Best Friends

Sweet Valley Twins Graphic Novels #1

by Nicole Andelfinger (Adapter), Francine Pascal, Claudia Aguirre (Illustrator)

Jessica and Elizabeth are ready to take on middle school . . . but are they ready to take on each other? The New York Times bestselling world of Sweet Valley Twins returns in these all-new graphic novel adaptations!

Jessica and Elizabeth have always been inseparable twins, but starting middle school means a chance for new beginnings! Elizabeth is excited to organize a school newspaper, but Jessica is more interested in joining the exclusive Unicorn Club. What will happen when the twins realize they might not be as alike as they thought?

Middle school is hard enough, but with these twins each dealing with becoming their own person--will they be able to stay friends at the same time?

Francine Pascal's beloved Sweet Valley Twins comes to life in a brand-new graphic novel that will have old and new fans delighted as they meet Jessica and Elizabeth in graphic novel form. With the lively artwork of Claudia Aguirre, Sweet Valley Twins: Best Friends is a contemporary middle-grade graphic novel filled with heart, laughter, and lots of twins.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Comics, Young Adult

218 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Basic B's Guide · Rating 3 out of 5]

A familiar storyline - hello youth! Did I hate Jess as much as I hate her now? Was she really this horrible? Yikes! My love for Elizabeth still stands but now I wonder why both twins couldn’t be kind and just have different interests.

Nostalgic for sure, as I read the entire series as a kid and couldn’t get enough of them. How dare my mom sell all my copies at our garage sale! Those and all my Archie comics. 😩

The illustrations were not my favorite and agree with other reviewers that the two were hard to tell apart. Some of the expressions did make me lol.

Having 6th grade twins myself, the story resonated as my own boys navigate finding their own paths. However I found the cliques and bullying hard to read and not something I want my boys to be encouraged by. I don’t think I’ll be passing along my copy to them.

[Jen Petro-Roy]

Looking back now and while reading this, Jessica is just so awful.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read all of the Sweet Valley series (Kids, Twins, Junior High, High, University, and Unicorn Club) as a kid and was excited to get this for my daughter. The story was ok and maybe if it had been an original work instead of a reboot I would like it better, but I didn’t like the artwork and felt like the artist had never read the books and had no concept of the characters. The characters were unrecognizable and their looks and styles were not consistent at all with the descriptions in the original books, to the point that I had trouble even figuring out who certain people were supposed to be. I understand this takes place 30 years after the originals, but they still could have captured the personalities and styles of original characters but updated for today; Jessica is supposed to be a fashion plate but the outfits she’s drawn in aren’t stylish. Alice was always described as being beautiful and looking young, more like a sister than a mom to the twins. Yet in this book she’s drawn to look like Miss Geist in Clueless. With the exception of Amy, the other friends and family members are unrecognizable; I couldn’t even tell who was who in the Unicorn Club. If they hadn’t made a point to mention certain characters’ names, I wouldn’t have known because there was little to no resemblance in look or personality to the original (Lila, Caroline Pearce, Lois “Crybaby” Waller, Janet…) I still can’t figure out who the blonde Unicorn is supposed to be, but her hair color should have been the one used for the twins instead of the strawberry blonde that was chosen. It may not bother people who are new to the series or aren’t nostalgic about it, but I think a lot of 80s and 90s girls who grew up on these books will be disappointed with the illustrations because they’re really not faithful at all to the descriptions of the characters in the hundreds of books that precede this.

[Ruchira Wijayaratne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may be an adult now, but I still want to punch Jessica.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel forms of these books were the first series I ever fell in love with (middle school Melanie). I can see students liking the graphic novelized version too. This was a fun read.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember picking up my first Sweet Valley High book in second grade.

Yes. Second grade.

I didn't read too many of them, because my mom thought they were trashy and low-brow and then later I had a falling out with our local public library (I lost a lot of books and owed a fine and thought for sure I was going to library jail for years and years and years...fast forward to me being a librarian now lol), and by the time I was in an area where the public library had them and I was not Public Enemy #1 I was too old. And I had discovered (and adored, even though looking back they are so. bad.) the Fearless series.

Yet I always remembered the joys of looking at the rows and rows of covers of those two identical blonde girls with their blue eyes and adorableness and wishing I was as cool as Jessica.

Although...on this read through I realized that Jessica is really awful (something that had I read the books a little later I would have realized) and that Elizabeth is by far the Best Twin.

Anywho, loved this adaptation. The artwork is cute. The storyline is very well done, adjusting for an age group that was already reading the originals even if they were not quite ready for some of the themes, and I cannot wait for the next book.

