The Return of Sweet Valley High

I recently read about the return of the Sweet Valley High books and was caught in that small chasm between my sister and I--I remember the existence of SVH, and that they were hugely popular, but I dont think I was old enough to have really gotten into them. In the mid-eightys I was reading Choose Your Own Advenure Books (which now seem to be represented by a pretty cool website) and writing stories about outer space.


The problem with the return of SWH is the slight tweaks that have been made in the characters in the new editions. In the original series, twins Jessica and Elizabeth were described as being a "pefect size 6"--which, already was a pretty high standard for teen and pre-teen girls. Well now, according to a letter from the publisher printed here on gawker.com, the twins are now described as being a "perfect size 4."

Great, lets get marketing a series to teenagers that only encourages low self-esteem and eating disorders. Way to ruin something great, Random House. It just really makes me sad.