Diablo Cody Set to Attend 'Sweet Valley High'

Her peek into the horrors of high school continue

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Tuesday, September 22nd 2009 at 6:27 PM

Don't worry little sprites, Diablo Cody's career is fully intact and she's taking her quick wit over to Universal as The Hollywood Reporter brings word she is set to adapt Francine Pascal's "Sweet Valley High" series for the big screen. Having grown up in the '80s I am familiar only with the series because it seemed to be a required reading for junior high school girls, but I'm not sure how much farther the reach of the stories went.

Borys Kit at THR tells us the books focus on the lives of two teenage girls, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, who lived in the fictional town of Sweet Valley, California. Jessica was the more conniving and materialistic of the sisters, and usually needed help from the more practical Elizabeth when her schemes went awry. Over 152 stories have been published under the title with more than 60 million copies in print. The last one came out January 2003. Cody will adapt the "Sweet Valley High" stories, which are said to have informed her "formative years" and she will also produce with Mason Novick as well as Marc Platt.

There was a UPN TV series back in 1994 that ran for four seasons starring twin sisters Brittany and Cynthia Daniel, but like the books I never tuned in.

Winner of the 2008 Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Juno, Cody's most recent outing Jennifer's Body didn't live up to box-office expectations.