The perfect nostalgia for elder millennial/young Gen X parents (or casual readers, no child necessary) and their kids.

[Afi (WhatAfiReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to this book for cleansing something that I was listening (at the current time I finished the book) that literally fried my brain fuse :')

This was a quick and light read and one that struck me hard. Taken from the original series that was released in 1996 (Best Friends), this newly released in the form of a graphic novel with illustrations by Claudia Aguirre which tells a story of identical twins in finding their footing and own self-identity. Elizabeth and Jessica had always done things together from they were born. However, albeit sharing the same outfits and space, they have a totally opposite personality, in which Elizabeth is more quiet while Jessica is more outgoing. Of finding your true-worth and the deep bond between twins, is a story that is quite moving on its own!

Personal Ratings : 4🌟

Firstly, I loved the idea of the publisher in re-releasing this series in graphic novel, to be enjoyed by the audience of the current generation. There's something about evergreen stories that will always be relatable and relevant in this day and age. In the case of the Sweet Valley Twins, the story focuses on the identities of the twins and their struggles in coping without one or the other. Albeit being identical, twins often are the exact opposite of each other in terms of personality, in which will be more obvious as they grow older and they'll start to develop interests of their own. The author did a great job in giving insights to these struggles and how its important that their family and environment really gives an impact in the twin's relationships as they grow older.

I liked that there were a lot of moral values instilled in the story. Whilst Jessica is the twin that we will be annoyed with, I also loved how she would do absolutely ANYTHING for her sister, even if it means breaking a rule. Their character development in the first novel might be scarce, but we can see the progress of their relationship without outshining the other. I felt that the parents had did a good decision at the end in making them not share anything anymore as to let them develop their own personalities and interests, but can still enjoy the company of their twin. At the end of the day, is the bond between them that matters and their interests and personalities would not ruin the special connection that they have.

This is definitely a great book for middle-graders and even as an adult myself, I enjoyed it a lot! The graphics are so visually nice to look at and the colours are vivid and bright; and suits the whole theme of the story. Recommended!

[Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Bullying
Score: Six points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

Best Friends by Nicole Andelfinger was circling my recommendations for a while and when I saw that a library has this one, I seized the opportunity to get it. Eventually, I picked it up and read it, but when I finished it, I was underwhelmed. There were so many flaws I had to lower Best Friends to three stars.

It starts with the first two characters I see, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield who both go to the same school, Sweet Valley. They are identical but their passions are nowhere near that as Elizabeth wants to write the school newspaper and Jessica wants to join the Unicorn Club. The novel's strengths lie in its immersion because I could never stop reading Best Friends and the setting looks contemporary. However, it has flaws that are most prominent in the characters. Jessica was insufferable to read since she irritated her sister and she got worse when she bullied people when she was in the Unicorn Club. The portrayal of Black and Asian characters rubbed me the wrong way for two reasons: it felt like tokenism and the depiction wasn't outstanding. Why are the white people the protagonists and the Black and Asian people bullies and antagonists? At least Jessica had character development, but that left a sour taste. I might read the second instalment in the series when the library gets it.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the Sweet Valley Twins books as a child, so loved the nostalgia aspect. The art style for this graphic adaptation was not my favorite. I had difficulty differentiating between the twins at times, particularly when they were in their ballet uniforms.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3 STARS

Best Friends (Sweet Valley Twins Graphic Novels #1) was a great nostalgic trip! The only reason I rated it 3 stars is that I am not a fan of the updates to modern times. I miss the 80s and 90s version, but I am not the audience for this new graphic novel series. This is for the new generation and I think they will be sucked in to the Sweet Valley as much as we were. I will continue with the next book, AND maybe revisit the original chapter book series. I still plan to do a reread of High and University for sure, so stay tuned!

[Addison Dziuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book.

[Munchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know this was a retelling in graphic novel setting of a book that came out in the 90's. It's got a fresh new look for newer generations and has some beautiful artwork to showcase the plot. And the cover is the reason why I picked it up, also twins? That's something I don't see often for main characters.

In the first book "best friends", Elizabeth and Jessica are twins that are beginning to separate from one another and battle each other in middle school about their own identities. They've done so many things together up until this point, Elizabeth is having a hard time coping with Jessica wanting to do her own thing by joining the popular girls group without her. While Jessica doesn't quite want to leave her sister out because she loves and will protect her, even if that means doing stuff that's morally wrong. So she decides to lie or hide the truth from her sis till things backfire.

It's got a lot of young teen drama in this book which would upset most people. And that the character Jessica is hard to like when it comes to a redeeming personality, but this is the 90's we are referring to. Some of the worst embarrassment in book and movie history will hail from the mean girl eras of this time, so i understand and expect it. Not my most favorite stories but kids today will even act this bad. Who's to say this isn't a reflection of real life still? I just don't see it being written about as of late because of the trope that's been overused for decades.

