This Author From Your Fave Teen Books Has Died

If you were a teenage girl in the ’80s or ’90s, we’re betting you read the Sweet Valley High books.

The creator of the series, Francine Pascal, has died at age 92 of lymphoma.

Pascal created Sweet Valley High in 1983. The series was based around 16-year-old identical twins, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, as they navigated high school in the fictional town of Sweet Valley, California.

Pascal wrote the first 12 books, and then a team of writers took over for the rest of the series. There were a total of 181 books in the series.

“Sweet Valley is the essence of high school. It’s that moment before reality hits, when you really do believe in the romantic values — sacrifice, love, loyalty, friendship — before you get jaded and slip off into adulthood,” Pascal told People Magazine in 1988.

The series also inspired several spinoffs, including Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley Kids, Sweet Valley Junior High, and later on, Sweet Valley Confidential.