Sweet Valley

If you grew up in the 90s, for sure you know the Wakefield Twins - Elizabeth and Jessica, along with Todd Wilkins, Lila Fowler, Bruce Patman, Winston Egbert, Enid Rollins and the rest of the Sweet Valley gang. They're one of the reasons which strengthened my love for reading. From Sweet Valley Kids, Twins, the Unicorns to Sweet Valley High and University - yep, I read and collected all those series and watched the twins grow up. I remember getting all excited whenever I go to National Bookstore and Goodwill (there was no Powerbooks or Fullybooked yet!) seeing all the Sweet Valley books lined up. I think it only costs about P60 each back then! The series stopped when I was in early highschool. I can't remember why but only a few of the University books came out.

More than a decade after, I was pretty excited when I learned that the twins are back in a special 10-years-after book! Being a fan, I just had to get a copy of it. The book was released last week in the US but unfortunately it still hasn't found its way here. But thanks to Ochie gurl, she was able to find an ebook version! I immediately uploaded it to my Kindle and for a few hours, I was brought back to the world of Sweet Valley.

One word to describe it - nostalgic. The main characters are all present and it was interesting to see what happened to them 10 years after. I loved the flashbacks and it made me remember exactly which book featured the particular memory. There were a lot of surprising revelations as well and the twist with the twins was really something!

However, I found the plot a little weak considering that this is a comeback. The ending was pretty safe...I would have preferred if it didn't follow the happily-ever-after formula. But 'seeing' all the characters again brought back the familiarity and charm that Sweet Valley was all about. It was an enjoyable read nonetheless and it was a nice trip down memory lane. I'd still get a hardcopy of this and if a sequel comes out, I'll definitely get my hands on it as well :)