While not my most favorite story containing popular girls, self-identity and growing up, I couldn't put this graphic novel down. I wanted to know more about the two girls and liked seeing how they became their own person. I also like the mother figure. She's very understanding and wise and I appreciated that.

For the first book, I liked it. Tho I think I'm leaning more towards a 3.7 out of 5, I will be checking out book 2, to see their personal development throughout this series. I did like Elizabeth's growth here for stepping outside of her comfort zone. That takes courage and the end result is rewarding. *Wink*

[EuroHackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A pretty decent update to the classic SVT #1 Best Friends. It hits all the highlights of the original story: Jessica joining the Unicorns, Elizabeth starting the Sixers with Amy, the terrible prank played on Lois with the shaving cream (and the revenge prank!), Jessica showing off in ballet class. There are also some updates to bring this into the 21st century: the twins not only get separate rooms, but also cell phones; there's a lot more diversity in the cast; Jessica's pledge pranks are updated in sorta-believable ways (though I do miss dying the mashed potatoes purple, LOL).

I'm not terribly jazzed about all of the changes that were made. I Cannot with Blond/Brown-eyed Bruce Patman. I'm not sure I like the idea of beautiful Mrs Wakefield basically being Sharon Schafer (at least in appearance). And I had NO idea who any of the Unicorns were, aside from Lila and Janet (and only those two were confirmed at the end). Who's the blonde? Who's the Asian girl? Is there a guy?? I am so confused.

I read this via the Libby app and really didn't enjoy it - it was a two-page spread, which made it hard to see all of the graphic panels (the texts were almost impossible for my middle-aged eyes to see). Mercifully, I was able to get a physical copy of the second book, so hopefully that will be a better reading experience.

There's no way I'd pay $15 for a copy of this, but it was a decent little nostalgic jaunt. I already know they aren't going to follow the book series faithfully (as they are skipping #3 The Haunted House), which sucks but seems to be the way these reboots go nowadays.

[Cora Mabry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute graphics, but so many aspects of the storyline bothered me. Jessica seems completely oblivious to her own sister’s feelings? Middle school girls dating high school boys - ick. And that retaliation prank…Elizabeth said she didn’t want to stoop to the Unicorns’ level, and yet she totally did…

I also didn’t like the multiple uses of “oh my god” (no capitalization, but still) and the use of “pissed off” by Steven.

I never read the originally SVT, so I can’t say how this compares. However, if it’s anything like this story, I’m not interested in trying it out.

[Brooke Phelan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a gift to me from a very sweet student. I really enjoyed it as it was my first graphic novel. The plot is funny, relatable and keeps the reader’s interest. Appropriate for a tween reader. 4 stars because it was a little difficult to keep track of the identical twin characters.

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I up reading all the Sweet Valley Twins books, so I was sooooo excited to read this graphic novel adaptation of the first book! Had such a fun time, & was very nostalgic for me. Jessica & Elizabeth have always been inseparable twins, but starting middle school means a chance for new beginnings! Elizabeth is excited to organize a school newspaper, but Jessica is more interested in joining the exclusive Unicorn Club. What will happen when the twins realize they might not be as alike as they thought? Middle school is hard enough, but with these twins each dealing with becoming their own person--will they be able to stay friends at the same time? I despised Jessica in this, I don't remember if I did when I read the novel when I was a kid, but I may have. I don't think I would've kept reading unless she got a little better though, so hopefully she does in these adaptations as well. It was so good being back with these sisters & their story. There are some small changes of course, to make it for kids today-like the addition of cell phones lol. Had a fun time going down memory lane, so to speak, & can't wait for the next one. BEAUTIFUL art by Claudia Aguirre too!💜

[Heidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read - and enjoyed - these books as a kid and this reboot stayed faithful to the original. As a kid, I knew Jessica was horrible, but now I can see Jessica shows no genuine remorse the entire time for her actions nor does she face any true consequences for her bullying. In fact, her relationship with Elizabeth seems incredibly unhealthy and toxic. This book was neither entertaining nor did it convey an overall positive/useful message. I would not recommend it to kids now - even nostalgia couldn't save this one for me.

[Avery Caracappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really good. It's just that at the beginning of the book, I couldn't tell which character was who since they main characters are both identical twins. But other than that, I definitely recommend this book.

[Bel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have *no* doubt that this will have some of the same success that the Babysitters Club graphic reboot had. I vaguely remember the originals and this was so much fun!

