Before
Gossip Girl or
Twilight, there were the 16-year-old twins of Francine Pascal's
Sweet Valley High. Pretty, popular, and with perfect California tans, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were icons for a generation, breaking all sorts of publishing records and inspiring many young girls to read. They are back this month in
Sweet Valley Confidential, a grownup version of the earlier series that Pascal hopes will ignite a nostalgia bomb for women reared in the 1980s. There are plenty of 1980s blockbusters that hold a special place in our heart, of course—from Judy Blume's
Forever (about a girl losing her virginity) to V.C. Andrews'
Flowers in the Attic (about a brother and sister's incestuous relationship) to the mild-mannered middle schoolers of Ann M. Martin's
The Babysitters Club. So in the name of equal-opportunity nostalgia, a look back at some of our favorite teen novels from the era of acid-washed jeans and fluorescent scrunchies.