Sweet Valley Confidential: Ten Years Later

For all of the Sweet Valley Twins, High, and University fans (admittedly I think I stopped at Sweet Valley High):

I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED reading Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High as a young reader and always wondered what would become of Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield. I hope Pascal doesn't disappoint! Well, it was fun reading about what came of the characters from SV. I devoured the series as a kid. This book was very entertaining, written in a style similar to today's familiar chick-lit modern romances. I could definitely envision this making its way to the big screen (I'd buy a ticket). Some things about the book bothered me, namely all the "like"s strewn through the chapters written in Jessica's point of view. I actually found that those detracted from the content, and many sentences were hard to read because of them. I had to reread many sentences. I haven't read a SV book in about 20 years. Did Pascal use that language in this book to mimic how Jessica spoke/thought in the earlier books? As a reader, I think the book would have read better without them. They made the writing choppy and interrupted the flow. And I guess I expected Elizabeth to be more like, well, Elizabeth! One night stands and f-you's? Many things seemed very out of character for Elizabeth. Also, the scene when Jessica shows up in New York seemed to just brush the surface. There were intense feelings of hatred and hurt coming from Elizabeth throughout the majority of the book that it seemed unbelievable that she would just give in and forgive Jessica so quickly. All in all, an entertaining book that provided some closure to a series that captivated me as a child.

Catching Fire

Since I was so entertained by Suzanne Collins' first book in the series The Hunger Games, I felt compelled to read the second. Catching Fire was very good, although it did take me about the first hundred pages to become fully engrossed. One thing is certain: Suzanne Collins is a master of cliff hangers. As a writer, I know how important it is to write in a way that keeps the reader's interest and attention, but she manages to write every single chapter so that it ends with the reader wanting MORE! Besides weekends my only reading time is before bed. Incidentally, that is also when I'm the most tired and don't get much reading in. Throughout both books I found myself agreeing to read one chapter before bed, but I always ended up reading until my eyes could no longer stay open because at the end of every chapter was something making me NEED (not want!) to read further. She is an amazing story teller that has created an incredibly scary world. After reading both books I have come to the conclusion that should some apocalyptic or smaller event occur in reality, I may not survive. I have no survival skills. I can't hunt, gather food (what items can I actually eat?), or eat fish (allergy). Thus, I have decided to do something about that. This summer I plan to learn how to use a weapon/hunt/gut (ew)/cook an animal and figure out the edible plants in my region. Thank you, Suzanne Collins for forcing me to amp up my game.

Actually, in light of these books I gave my 6th graders an assignment that parallels Panem. I split the classes into groups and gave them a scenario along these lines: Imagine that all of North America's power has gone out. You cannot use your television, computer, cell phone, or iPod to communicate. You have a portable battery-operatred radio to listen to emergency broadcasts. The announcer has just proclaimed that the power could be out for weeks, maybe even longer. Then I gave them their task: In your group brainstorm and discuss how you are going to survive this "blackout". What supplies will you need? How will you get them? Where will you stay? How will you stay warm/cool? The students seemed to have a fun time with this. However, it became clear to me rather quickly that the students are so heavily reliant on convenience that they couldn't imagine something like this happening. Immediately they wanted to get in the car and go to the store, not understanding that the stores might be closed and/or unable to check them out due to NO POWER, or that everyone else would be going there, too! Some students even suggested cannibalism (look out!) and looting. However, one group that included three Boy Scouts had a list of needed supplies along with how to acquire them, and a plan followed by contingency plans. Immediately I knew that these three boys would survive should something like that happen today. And it made me realize that if I ever have sons I will most certainly be signing them up for Boy Scouts! At the end I tied this into the ancient civilizations we've studied this year and how they managed to grow and survive despite no electricity, indoor plumbing, computers and other high-tech gadgets (that we know of, at least). So I can't help but wonder, have we actually gone backwards as a civilization?