Summary
This article contains references to sexual assault, drug addiction, and domestic violence.
Sweet Valley Highjump-started the teen drama genre with lighthearted stories that also sometimes tackled serious subjects. The series relied on the identical twin trope, often focusing on the rivalry between popular and sometimes mean Jessica and studious Elizabeth, who were often rivals despite their love for one another. The late Francine Pascual and her team of ghostwriters penned some of thebest YA booksof the 1980s and 1990s, giving preteen and teenage girls relatable characters and situations in each story.
Although Jessica and Elizabeth’s rivalry was central to Sweet Valley High,many of the books featured the other kids they went to school with in sunny Los Angeles. Elizabeth’s best friend Enid, an unpopular girl named Robin who latched onto Jessica, bully Bruce Patman, and sweet, shy Regina were often major players and sometimes had stories of their own, though they were viewed through the twins' eyes. These vivid characters helped shape teen culture, andelder millennials learned life lessons fromSweet Valley High.
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9The Very First Book Dealt With Slut-Shaming
Double Love (October 1983)
Sweet Valley High began with what might have seemed like a lighthearted story about the Wakefield twins competing for the same boy. However, things get serious when Jessica, desperate to make Todd like her instead of her twin, accepts a date with bad boy Rick Andover. Rick takes her to a dive bar and keeps doing things that make her uncomfortable, and the date ends with a cop taking Jessica home… and mistakenly assuming she’s Elizabeth.
While this is the first book in theSweet Valley Highseries, there is also aSweet Valley Twinsprequel series for younger readers, featuring 12-year-old versions of the twins.
When a nosy neighbor overhears the cop lecturing “Elizabeth” about her behavior, she begins spreading rumors, and soon all of Sweet Valley High is talking about what a slut Elizabeth is to have gone out with a boy like Rick. Todd chooses Jessica over Elizabeth, who also has to put up with lewd jokes from boys like Bruce Patman. Although the situation is resolved in the typical lighthearted, soapy manner, it illustrates howdamaging rumors and double standards can be, especially for high school students.
8Elizabeth Ended Up In A Coma Because Of A Drunk Driving Accident
Dangerous Love (March 1984)
Dangerous Lovewas one of several books in the series to tackle the subject of alcohol and drug abuseamong teenagers. This book mostly focuses on a conflict between Elizabeth and Todd, who are supposedly in a good place following their first fight and almost-breakup. However, trouble lies ahead when Todd gets a motorcycle, which Elizabeth is not allowed to ride. This causes jealousy and misunderstandings when Todd offers rides to other girls and many of them swoon over him, and the pair almost breaks up because Elizabeth is convinced Todd is cheating on her.
The book’s climactic scene takes a shocking turn. Soon after Elizabeth and Todd make up and she gets in his car,Jessica discovers a horrible accident that includes an unconscious and bloody Elizabeth lying on the ground.Ironically, although Elizabeth’s parents had forbidden her to ride Todd’s motorcycle because they thoughtit was too dangerous, the accident was caused by Crunch McAllister driving his van drunk. The story ends on a cliffhanger, with Elizabeth in a coma and it being unclear whether she would survive.
Elizabeth’s fate was revealed in the next book in the series, which featured a story about her having amnesia and acting like Jessica.
7Steven Wakefield’s Girlfriend Disappeared Because She Didn’t Want Anyone Knowing She Was Terminally Ill
When Love Dies (September 1984)
When Love Dieswas one of thesaddest teen booksof the 1980s. This book was one of the first to feature Steven,the twins' older brother who was always unlucky in love and getting himself into trouble.In this tragic tale, Steven’s girlfriend, Tricia, ghosts him, eventually telling him she’s met someone else. Soon afterward, she vanishes altogether from Sweet Valley, and rather than being concerned about her sudden disappearing act, all the kids at school spread nasty rumors about why she’s gone and what kind of person she is.
There are severalSweet Valley Highbooks revolving around abduction, so it would not have been unreasonable for people to be worried that Tricia had been kidnapped.
The truth is much more tragic than anyone realized, and when Elizabeth accidentally learns that Tricia is dying of leukemia, she struggles with her conscience. Tricia has some ridiculous idea that it will be easier for Steve to let her go if he believes she cheated on him than if he knows she’s dying of a terminal illness, and this subplot overshadows the heartbreaking reality of her situation. However,Elizabeth’s dilemma over whether to tell Steve the truth was the right way for this story to go, as it keeps the book from being too depressing to finish.
6An Abused Kid Takes His Anger Out On His Friends
Out Of Control (March 1987)
Out of Controladdressed domestic violence in an interesting way. It focuses on Aaron Dallas, who had been a minor character up to this point, despite having been Jessica’s first boyfriend in the prequel series. Elizabeth gets involved in Aaron’s inappropriate displays of anger because her current boyfriend, Jeffrey, is friends with Aaron,which means she’s forced to hang out with him and his girlfriend, who she doesn’t like.
Elizabeth often gets into trouble for reporting things that embarrass her classmates, but this incident raises questions of who was right…
Things come to a head after Aaron punches out a teammate and is suspended and Elizabeth reports the incident in her gossip column in the high school newspaper. Elizabeth often gets into trouble for reporting things that embarrass her classmates, but this incident raises questions of who was right, becauseAaron’s anger management problems could cause him to abuse his girlfriend, too. The conflict escalates when Elizabeth won’t apologize for writing the article, causing Aaron to lose his temper and punch her boyfriend.
