History YMMV / SweetValleyHigh

* DesignatedHero:

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: From the clearly dated technology (Liz types her column on a typewriter; there are no apps or internet, or even anybody using a computer or mobile phone), to the descriptions of what people wear (then very hip and fashionable, now ridiculously dated), to some ValuesDissonance (school teacher Roger Collins frequently hangs out one-on-one in a room with his students and even sometimes gives Liz a hug to comfort her--nowadays schools have rules against teachers and students being in a closed room together, let alone initiating physical contact), the books are ''extremely'' [[TheEighties 80s]]. The series was made in TheNineties, and actually set in that decade so more modern compared to the books, but from the clothes everybody wears and just about every male character sporting a mushroom cut, the show ''screams'' "mid-90's!"

* AcceptableTargets:
** Good ''lord'' does Sweet Valley hate the overweight. They're portrayed as dumpy, shuffling, pathetic nerds who only want to be accepted by the Beautiful People who hate them.
** The worst example of this is Robin Wilson, who's tormented by the cheerleaders and is only accepted after losing a ton of weight, only to develop an eating disorder.
** In Sweet Valley Twins, Lois Waller. Every time she's introduced into one of the books, she's immediately described as fat. She gets mercilessly bullied, mainly by the Unicorns and by Bruce Patman, though sometimes Elizabeth and her friends stick up for her.

* CrackFic:
** Many outlandish events occurred, but surely ''The Magic Christmas'', in which a pair of harlequin dolls transport Elizabeth and Jessica to a fantasy land where they assist [[SpearCounterpart twin princes]] in defeating an evil wizard, must qualify.
** Don't forget the ''Sweet Valley University'' book in which one of their professors turned out to be a vampire.
** Or the ''Sweet Valley High'' trilogy in which the twins get internships in London and meet a werewolf.
** Or the ''Sweet Valley High'' trilogy in which a vampire moves to town and everyone starts copying his style.
** Or the ''Sweet Valley Twins'' special in which an angel arrives to stop Elizabeth from running away.

* InformedAttribute: Readers are often told that Elizabeth is loyal to Todd and, unlike Jessica, has no interest in dating every cute boy she meets. However, there are many examples of Elizabeth leaving and/or cheating on Todd with other boys, among them Luke Shepherd (books 104-106), Joey Mason (books 123-125), and Devon Whitelaw (books 138-142).

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]]: She has a deeply unhealthy attachment to her unfaithful boyfriend Will, she's content to destroy other people's lives to get her own way, and [[spoiler:she makes [[DrivenToSuicide two suicide attempts]]]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that Will is all the help she needs. After she's released from the hospital [[spoiler:following the second attempt]], the series [[AbortedArc drops any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designates her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

** Is Elizabeth a responsible and caring NiceGirl or a nagging hypocryte?

* AcceptableTargets: Good ''lord'' does Sweet Valley hate the overweight. They're portrayed as dumpy, shuffling, pathetic nerds who only want to be accepted by the Beautiful People who hate them.

* BrokenBase: Some laud the Junior High and Senior Year series for showing a more realistic portrayal of teenage life, while others condemn the series as being boring, compared to the earlier series. Still others think that they might be perfectly fine YA series on their own, but with [[PutOnABus a lot of the major characters from the original series gone]], and [[ReplacementScrappy a whole host of new characters (who would never show up in any of the later series)]], they just [[InNameOnly weren't Sweet Valley anymore]].

** The TV series. Either it's an entertaining (if wacky) adaptation of the book series, or it's a goofy Series/SavedByTheBell clone with none of the charm that made the books popular.
* CrackFic: Many outlandish events occurred, but surely ''The Magic Christmas'', in which a pair of harlequin dolls transport Elizabeth and Jessica to [[strike:Narnia]] a fantasy land where they assist [[SpearCounterpart twin princes]] in defeating an evil wizard, must qualify.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: While the earlier books could have some out-there moments, the stories were almost always in line with your standard soap-opera plot. As mentioned above, the post-Jungle Prom books started bringing in more outrageous elements such as serial killers, vampires, and werewolves.

* ValuesDissonance: The series' mocking attitudes toward overweight characters can be uncomfortable to read nowadays, as a result of the public backlash against fat-shaming in the [=2010s.=]

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]], having a deeply unhealthy attachment to her unfaithful boyfriend Will and [[spoiler:making [[DrivenToSuicide two suicide attempts]]]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that Will is all the help she needs. After she's released from the hospital [[spoiler:following the second attempt]], the series [[AbortedArc drops any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designates her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]], showing a deeply unhealthy attachment to her unfaithful boyfriend Will and [[spoiler:making [[DrivenToSuicide two suicide attempts]]]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that Will is all the help she needs. After she's released from the hospital [[spoiler:following the second attempt]], the series [[AbortedArc drops any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designates her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]], [[spoiler:making [[DrivenToSuicide two suicide attempts]]]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that her unfaithful boyfriend Will is all the help she needs. After she's released from the hospital [[spoiler:following the second attempt]], the series [[AbortedArc drops any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designates her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]], [[spoiler:making [[DrivenToSuicide two suicide attempts]]]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that her unfaithful boyfriend Will is all the help she needs. After she's released from the hospital [[spoiler:following the second attempt]], the series [[AbortedArc drops any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designate her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

** Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed]] [[TheMentallyDisturbed mental illness]], [[spoiler:making two suicide attempts]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that her unfaithful boyfriend Will is all the help she needs. The series goes on to [[AbortedArc drop any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designate her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.

* TheMentallyDisturbed: Melissa Fox in the ''Senior Year'' series shows strong signs of [[AmbiguousDisorder undiagnosed mental illness]], [[spoiler:making two suicide attempts]] by the age of 17. Unfortunately, ParentalNeglect ensures that her condition is improperly handled in both instances, and [[TherapyIsForTheWeak she herself rejects counseling]] in the belief that her unfaithful boyfriend Will is all the help she needs. The series goes on to [[AbortedArc drop any discussion of her psychological well-being]] and designate her as a complete {{Jerkass}}.