Two; Or, "Teen Steam"
This is a really embarrassing admission to make, but I feel compelled to do so because a.) I am a little bored and b.) the rest of this post will make no sense whatsoever if I don't.
I collect shitty middle and high school girls' book series from the '80s and early-to-mid '90s. Not only do I collect them and have them sitting around in special YA Poo cardboard boxes, I actually read them. I'd like to tell you that I do this "ironically", and I guess there is an element of that; since most of these were not series I read when I was the target age, I can appreciate them as an adult, laugh at some of the ridiculousness, and shake my head without internalizing some of the messages and being damaged. There are other reasons I like them; some of it is the It Was A Simpler Time nostalgia (except it probably wasn't a simpler time), and some of it is that boys and dating and parties and popularity were very much not my life in high school (studying and Communism and mooning over girls who were not interested in me, on the other hand...). Judging by these little nuggets, I wasn't missing anything.
Also, I spend way the hell too much time on bsc_snark, reliving my childhood (because I DID read The Babysitters' Club, oh yes I did), and it occurred to me that there aren't any communities for general YA snark. (There is, of course, 1bruce1 for Sweet Valley High snark.) So I'm stepping up to fill a need by snarking my collection. (This is a need. Trust me. Some of these books are like the most unintentionally hilarious thing EVAR.)
I have a good-sized collection (...three cardboard boxes full), but for now, I'm limiting snarky recaps to series where I have at least five books. This is totally arbitrary, but I think five books in a true series allows you to get to know the characters and setting fairly well. Besides, I'm always scouting for more shitty girls' series, so it's possible that series that I'm not snarking now will be on the chopping block later.
Below, please find a poll and some information about your choices. Remember: your opinion counts, which is why the samurai game is going to be renamed "OMG TICKY BOXES YAY!".
Caprice Romance, Sweet Dreams, and Wildfire YA Romance - The best-known of the lot is Sweet Dreams. These are not true series in that they don't feature recurring characters or storylines that build upon each other; #54 and #55, say, in Sweet Dreams will not have anything to do with each other in terms of characters or plot. They're series only in the sense that they're consecutively numbered. Subject matter is pretty much the same across the three series: girl and guy get together, conquering insuperable obstacles such as shitty grades, the school slut, and the girl's disapproving father. (For an additional twist, in some of these books the girl starts out dating THE WRONG GUY. Gasp!)
Couples - Couples is a true series, in that it does feature recurrent characters and storylines that build upon each other. I haven't read it in yonks, so I'm quite rusty (I know, I'm really making a compelling case here), but the characters are slightly less cliché than many books from this era.
Merivale Mall - Also a true series for the same reason. It follows the adventures of cousins Danielle Sharp (the scheming, gorgeous, rich one) and Lori Randall (the less-affluent, hardworking, sweet one), who play and work, respectively, at the eponymous Merivale Mall. BONUS OVERANALYSIS ROUND: You can work a Marxist angle into this if you so desire.
Sweet Valley High - Oh, come on. You know...Sweet Valley High. I don't know if these books were as popular in Europe as they were in English-speaking countries, so if you're unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia article. I can't do it justice in a paragraph.
Vote for as many or as few series as you desire. (Or just click the "I love ticky boxes!" selection repeatedly, whatever.) Also: per Burns' Indiana Statutes, be advised that augustuscaesar has to pick another series in addition to SVH or pay a really futile and stupid penalty that I haven't thought of yet.
Without further ado, the poll!
Poll Teen Steam! Let It All Out
I collect shitty middle and high school girls' book series from the '80s and early-to-mid '90s. Not only do I collect them and have them sitting around in special YA Poo cardboard boxes, I actually read them. I'd like to tell you that I do this "ironically", and I guess there is an element of that; since most of these were not series I read when I was the target age, I can appreciate them as an adult, laugh at some of the ridiculousness, and shake my head without internalizing some of the messages and being damaged. There are other reasons I like them; some of it is the It Was A Simpler Time nostalgia (except it probably wasn't a simpler time), and some of it is that boys and dating and parties and popularity were very much not my life in high school (studying and Communism and mooning over girls who were not interested in me, on the other hand...). Judging by these little nuggets, I wasn't missing anything.
Also, I spend way the hell too much time on bsc_snark, reliving my childhood (because I DID read The Babysitters' Club, oh yes I did), and it occurred to me that there aren't any communities for general YA snark. (There is, of course, 1bruce1 for Sweet Valley High snark.) So I'm stepping up to fill a need by snarking my collection. (This is a need. Trust me. Some of these books are like the most unintentionally hilarious thing EVAR.)
I have a good-sized collection (...three cardboard boxes full), but for now, I'm limiting snarky recaps to series where I have at least five books. This is totally arbitrary, but I think five books in a true series allows you to get to know the characters and setting fairly well. Besides, I'm always scouting for more shitty girls' series, so it's possible that series that I'm not snarking now will be on the chopping block later.
Below, please find a poll and some information about your choices. Remember: your opinion counts, which is why the samurai game is going to be renamed "OMG TICKY BOXES YAY!".
Caprice Romance, Sweet Dreams, and Wildfire YA Romance - The best-known of the lot is Sweet Dreams. These are not true series in that they don't feature recurring characters or storylines that build upon each other; #54 and #55, say, in Sweet Dreams will not have anything to do with each other in terms of characters or plot. They're series only in the sense that they're consecutively numbered. Subject matter is pretty much the same across the three series: girl and guy get together, conquering insuperable obstacles such as shitty grades, the school slut, and the girl's disapproving father. (For an additional twist, in some of these books the girl starts out dating THE WRONG GUY. Gasp!)
Couples - Couples is a true series, in that it does feature recurrent characters and storylines that build upon each other. I haven't read it in yonks, so I'm quite rusty (I know, I'm really making a compelling case here), but the characters are slightly less cliché than many books from this era.
Merivale Mall - Also a true series for the same reason. It follows the adventures of cousins Danielle Sharp (the scheming, gorgeous, rich one) and Lori Randall (the less-affluent, hardworking, sweet one), who play and work, respectively, at the eponymous Merivale Mall. BONUS OVERANALYSIS ROUND: You can work a Marxist angle into this if you so desire.
Sweet Valley High - Oh, come on. You know...Sweet Valley High. I don't know if these books were as popular in Europe as they were in English-speaking countries, so if you're unfamiliar, here's the Wikipedia article. I can't do it justice in a paragraph.
Vote for as many or as few series as you desire. (Or just click the "I love ticky boxes!" selection repeatedly, whatever.) Also: per Burns' Indiana Statutes, be advised that augustuscaesar has to pick another series in addition to SVH or pay a really futile and stupid penalty that I haven't thought of yet.
Without further ado, the poll!
Poll Teen Steam! Let It All Out