While the conflict is wrapped up with an unrealistically quick and happy ending, as is typical ofSweet Valley High, it was still important to delve into this topic. Aaron is acting out because his father is physically abusing him, but that doesn’t make his behavior appropriate or acceptable. Thus, this story touches on the cycle of abuse and the importance of speaking up when you see someone going down a bad path.
5Sweet Regina Dies of A Drug Overdose After Giving In To Peer Pressure
On The Edge (October 1987)
On The Edgeis one of the most traumatic books in theSweet Valley Highseries. It followed in the footsteps ofGo Ask Aliceby featuring a sweet, kind girl who makes a fatal error that results in her death from a drug overdose. Regina was a relatively minor character who had come to the United States from Switzerland and was Deaf. She was beloved by a large segment of the audience, and was the last person anyone wanted to die.
To make matters worse,the book gave little warning that it would end in tragedy, instead marketing itself as a story about Regina breaking up with former bully Bruce Patman. The story appears to be a typical teen drama in which Regina starts dating a boy who is into drugs and alcohol and won’t listen to her friends' warnings. These types of stories never end well, but that doesn’t mean that the character’s death is inevitable. However, in Regina’s case, she is pressured into doing cocaine at a party and suffers a fatal heart attack after taking too much.
4Sandy Wants To Date A Mexican Boy Despite Her Parents' Prejudice
Caught In The Middle (January 1988)
Thebest coming-of-age books for young adultstackle important social issues, and racism was an issue that first began appearing in books during this time period.Caught In The Middleagain used one of the twins' friends to approach an important issue with Sandy wanting to date Manuel despite her parents' prejudice against Mexican immigrants. As usual, Elizabeth got caught up in a moral dilemma when Sandy asked her to keep it secret that Sandy and Manuel were dating.
This book is hard to read in some spots when viewed through a modern lens. Although it attempted to address racism, it reinforced negative tropes because of Sandy’s emphasis on keeping the relationship secret. Most egregiously, there was an incident where Manuel helped rescue Sandy after a boat explosion but everyone gave Elizabeth credit for the heroic act so that Sandy’s parents wouldn’t realize she was dating Manuel, and this lie almost results in his arrest for causing the explosion. Despite these serious flaws, the story ends with a message of acceptance and Sandy and Manuel dating openly.
The Perfect Girl (April 1991)
Robin had appeared several times before. Jessica was often not nice to her, allowing Robin to hang around her because she wanted something from her rather than treating her like a real friend.She was often bullied for being overweight and sometimes got on crash diets to try to lose weight. Thus, it was likely that she would eventually develop an eating disorder, which is what happened duringThe Perfect Girl.
By the time this book begins, Robin has lost a lot of weight, but it’s clear she has low self-esteem, and it doesn’t help that Jessica doesn’t take her ideas seriously while planning a fundraiser for the cheerleading team on top of Robin’s boyfriend hanging out with another girl who feels a need to comment on Robin’s old photos and congratulate her on losing weight. Robin’s eating disorder is triggered by this comment, and she begins eating next to nothing, refusing to change her diet until she becomes so ill she ends up in the hospital. This was one of the most realistic stories and would be perfect for aSweet Valley HighTV adaptation.
2Jessica Was Vulnerable To A Cultist’s Manipulations
Kidnapped By The Cult! (February 1992)
Jessica was the antagonist more often than not, but occasionally she’d get into huge trouble because she felt unvaluedby her family.Kidnapped By The Cult!was one such story. It begins with Jessica hating everything about her life: her failing grades, her friends talking about the fun things they’re doing and not listening to her emotional distress, and her parents humiliating her by discussing her academic problems in front of Todd. All of this angst results in her being vulnerable to manipulation, and a kid named Ted who is in a cult befriends her while she is crying her eyes out at the mall.
The climax of the story is not particularly realistic,but the main premise makes up for it by demonstrating how easy it is for bad actors to manipulate kids. The group leader makes Jessica feel special and wanted, which draws her deeper into the group and isolates her from her friends and family. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, it’s amusing that Elizabeth doubts it when someone tells her Jessica was collecting money for charity because it’s so foreign for her to do things for others. The climax of the story is not particularly realistic, but the main premise makes up for it by demonstrating how easy it is for bad actors to manipulate kids.
1Sweet Valley High’s Lila Was Date Raped
Don’t Go Home With John (January 1993)
Some of the earlierSweet Valley Highbooks didn’t take issues of consent seriously, resulting in near-date rape scenarios that were never labeled as such. That’s one reason whyDon’t Go Home With Johnwas such an important story. This storymade it clear that lack of consent was not okay and that sexual assault was a traumatic experience. This story could have been made even more powerful by having Elizabeth or Jessica directly experience the assault; instead, it happens to Lila after Elizabeth set her up with John on a date. He nearly succeeds in raping Lila in the back of a car but she attacks him with her keys and escapes.
This book does a fairly good job of showing the aftermath of such an event,with Lila being reluctant to tell her friends the truth because of her shame and guilt. When Lila does tell, it’s unfortunate that her friends question whether she will be believed and aren’t sure they believe her themselves. However, they redeem themselves in theSweet Valley Highbook by setting John up to prove that he is a rapist. It’s a tough read, but one that dealt with an important topic long before #MeToo.
