This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Jennifer Joyce
Twelve-year-old twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield are not only sisters – they’re best friends. They’ve always done everything together but lately Elizabeth has begun to feel that her sister is moving away from her. While they do still have some shared hobbies, Jessica is starting to develop interests that Elizabeth isn’t into, such as boys and joining the exclusive Unicorn Club at school. And when Jessica decides she no longer wants to dress identically to Elizabeth, Elizabeth fears she is losing her sister and best friend and the bond she thought was solid.
I recently bought a few second-hand Sweet Valley Twins books for my twelve-year-old daughter as I loved them while I was growing up. Not long after, Kerry suggested Team Novelicious re-read a childhood favourite and I thought how perfect it would be to delve back into the lives of Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield.
I adored the Sweet Valley Twins and Sweet Valley High books when I was younger so I was looking forward to meeting them and their friends again. I choose to re-read Best Friends as it’s the first in the Sweet Valley Twins series. 
Elizabeth was always my favourite growing up, mainly because she was on the school newspaper, which I thought was super-cool (and still do). I remember Jessica was a bit spoilt and superficial, but I was quite surprised at how much of a cow she was when I re-read the book! She makes fun of an overweight girl in their gym class – and pretty ruthlessly too – and totally disregards the thoughts and feelings of her twin sister, Elizabeth. There were times when I felt frustrated that Elizabeth was such a pushover and allowed her sister to get away with such terrible behaviour.
It was great to see familiar names in the book, like Bruce Patman, Lila Fowler and Amy Sutton, even if we don’t get to know them a great deal within the first book and I found myself hooked into the lives of the kids of the Sweet Valley kids once again. Will Jessica star in the upcoming dance recital? And when do we get to meet Enid, Aaron and Todd? Reconnecting with these old characters was brilliant and comforting and I enjoyed the experience very much. I’m so tempted to track down the other books and gobble them up!