RIP Francine Pascal
Francine Pascal passed away on 28 July 2024.
I can’t say I was a huge fan of her views. In fact, you could pick any page on this site at random and find a litany of angry curses directed at her for the plot lines and the way she insisted they play out.
However, I’m clearly a fan of her work. Even the bits I hate.
I’ve recapped, I’ve spent a fortune hunting down books, I’ve done NaNo, I’ve read other people’s Sweet Valley NaNos, I’ve had some great chats with other fans. I love this fandom.
And this fandom wouldn’t exist without Francine’s idea of, “Constant boyfriend drama… but twins!” And let’s be real here, the series might not have been so iconic if Jessica hadn’t been such a toxic psychopath from day one. Early SVH Jess was a terrible thing that was inflicted on the world, but, damn, she made an impact.
So what I’m saying is, Francine, thank you for this unending mess of contradictions, wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey timelines, boyfriend swaps, twin-switches, and 30 to 50 feral proms.
It’s a hot mess, and I love it. Even when I hate it.
As I said earlier, I hope she’s on a cloud, wearing a size six halo and body-shaming the cherubs for being too chubby.
My dad posted the article to our family chat, which cracked me up.
Great eulogy. There are many, many flaws in these books, some of the time, some unnecessary, but she did do what she set out to: create a series where girls drive the action. And it was gangbusters. I’ve been listening to the Double Love podcast as well, and they point out that the description of the boys is often done in what they dubbed the female gaze. I don’t know if the term is correct, but the boys are described sexily, which is also unusual.
Thank you Francine, I spent countless hours devouring your creations as a kid, and I’m still lovingly slagging them off today.
Agreed. I may not love every choice that was made, but this series was completely iconic, and Twins is such a solid part of my childhood, I can’t imagine having never read them.
And I know what you mean about the female gaze. The boys are absolutely nothing characters, they’re just shiny hair, eyes that sparkle with mischief and suntanned muscles. The only thing we find out about them is whether their kisses make the girls melt. They’re just objects.
Sweet Valley is kind of like Cannibal Holocaust. It kick-started the trend, and others came along and finessed it. (Uh, Cannibal Holocaust was the first found footage horror movie. I would not recommend actually watching it. Just go straight to Blair Witch.) But the genre wouldn’t be where we are without it, and I will always love SV for that!
Sorry to hear of her passing. I was a huge Sweet Valley High fan since junior high. Especially in junior high school…I didn’t have many friends back then, and her books kept me from going completely crazy!!!!
Oh, I have been loving Junior High. I read halfway through the series earlier this year, it’s absolutely amazing. Very different to Twins, High and Uni, but kind of exactly what I needed. A more realistic approach to a series I loved. It’s amazing that so many people have loved this series in all of its incarnations.