Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love (by Francine Pascal)
common sense media says
Series revamp is the same mix of catty and cheesy.
parents & educators say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this revamped series from the '80s says it's for teens, but, just like in the '80s, the simplicity and candy-coated quality of the stories will mainly interest tweens, especially those who like High School Musical. The iffiest thing that new readers of the series will find in the first book is a bad-boy drunken car chase with unwilling passengers, an almost-forced kiss, a fistfight, and some serious lying and conniving behavior from Jessica against her own sister -- with barely any consequences. To modernize the series, new brands are peppered throughout, especially cars. Alarmingly, the twins have also gotten skinnier in this iteration: size 6 in the '80s, size 4 today.
Violence:
A drunken car chase. Bad-boy Rick almost forces a kiss on Liz, resulting in a parking lot fistfight between teen boys.
Sex:
Dramatic kisses. Some innuendo, including a joke about being a virgin and someone sounding like a "phone-sex chick." The Wakefield siblings think their father is having an affair.
Language:
Mild, with the occasional "hell" and "this sucks" and plenty of variations of "oh my God."
Consumerism:
Updated references are peppered throughout as an easy way to modernize the old series. Cars include the twins' Jeep Wrangler, plus Explorer, VW Eos, Jetta. Also mentions of Froot Loops, Botox, MTV, the movie The Fast and the Furious. Lots of talk of clothes and shopping, cell phones, camera phones, and blogs.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Bad-boy Rick drinks, smokes, and drives drunk. His bad-boy friends are all drinking before a show. Mentions of a girl's family members being in and out of rehab.
More on Sweet Valley High #1: Double Love
Review It
Most useful reviews by all members
Bila
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Sweet Valley High is so sweet
Sweet Valley High is a wondeful book series. Furthermore, it's not about blow jobs or killing people. So, parents you don't really have to worry.
Flag as inappropriate
was this review useful?
|
|
Flygirl
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
The best book for every teen
I love Sweet Valley High. it is like totally awesome. Especially when the twins put killer ants on Todd because he's dating both of them. It's awesome.
Flag as inappropriate
was this review useful?
|
|
Amelio
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Really stupid, but kind of fun.
This series is a good series to read when you are incredibly bored. It's certainly not great literature, but it's mildly entertaining in a trashy kind of way.
Flag as inappropriate
was this review useful?
|
|
NorthernNights
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Really horrible for book 1.
I'm sorry, but this is really cheesy. Jessica acts real sIutty and Elizabeth lets her sister get away with far too much. This is really bad for a beginning of the new series. And it mainly focuses on their looks. The info at the top explains it all. And the characters are always so rude to eachother and dont understand what friendship really means.
Flag as inappropriate
was this review useful?
|
|
Cooldee
parent
parent
Kind of fun.
Do not spread rumors and be mean to people! Think before you act!
Flag as inappropriate
was this review useful?
|
|
An independent voice for families
Advice on the big issues
Already read it? What do you think?
Great alternatives handpicked by our editors