[Hannah Turley · Rating 2 out of 5]

In case anyone was wondering, Jessica Wakefield is still the actual worst

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Scroll down into the reviews and find “Sally’s.” Ditto to everything she said.

[Shawne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was just reminded that this graphic novel adaptation of BEST FRIENDS - the first Sweet Valley Twins book published in 1986 - exists, checked it out of the library and read it in one sitting. Talk about a nostalgic blast from the past, with maybe one tweak (cell phones) to update the story for today's young readers.

I quite enjoyed the manga-style art by Claudia Aguirre - fun and cute, mostly, although some characters deviated pretty far from their canonical descriptions. (BRUCE PATMAN IS NOT BLONDE. WHAT. HE LOOKS LIKE A SURFER DUDE THUG.) Some really cute moments.

The scripting by Nicole Andelfinger was... okay. Uninspired, I'd call it, since it sticks super closely to what I remember of the original novel's plot. (And it turns out I remember it pretty darn well, since I re-read it so often as a kid!) I wish the supporting characters were better introduced - I had to guess who the Unicorns were, for the most part, and gossip queen Caroline Pearce isn't even named on page, relying only on the reader to guess/figure out who she is.

It's a good reminder of the simple magic that anchored this franchise of books though - the idea that two girls, who look identical, could be so night-and-day different. I see lots of people hating on Jessica in the comments, and what she does IS admittedly very, very shitty. SHE'S MAYBE A BIT OF A SOCIOPATH?! 🤣 But I do think she loses out a little in the translation from book to comic. And it's also partly the point to show us how the twins think and act so differently while also forcing each other to learn and grow.

This first book really is a great introduction to the Wakefield twins, and it's quite nice that a new generation of kids can meet them in this new format!

3.5 stars

[Alantie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another childhood favorite getting the graphic book treatment.

Overall it’s just ok. Of course updated for ‘modern audiences’ with the girls having a cellphone, among other changes. Pretty typical of Sweet Valley, Elizabeth is studious and nice, Jessica is popular and heedless, but deep down they love each other even if they’re different. While I read plenty of the original SVT series I never read the first somehow, so I’m not sure how faithful it is to the original story though it seems to stick true to the characterization of the rest of the series.

Art style is just ok. Not terrible, but not super appealing either.

It’s nice that they want to revamp these nostalgia series, but I’d love if they’d put a bit more effort into the attempts.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brings back so many memories! This series was one of my favorites growing up, I read the grade school books all the way up until they were in university. I think these books may have been the start of my love for long series. Being able to follow a character's journey from start to finish and building a world that the reader never wants to leave is an impressive feat. Reminds me of why I still haven't read the last book in the "Throne of Glass" series..u just don't want it to end! Anyway I read a review recently that said they think Jessica may be a sociopath, lol!! After stepping back into the series I must say..that might be very accurate!!

[Reema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can see my carefully curated TBR going down like a lead balloon, now that a friend discovered these graphic novels.

I was obsessed with Sweet Valley as a teen, so the actual nostalgia to find the story revised for a graphic novel had me so excited and it did not disappoint!!

It's a great length, the graphics are beautiful, the story i can't remember if it's the same as book 1 because the last time I re read sweet Valley was in 2020. I actually love the diversity ( that was lacking in the books for sure)

Definitely will be reading the rest.

[Katie Reilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read an advanced copy, and while I wanted to love it (hello, my whole youth!), I just couldn’t.

Though it follows the original storyline, as an adult reader (and classroom teacher of 9-11 year olds), I felt Jessica’s mean girl antics were overlooked and accepted.

Though I know this will appeal to middle grade readers, I don’t recommend unless reading alongside the kid reader to discuss Jess’s behavior.

I won’t be adding to my classroom library.

[Genres and Journals *Tia* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not 100% sure that my rating isn’t colored by nostalgia BUT I think this graphic novel might be better than the original. Maybe. The storyline is the same just with current day technology. Jessica is still the worst. But it was fun to see all the characters drawn out. The artwork was great…especially loved seeing the Wakefield family.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

New adaptation of the twins in 6th grade! The art is super super cute, and the story has been updated a bit but mostly stands. Jessica is a terrible terrible person, but honestly Elizabeth isn't perfect either. I think kids will enjoy it all over again.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the graphic novels based on The Babysitters Club so I was excited to see a new series with Sweet Valley Twins—another series I read a lot as a kid. Unfortunately this book just doesn’t hit the spot like the BSC. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t good. I’ll maybe try again on the next book—perhaps the writers/artists just need to find the right groove.

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how this has been adapted and updated for a graphic novel, I loved these books growing up and I hope they resonate well with students of today. I think there’s always the same issues of growing apart, bullying and family.