It has been over 15 years since I last read a Sweet Valley book, when I was a young teenager. I have read most, if not all, the various Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley University and the various spin offs as well as watching the television show. So it was a nice surprise to see that there was a new follow up being published. I purchased my copy on-line, as I really wanted to catch up on what had happened to the twins over the years. I knew that the near 300 odd pages would not make for a detailed epic novel, but this really did have potential to become a decent catch up for the twins and the Sweet Valley saga.

The plot is weak, with Elizabeth escaping to New York having discovered that Todd Wilkins has cheated on her with Jessica - surprise! The gentle natured and always ready to help Elizabeth, is now a bitter journalist and busy plotting revenge. Jessica has abandoned the party life and acts more as a home maker than being interested in her job. This plot seems to lack thought or depth. How do two people change so much, despite repeating a similar mistake that the twins have made in previous books. Each twin is guilty of messing around with the other's boyfriends from past books, so this is nothing unexpected.

There are fleeting references to other characters like Lila Fowler and Bruce Patman but to be honest, they seem rather unbelievable. The most comical storyline stems from the twin's brother revealing that he is gay, yet fans of the original books would have no indication of this as he had heterosexual relationships throughout the series.

There are plenty of inaccuracies in the book like Lila's father's name mistakenly being called Richard instead of George (any Sweet Valley should be able to pick this out immediately) and Jeffery French being married then at the wedding, he is supposed to have never been married - all these inaccuracies are in one book! These little things do not please me as a fan. I did finish the book in one sitting and liked the references to the other characters at the end, but yet again some of the key characters have been excluded such as Tom Watts.

Also, why did the author feel it necessary to insert references to facebook and twitter? In a few years time, this book will become dated. Jessica has developed a habit of saying "like" in every sentence. It really does feel like you have to force yourself to continue to read the book because you think it will get better. Alice also swears in the book but again, I do not recall her being foul mouthed in any of the other books. I know that this is supposed to be based around the adult Elizabeth and Jessica, but the book is so unrealistic, it misses the point. Elizabeth sleeps around? That does not seem like her at all.

It is well known that Francine Pascal did not pen the original Sweet Valley books but one would have hoped that if she was writing a new book, especially after this length of time, she would have at least made some effort to reacquaint herself with the characters. Sadly, this is not the case and this book lets the author down greatly.

Overall, this book has done its damage and shattered the idyllic image that I once held for life in Sweet Valley. Maybe if the author had spent more time and given us a worthwhile story then we could end the series on a high note. This book just leaves more questions than answers. A huge disappointment.

Only worth a read for nostalgic times, if you read the previous Sweet Valley books when you were younger, otherwise best to give this a miss. This book marks the end of my Sweet Valley journey and the Wakefield twin's saga.