Book Review Roundup: "Sweet Valley Confidential"

Francine Pascal's Sweet Valley Confidential landed in stores on Tuesday, and the world finally got to find out what happened to the most annoyingly perfect twins in the most annoyingly perfect place on earth. Of course, the twins in question are Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, and the place is Sweet Valley, a part of California that (if the original series was to be believed) seemed like a strange hybrid of heaven, Lake Wobegon, Peyton Place, and a teen horror flick.

Sweet Valley Confidential catches up with the Wakefield twins at age 27 and drags us, a once loyal and captive audience, along for the ride. While I haven't read the book (sorry, I'm waiting until the book comes out in paperback), the reviews signify that time hasn't been a friend to the Wakefields and their compatriots. Pascal seemed to have written the book with an adult audience in mind (the book has numerous references to sex, including an incredibly embarrassing line about Elizabeth's sex life ), and the book is considered fiction (versus young adult). However, the reviews and plot summaries suggest that this book would put even the most insane Harlequin romance to shame and has plot holes that teenagers (never adults) will find annoying.

Still interested? Here are some of the most entertaining reviews I've found online. Just be warned - these reviews are rife with spoilers, so if you are really, truly interested in reading the book for yourself, proceed at your own risk:

• Monica Hesse's review for The Washington Post
• Mara Reinstein's review, which appeared on the Huffington Post
• Karen Valby's Entertainment Weekly review

Of course, if you want to know what happened to Elizabeth and Jessica without having to shell out $23 for the book, I encourage you to check out the awesomely snarky recap/review on Shannon's Sweet Valley Blog.