Double Love by Francine Pascal
Sometimes I just have no excuse.
I mean, a professional book reviewer actually gets paid to read something they think is a crappy waste of time. Even then it's usually a recent book, not something published twenty years before.
So how did I end up reading The Baby-Sitter's Club and Sweet Valley High for this blog that doesn't have many readers yet?
I've read girlish books before like Ramona Quimby, Laura Ingalls Wilder and Alice in Wonderland but until now I hadn't purposefully acquired copies of something quite obviously mass-produced for young girls until now.
I've known both series existed but hadn't even been remotely curious as to what they were all about. But a year and a half ago I met Tammy and everything's changed. It's not that she and her sister are huge fans, I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea about them. They read the books back when they were supposed to, when they were preteens, and now they like to occasionally get their hands on a copy, snark on what they're reading and laugh about the odd moments they remember.
I may have seen a copy lying around but it was in a clothes hamper where the majority of them would be found. A clothes hamper located in the bathroom, which is somewhat fitting since that's the most appropriate situation for a grown man to read Sweet Valley. If that first book represents the entire series then a room associated with shit is a proper library location.
The Baby-Sitter's Club isn't as aggravating as Sweet Valley High. It's lite writing and lite reading. As one might discern from the Series Title it revolves around a group of girls united in their common job. They pool their resources and advertise their services; a parent only needs to call one phone number to find a baby-sitter.
Kristy, who's sweet to her little brother but a bit of a spoiled little witch about her Mother's serious boyfriend, came up with the idea after her Mom had to call down her entire list of sitters to find someone at the last minute. Also in the club is Mary Ann whose Dad refuses to let her grow up since her Mom's been dead for years, Klaudia who's arty and considers herself more mature than the others, and Stacey who just moved to Stonybrook from New York City because, get this, she's got Diabetes. It's been too hard dealing with it in NYC so now she lives in the small town and tries to hide her secret. I realize kids are cruel but I can't buy that New Yorkers couldn't handle diabetes in 1986. I'm sure there had been an ABC Afterschool Special or something.
The only recurring story is Kristy's dislike of Watson and her attempts at figuring out why Stacey acts the way she does. A few more babysitting stories are there as well and anyone who's ever babysat will relate.
Other than wondering why I'm reading it when I'm a 32 year old guy without even a daughter to justify my action I don't have a bad thing to say about Kristy's Great Idea. I won't be as nice over Double Love which kicks off the Sweet Valley High series. Granted I grew up in Olympia, Washington and not Beverly Hills but I detected so much bullshit in just this first book I'm surprised roses weren't growing from between the pages. Frats and Sororities in High School? If that is in fact the way things are done there...then they can have it.
This book preceeded Beverly Hills 90210 by half a decade but that's what it reminded me of. It had twins, rich parents, rich neighbors, rich schoolmates, class distinction, criminal connivance, "bad boys", lower class girls and I wouldn't be surprised to find that Francine Pascal is a pseudonym for Aaron Spelling.
What grated on my patience worst was Elizabeth. She's the good twin who's often mistreated by her social-climbing ditz of an identical sister Jessica. All Jessi has to do is turn on the crocodile tears or even suggest thinking it and Elizabeth forgives all. After all she can't stay mad at Jessi.
WHY NOT?
If I was in Elizabeth's high heels I'd rake my nails across Jessica's face. And if I was their older brother Steven I'd shove Jessi down the stairs with a push of my hand. She suspected who his new girlfriend was and worried about what it would do to their family's social standing. Give me a break.
For the final verdict I say that The Baby-Sitter's Club is the more believable series while Sweet Valley High is more compelling. If you just need some lite reading to pass the time you could do worse than the babysitters, and if you're running low on toilet paper reach into the clothes hamper for Jessica Wakefield.
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