Customer Reviews

Sweet Valley High # 2: Secrets

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was at the bookstore earlier today, and I picked this book up and flipped to a random page, but as soon as I read a sentence that consisted of one of the characters wearing a juicy courture outfit, I immediately put it down. And to make matters worse, I've heard that the pants size that Jessica and Elizabeth wear has gone from a perfect size 6, to a perfect size 4. Are you serious? Nice way to add to the growing issue of teenage body issues.

I have been a fan of The Sweet Valley series ever since I was a little girl, and have since then collected a majority of books from the several series that the world of Sweet Valley consists of. So ill say, I was excited when I heard that they'd be reprinting the books with new covers because I saw it as an opportunity for a new generation of sweet valley fans to discover these wonderful books. But I didn't realize that they'd also be changing some of the things in the book. I mean I can understand why they'd want to update some of the things such as the fashions and the use of cell phones, because I know things like that will appeal to todays audience. But still.

The next time I feel like re-entering the world of Sweet Valley, ill just stick to the old fashioned version and pick up one of the books off of my bookshelf.

I have been a long-time of this wonderfully crack-tastic series. Be warned as the other reviewer stated some of the changes they made are somewhat bizarre. A burger joint is changed to a Mexican restaurant, a character's clothing style and band name are changed...that however is nothing compared to the insidious fate handed down to slutty rich boy Bruce Patman. His beloved Porsche has been traded in for a CADDY(!?)
The name brands are a bit ridiculous, I feel and saying all this I will tell you that I cannot wait for the other books come out, so I can compare/contrast with my "old skool" collection.
Here's the plot of the book: Jessica wants to be prom queen. She finds out her twin sister's BFF has a druggie past and spills the beans to Enid's jealous boytoy, Ronnie.
There's also something about Jessica's BFF tormenting a French teacher because the teacher is dating her father.
W#hile Sweet Valley High books are not at all deep, they are quite fun.
I would highly recommend getting the originals before starting the reissues

As a fan of the original books, I was disappointed. Wow, could they make it any more obvious that this is 2008? Way too many pop culture references, and unrealistic dialogue. The real Enid Rollins would NOT be wearing Juicy Couture, that is for sure. Also, the scene where Enid tells Liz she was arrested and paralyzed a 5 year old is way too dramatic and I don't feel that it's real. They could have just written it so she got in an accident, blah blah blah. EVERY page they have to make a reference to a magazine, TV show, band, or fashion label that is commonplace today.

Oh, and for those of you complaining about how the twins went from size 6 to a size 4: In case you have been living under a rock, clothing sizes are DRASTICALLY different than they were in the 80's/90's. What used to be a size 6 is the same size as a 4 or a 2, nowadays. So you should feel lucky that the author didn't write them as a size 2 or zero. Before they redid clothing sizes to make women feel better about themselves, I was a size 6, now I struggle to fill out a size 2 pair of jeans.

And what about issues that real teens face today? Like sex and drugs? Those are hardly mentioned.

I miss the old Sweet Valley...

I don't like that this book (and maybe the whole series?) has been re-written to make it more modern. I was excited to see it was available on Kindle so I could revisit my old "friends" at Sweet Valley High. I first read this book when it was originally published. I was looking for some nostalgia, a flashback to the '80s, but this wasn't it.

I get that maybe someone thought today's teens wouldn't be able to relate to the stories as they were written originally, but I read Nancy Drew when I was little, and those books were definitely old-fashioned, but I still enjoyed them and related to them.

Purchased this for my teenage daughter who has read every current teenage girl's series including Gossip Girl, Twilight etc. -She told me that she loved it and wants more.

Jessica wants to be homecoming queen. She's dying to dance in the spotlight with the shoo-in for king, Bruce Patman.

While Jessica has the popular vote locked up, she learns that other people are rooting for Enid, her sister's best friend.

But Enid has a dark secret that she shares with Liz.

Jessica will do anything to win, but will she take down her sister's best friend and make life miserable for her sister in the process?

The second book in the SWEET VALLEY HIGH series takes drama to a new level that readers will eat up.

Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel