Sweet Valley Confidential
If you haven’t heard the news by now, Cap’n Sweet Valley has acquired his first book!
Francine Pascal’s SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL, following her iconic identical blonde twins and full cast of characters into adulthood, now in their late twenties and early thirties, “where the real world intrudes,” to Dan Weiss at St. Martin’s (who created the original series with Pascal when he was a book packager), with Hilary Rubin Teeman editing, for publication in early 2011.
Yes indeed, our first book is a nice trip down memory lane for everyone involved. My friends were obsessed with these books when we were in elementary school (I was, alas, not allowed to read them–but never fear, I am properly caught up now) and of course, Cap’n Sweet Valley and Francine Pascal have a long history together. This is an adult title, not young adult.
Official press release to follow beneath the cut.
ST. MARTIN’S PRESS TO PUBLISH THE FIRST EVER ADULT SWEET VALLEY NOVEL
February 9, 2010 — In early 2011, St. Martin’s Press will publish the very first hardcover adult Sweet Valley novel, featuring iconic twins Elizabeth and Jessica and the full cast of the series’ beloved characters in their late twenties and early thirties. Written by series creator Francine Pascal, SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL follows the cast of characters into adulthood.
The young adult franchise, first published in 1983, yielded some 500 titles and became a pop culture phenomenon for almost 20 years. Recently, Diablo Cody, the much acclaimed screenwriter of the award winning film Juno, signed on to write and produce a feature film based on the series’ high school years.
“I’m thrilled to publish Francine Pascal’s return to SWEET VALLEY. This is the book the fans have been waiting for-to find out how their beloved characters turned out as twenty-to-thirty-somethings, the present age of the average Sweet Valley High readers from the eighties and nineties,” says Dan Weiss, Publisher at Large at St. Martin’s Press.
Pascal says, “I’ve had thousand of queries from fans over the years wondering what Jessica and Elizabeth would be like as adults. Well, SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL should give them all the answers. And I can guarantee they will be very surprised. Actually, more like shocked.”
The original series features identical blonde twins-16 year-old Jessica and Elizabeth from the California town of Sweet Valley. The new book takes place twelve years after the high school series and follows the sisters into adulthood where the real world intrudes after a perfect childhood.
Published over 17 years, Sweet Valley High sold hundreds of millions of copies worldwide. It gained a spot on the New York Times bestseller list, the first young adult novel ever to do so. The books were turned into a successful television series in 1994 and ran here and across the globe for several years. Currently there are numerous fan sites devoted to the book and its characters.
Francine Pascal is one of the world’s most popular fiction writers for teenagers and the author of several best-selling novels, MY MOTHER WAS NEVER A KID (Hanging out with Cici), MY FIRST LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS, , as well as the series, FEARLESS.
Ms. Pascal was inspired by her own memories of growing up and by the experiences of her three daughters. Francine Pascal lives in New York and the south of France.
***
Macmillan is a global publisher of books, magazines, textbooks, scientific information, and digital content and services. In the U.S., the group includes Farrar, Straus & Giroux; Henry Holt; St. Martin’s Press; Tor Books; Picador; Macmillan Audio; Bedford St. Martin’s; W.H. Freeman; Worth Publishers; i-clicker; Hayden-McNeil; Palgrave Macmillan; Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group; and Scientific American Magazine.
Macmillan is a subsidiary of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, GMbH, a global media company based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Are you excited? We are. Did any of you read the SWEET VALLEY books when you were a child?
Oh man, ok, I’m actually really looking forward to this. It’ll be interesting….
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Oh wow. Just wow. I can’t believe how excited I am about this. I adored these books when I was growing up, but I’ll confess I hadn’t thought of them for years and it had never occurred to me to wonder what happened to Jessica and Elizabeth after they grew up. This will be so fun to read!
Tawna
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Congrats! I read a lot of SVH as a kid, and watched the TV show, so it’ll be really neat to see what’s become of them!
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I actually grew up with reading the Sweet Valley stuff! This is exciting news! Though I’m more of a BSC fan than SV, but still!
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Oh congratulations!! How exciting–and as an original SVH fan, it’ll be a lovely trip down memory lane to revisit the SV world. :) I’m looking forward to reading this!
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I heard one of the face of one of the characters (I won’t reveal who it is)has become terribly deformed by tertiary syphillis, which she acquired from sleeping with a Lebanese electrical engineer sometime between the last SVH book and this new series.
I am so excited about this new series!!!!!
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I love all the sweet valley books, they are the best. I don’t think I have ever found one I don’t like. I am only 13 and if these new books are adult, my mom wont let me read them. If she does though, I will, I cant wait for them to come out!!!!!
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