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If you're a Sweet Valley High fan, you might be familiar with this stand-alone series of nine paperback books about the beautiful, devious, Caitlin Ryan, first introduced to readers at the end of Sweet Valley High #18 Head Over Heels
Here is the entire letter copied from the back of that book. You can also find the same insert in the back of books #19 and #20, just in case you missed it!
A LETTER TO THE READER
Dear Friend,
Ever since I created the series, SWEET VALLEY HIGH, I've been thinking about a love trilogy, a miniseries, revolving around one very special girl, a character similar in some ways to Jessica Wakefield, but even more devastating-more beautiful, more charming, and much more devious.
Her name is Caitlin Ryan, and with her long black hair, her magnificent blue eyes and ivory complexion, she's the most popular girl at the exclusive boarding school she attends in Virginia. On the surface her life seems perfect. She has it all: great wealth, talent, intelligence, and the dazzle to charm every boy in the school. But deep inside there's a secret need that haunts her life.
Caitlin's mother died in childbirth, and her father abandoned her immediately after she was born. At least that's the lie she has been told by her enormously rich grandmother, the cold and powerful matriarch who has raised Caitlin and given her everything money can buy. But not love.
Caitlin dances from boy to boy, never staying long, often breaking hearts, yet she's so sparkling and delightful that everyone forgives her. No one can resist her.
No one that is, but Jed Michaels. He's the new boy in school-tall, wonderfully handsome, and very, very nice. And Caitlin means to have him.
But somehow the old tricks don't work; she can't seem to manipulate him. Impossible! There has never been anyone that the beautiful and terrible Caitlin couldn't have. And now she wants Jed Michaels-no matter who gets hurt or what she has to do to get him.
So many of you follow my SWEET VALLEY HIGH series that I know you'll find it fascinating to read what happens when love comes into the life of this spoiled and selfish beauty-the indomitable Caitlin Ryan.
Thanks for being there, and keep reading
Francine Pascal (elaborate signature)
The first chapter from book one LOVING follows
Like it so far? (These are Francine's words) Want to read more? LOVING will be available in May 1985. It will be on sale wherever Bantam paperbacks are sold. The other two books in the trilogy, LOVE DENIED (it will actually be titled LOVE LOST) and TRUE LOVE, will also be published in 1985.
Serious fans of Francine know she has already hired a ghostwriter named Joanna Campbell to actually write The Love Trilogy. Another ghostwriter, Diana Gregory, will pen The Promise and The Forever Trilogies.
These books are so hilariously dated, they deserve a place where Generation X readers can indulge in some good, old fashioned, nostalgia. Go dancing in the dark, walking through the park and reminiscing.
They're all here, all nine of them, completely summarized, chapter by chapter, for your enjoyment.
Hurry don't be late!
I can hardly wait (to get started!)
In the meantime, here are a few online articles about the dangers of reading such trashy romance novels from the 1980's when our biggest problem as a nation was the lingering Cold War and the Challenger explosion.
Here's another blogger's summary of LOVING
Another blogger critiques Caitlin's admirable traits as a teen role model
http://thedairiburger.com/category/caitlin/
Caitlin: The Love Trilogy
Loving 1985
Love Lost 1985
True Love 1985
Caitlin: The Promise Trilogy
Tender Promises 1986
Promises Broken 1986
A New Promise 1986
Caitlin: The Forever Trilogy
Dreams of Forever 1987
Forever and Always 1987
Together Forever 1988
Anyone familiar with LDS romance author, Anita Stansfield, I've created a similar book blog dedicated to all her novels here.
Great introduction to CAITLIN's trilogy.
ReplyDelete[I only really knew of the Love trilogy reading Sweet Dreams books ten years after the event].
And thank you for the LDS author Stansfield.
I read these books around 1991-1992 and in 2000 I named my first daughter after the character
ReplyDeleteThat was wonderful! It’s been a long time since I read those and thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgic trip 😊
ReplyDeleteI was just telling my 8 year old daughter that when I was an early teen I bought these books. I had read the first three as individual books and then I realised my local bookshop was selling the other six books as a set of 3. I told my daughter how much I enjoyed these books and how before then I was a big fan of Sweet Valley High books. We had Sweet valley high in my high school library and there were a lot of them and I read the entire series over and over again. So when I discovered Francine Pascal had come up with another series I absolutely devoured it. Thank you for this trip down memory lane, Wow!, I really appreciate it, and now I'm going to see if I could buy these 9 books and read them all over again with my daughter. :))
ReplyDeleteThanks for doing this! I read these books so long ago, such drama!
ReplyDeletedoes anyone know who the model was for the "loving" trilogy? i've been watching old episodes of 90210 and it occured to me that she's a dead ringer for tiffany-amber theissen (also of "saved by the bell"). is it possible or am i way off? just been wonderin...
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