Sweet Valley Confidental by Francine Pascal

Never has a book given me quite so much attention as my latest read, “Sweet Valley Confidental” with the familiar crest of Sweet Valley High, a lot of my friends were eagerly asking “Is there a new Sweet Valley High book?’

Like a lot of girls. I spent my teenage years reading the “Sweet Valley High” series. I was often found curled up on my bed reading the latest adventure, that twin sisters Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield had to offer. Being two of the most sought after girls in the Calfornian town, they were never short of admirers and the books were never dull.

So like, every other reader of the “Sweet Valley High” series, I was intrigued with the release of “Sweet Valley Confidental”, which would follow the lives of the girls ten years on. Although I had heard through the grapevine that this book was nothing like the series, that in fact it was shocking. I rapidly found I was soon of the same opinion.

After Jessica committs the ultimate betrayal, Elizabeth flees the town and heads for the shiny lights of New York. With moving to the big city, she can finally concentrate on her dream of becoming a serious reporter. She starts work on theatre magazine “Show Survey” a free publication packed with theatre reviews and interviews, it is there that she meets new and upcoming play-wright Will Connolly interviewing him for the magazine, on the run up to his debut play. Even though she is throwing herself into her work, she can’t forget the hurt that she had to leave behind, unable to deal with it, she decides the only way to heal her broken heart is to get revenge.

Meanwhile back in Sweet Valley, Jessica is also trying to move on with her life, but finds it increasingly difficult with each passing day and still no word from Elizabeth. She longs for her sisters forgiveness but Elizabeth no longer even acknowledges her exsistence. But as time passes and Jessica grows more desperate for her sister, Elizabeth’s heart grows colder as she plots her revenge, turning her from the “good twin” into someone a lot more crueler.

This book was completely different from the “Sweet Valley High” series, it seemed so much more grown up, which would be obvious with it being ten years on, but that still caught me off guard. Throughout the series there was always an upbeat, happy feel to the books but in “Confidental” there is a much different atmosphere, full of bitterness, hurt and betrayal, it was hard to believe that these were the same characters that I read as a teenager, especially now Elizabeth has taken on much more darker side.

Even though “Sweet Valley Confidental” is a lot darker than the original series, it was still nice taking a trip down memory lane and getting an update on all the characters which was also quite shocking in parts, when you discovered how they all turned out. This book is a surprising, must read for all “Sweet Valley High” readers.

You can buy [amazon_link id=”0099557738″ target=”_blank” ] Sweet Valley Confidential (Sweet Valley High) on Amazon [/amazon_link] and other good bookshops.