in a way that only Diablo Cody could pen. But the icing on the cake? A constant influx of '90s references. If you're a girl who grew up in the '90s, here are five reasons you've got to see Young Adult.

Waverly Prep reminds us of the girlie books we grew up with. Whether you were a lover of Sweet Valley High or Judy Blume, the Waverly Prep teen-fiction series that Charlize Theron's character writes will make you want to pull out those old books and dive back head first.
The jocks still dated the cheerleaders. Buddy and Mavis were the picture-perfect high school couple of the '90s. Too bad Buddy has moved on and Mavis is stuck in the past.
We enter an epic 1990s girlie bedroom. When we enter Mavis's untouched high school bedroom, there are enough colorful scrunchies and high school Glamour Shots to satisfy any '90s girl craving for nostalgia.
There is talk of the lost art of mixtapes. From the opening credits of the film, a yellow mixtape with the song "The Concept" by Teenage Fanclub plays a remarkably central role in the novel and Mavis's twisted vision of her lost love. While modern playlists are pretty awesome, I'd like to start a movement to bring the mixtape back.
Diablo Cody went to high school in 1995! This girl lived out all the 1990s high school magic first hand. If we have to go back to high school, we're glad Diablo Cody is the writer to take us there.

18 Young Adult Novels Worth Reading Again

TresSugar — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:19:59 PST

Young Adult, starring Charlize Theron as a fiction writer, comes out in theaters next week. We asked our readers what YA novels they'd read again. From classics like Little Women to '80s nostalgia like Sweet Valley High to contemporary favorites like the Gossip Girl series, here are 18 books to add to your list.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares
Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
Forever . . . by Judy Blume
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous

Read the rest below.

Link Time - See Glee Take On Katy Perry Again

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:30:25 PST

Watch Glee's latest Katy Perry cover - Aol TV
Are these actors immune to bad reviews? - Moviefone
22 awards contenders featuring animals - The Hollywood Reporter
What critics are saying about Michael Fassbender's new movie - Rotten Tomatoes
See tons of stars dressed as Marilyn Monroe - NextMovie
The tragic irony of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - BuddyTV
Diablo Cody spills on the new Sweet Valley High - Zap2it
Make your own Star Wars napkin holders for the holidays! - GeekSugar

Link Time: Frida Kahlo Is a Beauty For the Ages, Unibrow and All

BellaSugar — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:59:10 PST

Frida Kahlo's ageless beauty makes her an unexpected icon - Stylelist
Find your perfect fragrance here - Real Simple
Snow White or Katniss: whose braid is better? - InStyle
Is Gisele the new face of Givenchy? - The Cut
Could your hair's pH balance be off? - Beautylish
More evidence that some men are totally ignorant of makeup's purpose - Glo
Did Sweet Valley High cause our current hipster plague? - Huffington Post
See Lush's 15 lovely new products - The Fashion Spot

Source: The Frida Kahlo Foundation

Reading: Does the Topic Matter?

babysugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:00:44 PDT

One of the best gifts any parent can give their child is the love for reading. Reading experts often encourage new parents to introduce their newborns to books starting on day one. Whether it's the newspaper, a magazine, or Goodnight Moon, they say that the ritual and inflection are often what matters most.

As infants grow and their reading capabilities sharpen, the subject of the texts obviously becomes more relevant. I would rather my daughter choose to read To Kill a Mockingbird over Sweet Valley High, but I think reading anything over nothing is preferable.

The well-known book supplier Scholastic holds book fairs in elementary schools throughout the country. On their lists of available titles are often some of pop culture's favorite characters: Sponge Bob and Harry Potter are just two. Until recently, Bratz were also part of the Scholastic collection. That was until more than 5,000 people from the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood wrote to Scholastic pressuring them to take any form of the dolls out of schools, even in books. Initially, the book company took the stance that Bratz books were important to reach "reluctant readers." For kids who dislike reading but love the Bratz, I think it's a valid argument. If my daughter chose to read a Bratz book over nothing at all, I'd have a hard time pulling that book, albeit brain candy, from her lil hands.

What's your position on pulling commercialized type books like Bratz from schools?