Sweet Valley High: Academic All-Star? by Katy Rex
"'Since when are you this picky? You're just going to cover yourself with SPF one million and read a book.'"
Year Read: 2019
Rating: 3/5
Context: I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Diamond Book Distributors. Trigger warnings: supposed adult/teen romance.
About: When Jessica Wakefield falls for her summer English teacher, she begins imitating her more studious twin sister, Elizabeth, to get his attention. With her busy schedule, Elizabeth barely has time to spend with her boyfriend, Todd, this summer. When Todd spots Elizabeth with an older guy, tensions run high between him and the twins. Can Elizabeth set everything right before they all get in over their heads? This graphic novel revisits beloved characters in sunny Sweet Valley, California.
Thoughts: I have a long and fond history with the Sweet Valley series. When I was younger, it was all I wanted to read, and I still revisit my favorites every now and then as an adult. When I saw that it had been made into a graphic novel, I couldn't pass it up, and it's a pleasant read for fans of the characters. I recommend some familiarity with the universe, since it doesn't spend a lot of time establishing place, characters, or backstory, and it probably doesn't need to.
The artwork isn't award-winning, but given the genre, there’s no reason it should be. It’s appropriate to the content in being fun, bright, and effective, and I enjoyed seeing characters I’ve been picturing for over a decade come alive on the page. The story has been updated to include newer technology like texting and more modern slang. Occasionally, it feels a little forced, more like what an adult thinks teenagers sound like than what they actually sound like--but since I'm not a teenager, I could be wrong. I also like the way Elizabeth directly calls out the issues with Jessica dating an older man and why it's his responsibility, as the adult, to stop that from happening. Sweet Valley has never been what anyone would consider socially aware, and it's a nice change.
The story is simple and classic, and it shows both twins behaving as we've always known them: free-spirited Jessica who's quick to fall in love, consequences be damned, and responsible Elizabeth who helps clean up the mess and still has time to volunteer and go on a date with her steady boyfriend. I was a kid when I read most of these, so of course I thought Todd was the perfect dreamy boyfriend, but he comes over as a bit of a spoiled, jealous jerk in this story. Given my general feelings on love interests, it's possible I would feel very differently about him now. In all, I enjoyed this a lot, and I'll likely be continuing the series if it gains enough traction for sequels.
