my first love was Sweet Valley High

PUBLISHED 4 June 2009 18:00

I was a voracious reader starting at a young age. I was six years old when I stumbled across a series of books at my library–there were so many, so I decided to start from the beginning. The series was Sweet Valley High.

There was something about these books that grabbed my nerdy, shy, only child attention–and held it for years to come.

I read every book Francine Pascal wrote about California twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield–181 stories, plus all of the spin-offs like Sweet Valley University, Sweet Valley Kids, and Sweet Valley Senior Year.

I think it was Elizabeth Wakefield–the nerdier of the twins–who made me love these books so much. I related to this fictional character. She was editor of the high school newspaper, and at 6 years old, I vowed that I would be editor at my high school newspaper. I was. And then I went to journalism school.

So thanks, Sweet Valley High, for being my impetus to be a journalist, and for being my first love.