My Feelings on Sweet Valley Confidential

Ok - before I get started - let me add one quick disclaimer.  I read the various Sweet Valley books growing up.  However, it wasn't my primary series.  I can't say I read all the books.  So, therefore, some of the supporting characters were a complete and utter question mark to me.  And, I suppose, this disclaimer implies that I might not know the main characters as well as some of the diehards.  

Anyhow, moving right along.  Another important sidenote is that Francine Pascal, the writer of said book, is the creator of the series.  However, most of the series was written by ghostwriters.  I know this is a common practice.  This bothers me, and I don't know why.  It's not as though I know Francine Pascal personally, or that I could blindly identify her writing, so I am not sure why it should matter that the stories were written by another author, as long as I liked them.  Cue for the quote about a rose by any other name smelling less sweet?  

Third sidenote:  SPOILERS GALORE.

So, in short - Francine Pascal CREATED these characters.   However, other writers (I believe Kate Williams to be one of them) crafted them into the characters we knew.  I'm guessing Francine Pascal felt she had the poetic license to do whatever she wanted with them, because she took all of them in a completely new direction.  She drastically changed almost all of them.  Now, I'm not going get into the long debate about whether or not people change, however, what the diehard long-term fan readers (basically, the only demographic that intends to read this book) wanted was a where are they now-esque continuation of the characters we knew, not this random piece of fiction with completely-newly carved out individuals she made from the shells she once created 20+ years ago.

Jessica and Todd?  Seriously, no one buys this.  I get it if she didn't want Elizabeth and Todd together.  Maybe Elizabeth should have ended up with an older man, because of her maturity (maybe that one scandalous English teacher?) or perhaps some completely new man.   Maybe Todd could have fallen into a deep depression/drinking from the loss of Elizabeth.  And Elizabeth and Bruce?  No.  Just no.  I can't even begin to explain why it's wrong.   I kind of oddly liked Bruce with Lila - as in Sweet Valley University.  Maybe they should have ended up married.  Or already divorced - there we have it!  That would have made sense.  And I do realize that SOMEONE had to come out of the closet, by definition of a 'where are they now' book - but not Steven Wakefield.  They should have hung the 'I've grown so much' persona on him instead of Jessica - I could see him as a married father trying to do the right thing.  The one thing I liked and found believable was Jessica succeeding in a PR career and being twice divorced.  The gay character should have been Winston.  Or maybe Enid?   Or maybe thrown in a third husband for Jessica who leaves her for a man.  That, and additionally, I HATE the betrayal that takes place between the twins.  HATE.  No one believes that even shady, selfish Jessica could do this, or that it could be somehow overcome in under 300 pages. 

Anyhow.  In short, one of the ghostwriters (or even a random diehard fan) who had a better respect for the characters should have been commissioned to write this.  This might as well have been a complete and total original piece of work, as opposed to a continuation of these pre-existing characters.  When I went to check amazon and various other places for reviews, it appears as though I am not the only person offended by Francine Pascal's new direction with all of these characters.  Several diehards pointed out some historical inaccuracies about when certain characters first met and even character's names!?!  Oh, and apparently someone came back from the dead.  Seriously, Francine Pascal, what were you doing?  Clearly not reading the Sweet Valley series - perhaps just collecting a fat check.  Hmm.

Anyone else read Sweet Valley Confidential?  Your thoughts?

Editor's sidenote:  Ann M. Martin (or one of her ghostwriters) - Baby-Sitters Club where are they now?!!