Candy for your brain

If you're reading this blog, chances are you are aware of the slew of blogs that have cropped up in the last six or so years about young adult lit from yore. One of my personal favorites was (and is) The Dairi Burger, in which blogger ihatewheat, i.e. Robin Hardwick, took on the theoretically rewarding task of chronicling her way through the original Sweet Valley High book series. Her skewing of the books was thoroughly enjoyable; sharp and sarcastic, her entries revealed the not-family-friendly messages the books contained. Boyfriends are the #1 priority. Only the thin and the beautiful can have happy endings. "Blond" and "brunette" count as personality traits. Elizabeth Wakefield is always right, and her twin sister Jessica is always scheming. It was entertaining as hell.

When Hardwick announced she'd be publishing a book containing all her Sweet Valley recaps, I pledged that I would buy it once it came out. I loved her blog and I wanted to support her. And I finally got around to doing just that about a month ago (sorry, Robin - I'm just a procrastinator).

The entries, now in chronological order, are accompanied by reviews of the newer ebook series that picks up about a decade after the original series. Hardwick describes the Wakefield twins' adventures sometimes with a peculiar detachment and other times with outrage, always remembering to maintain a sense of fun - or, at worst, a feeling of "why am I compelled to do this?" Some characters, like the antagonistic Bruce and the selfish Lila, actually come off better than their "good" counterparts. Elizabeth in particular tends to grate on her (and by extension the reader's) nerves with all her holier-than-thouness. In any case, it's more fun than reading the books by yourself.

I have one big complaint, however, and that is this: Hardwick left all of the recaps in their original form. That means that quite a number of them, especially the first ones, are riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. Some of them don't make sense because she didn't originally recap the books in order. Call me a stickler, but this annoyed me as a reader. I guess she wanted to keep the authenticity of her recaps, but there comes a point when trading authenticity for clarity might not be a bad idea. I wish she'd fixed that up so that it'd look more professional and would be more accessible to those who haven't read her blog.

As the book progresses, the recaps become easier to read (and funnily enough more frustrating, as the material from the later books give Hardwick less to work with). The last recap of The Sweet Life is boosted by a gem of an idea that work despite - hell, probably because of - its inanity. Extra material also includes a small interview with author Francine Pascal, whose to-the-point responses reveal a lot about her personality; more entertaining is a second interview with one of the series' ghostwriters, who is refreshing in her honesty and love for the books. If there's any takeaway from this, it's that Hardwick has done her homework, and she appears to have had a great time doing it.

Rating: 4 pool parties out of 5.