Best Friends #1

Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, of Sweet Valley High fame, are in sixth grade in this prequel series called Sweet Valley Twins. For the first time in their lives, they are starting to express themselves as individuals, rather than as a twosome. Elizabeth is excited about starting a class newspaper, and Jessica hopes to join the exclusive Unicorn Club. But the sisters want to stay close. Jessica, who wants Elizabeth to be a Unicorn too, poses as her twin and tricks one of Elizabeth's friends as a pledge task. But it backfires; Elizabeth doesn't like the club members and is angry at Jessica. They get separate rooms and start to dress differently. Readers may feel that Elizabeth is forced out of twindom, rather than choosing itJessica is the strong-willed one who starts to drift away. The plot isn't hard to figure out, but the series idea is clever, one that will probably broaden Sweet Valley High's already large readership. (8-12)