Jessica or Elizabeth?

I was a voracious reader when I was younger. I loved books. All books. Any books. And just like the rest of my life, I tempered the reading of books that would challenge my mind, with a healthy dose of trash. My favourite guilty pleasure was SVH. I just could not get enough of Francine Pascal's "Sweet Valley High" books.

You remember these books right? The story of Jessica & Elizabeth Wakefield, the eternally 16 year old, blonde haired, blue eyed California girls who were perfect in every way. Jessica was the trouble making Captain of the cheerleaders who was boy crazy and selfish. Her identical twin Elizabeth was into journalism (I think) and had a boyfriend that she was madly in love with. There was no sex, jeez, I don't even recall any dry humping or under the clothes action. Just like Twilight. I wonder if Francine Pascal was also Mormon?

My cousin and I used to play Barbies and pretend to be Jessica & Elizabeth. We used to fight over who was who. I was older so I would normally win the argument. I remember finally getting rid of these books, taking them into the used book store to make a little extra cash. I think I had about 30-40 of them by then end. I read that they had been updated a few years ago. Reissued with to suit the times we now live in - cell phones, reality TV, Juicy Couture etc! And apparently the twins have also gone from a size 6 to a size 4. Ugh.

The point to this story is not simply a trip down memory lane for little old me.....it is that it was announced today that Diablo Cody - the Academy Award winning writer of Juno - has signed on to pen the script for a movie version of Sweet Valley High. Now this is an adaptation I can applaud. I am totally looking forward to seeing Cody put her stamp on this trashy teen novel. I mean it is not as if you can f*ck with the integrity of these books. This is not Salinger, Bronte or Hemingway. It is a teen romance novel. But you never know. Maybe the crazy Sweet Valley High fans will come out of the woodwork upon this announcement. There must be a few of them out there somewhere.

I wonder who they will cast as the Wakefield twins? Who do you think they will cast?

XO