{"id":2321586,"date":"2024-08-08T22:42:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T02:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/francine-pascal-1932-2024-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-08T22:47:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T02:47:04","slug":"francine-pascal-1932-2024-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/francine-pascal-1932-2024-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Francine Pascal, 1932-2024 &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffrancine-pascal-1932-2024-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2321586&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Francine Pascal, the creator\u200b of\u2064 the influential young \u200dadult \u2064book \u200dseries *Sweet\u2062 Valley\u2063 High*, passed away on July \u200c28, 2024, at the \u2064age of 92. Born Francine \u2064Paula Rubin\u2062 in 1932 in \u2062Manhattan, she grew up immersed in comics, fairy tales,\u200d and movies, fostering her creativity. Initially working as a freelance writer \u2064in gossip magazines and eventually \u2062contributing to well-known publications, Pascal transitioned to writing for television\u2063 before finding her significant success with *Sweet Valley High*. The series, which debuted in\u2064 the early 1980s, captivated a generation\u200c of young \u2062readers and played\u2062 a pivotal role in shaping \u2063the young adult\u200b genre, much like the *Harry Potter* series would do later. Pascal&#8217;s storytelling focused on the lives of twin sisters navigating teenage \u2064challenges, which resonated deeply with adolescent audiences. \u200dHer contributions have\u200c left a\u200c lasting legacy\u200b in \u200bchildren&#8217;s literature.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-sacff-txt\">Magazine &#8211; Obituary <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Francine Pascal, 1932-2024<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>When the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/opinion\/1401497\/only-a-woman-could-have-written-harry-potter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>Harry Potter<\/em> series<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2788768\/harry-potter-sales-up-nearly-5-million-despite-attempts-to-cancel-j-k-rowling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>becoming popular <\/a>in the early 2000s, an impassioned debate arose among parents and teachers as to whether it was good that so many children were spending so much time reading such fantastical stories. Some thought that becoming hooked at a young age on this kind of easily digestible fare would make it hard for them to develop tastes in more edifying literature in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-insistence-by-democrat-politicians-and-medical-elites-empirical-evidence-does-not-conclusively-show-that-masks-reduce-the-spread-of-covid\/\" title=\"Despite Insistence by Democrat Politicians and Medical Elites, Empirical Evidence DOES NOT Conclusively Show that Masks Reduce the Spread of COVID\">high school<\/a> and college. Others, though, argued that it was good they were reading anything &mdash; and that once they were reading something, they could later grow into the kinds of readers who would explore all kinds of books and subjects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/j-k-rowling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>J. K. Rowling<\/a> wasn&rsquo;t the first phenomenally successful young adult fiction writer to spark anxious debates about children&rsquo;s reading habits. Before <em>Harry Potter<\/em>, and even before <em>Goosebumps<\/em>, there was <em>Sweet Valley High<\/em>, a hugely popular series that transformed, and, in some ways, created, the young adult book market and that left a lasting imprint on a generation of girls across the country. The creator of the series, Francine Pascal, died on July 28 in New York at 92.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Francine Pascal after receiving the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award in June 1982. (The Burlington Free Press via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Born in Manhattan as Francine Paula Rubin on May 13, 1932, and raised in Jamaica, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Queens<\/a>, Francine enjoyed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>comic books<\/a>, fairy tales, and movies as a child. Creating stories of her own, in retrospect, appears to have been a natural result of her imaginative childhood interests &mdash; though she came to the career of young adult novelist through a kind of writerly backdoor. Her first writing jobs consisted mainly of freelance work for gossip magazines, but she was soon thereafter able to place pieces in more established outlets such as <em>Cosmopolitan <\/em>and <em>Ladies&rsquo; Home Journal. <\/em>Shortly after marrying the journalist John Pascal in 1964, Francine and her husband both landed jobs as writers for the daytime ABC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/walsh-meghan-markle-is-a-self-victimizing-drama-queen\/\" title=\"WALSH: Meghan Markle Is A Self-Victimizing Drama Queen\">soap opera<\/a> <em>The Young Marrieds. <\/em>When the show&rsquo;s producers demanded<em> <\/em>that they move to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/los-angeles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Los Angeles<\/a>, rather than relocate to California, they quit the show and embarked on writing ventures of their own, such as a book based on John&rsquo;s coverage of the Patty Hearst bank robbery trial and a book based on Francine&rsquo;s brother Michael Stewart&rsquo;s play about the theatrical pioneer George M. Cohan. (Stewart, a Tony-winning playwright who predeceased his sister by nearly 40 years, was the librettist of several Broadway hits, such as <em>Bye Bye Birdie <\/em>and <em>Hello, Dolly!<\/em>)&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pascal&rsquo;s breakthrough did not come until she was in her 50s. While struggling to write a soap opera of her own, an editor friend of hers gave her an idea that was so simple, obvious, and easy to imagine, like one of the now-clich&eacute;d &ldquo;<em>Speed <\/em>on a boat&rdquo;-type pitches, that it was hard to believe it had never been done before: &ldquo;<em>Dallas <\/em>for teens.&rdquo; (<em>Dallas <\/em>was one of the era&rsquo;s most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-did-i-let-that-happen-amanda-seyfried-regrets-filming-nude-scenes-at-19\/\" title=\"\u2018How Did I Let That Happen?\u2019 Amanda Seyfried Regrets Filming Nude Scenes At 19\">popular soap operas<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pascal took up the idea with gusto, quickly creating the basic template that would become the basis for the <em>Sweet Valley High <\/em>book series: two twin teenage girls who live in a Los Angeles suburb and who are contending with all the usual dilemmas of adolescence, from crushes to jealousies to peer pressure and petty rivalries. She wrote up the first treatment into a book, which she quickly sold to Bantam Books, now an imprint of Penguin Random House, which immediately ordered 12 more. Once it became clear to her that Bantam would keep wanting more and more <em>Sweet Valley <\/em>books at a rate she likely wouldn&rsquo;t be able to churn out herself, Pascal hired a team of writers who were charged with producing the series&rsquo;s books at a rate of roughly one per month, all based on Pascal&rsquo;s detailed outlines and instructions. Since the publication of the first <em>Sweet Valley <\/em>book in 1983, the series &mdash; including its many spinoffs, which include <em>Sweet Valley <\/em>series set in middle school, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theyre-all-pedophiles-singer-alanis-morissette-says-multiple-men-had-sex-with-her-when-she-was-just-15\/\" title=\"\u2018They\u2019re All Pedophiles\u2019: Singer Alanis Morissette Says Multiple Men Had Sex With Her When She Was Just 15\">junior high school<\/a>, and college, and spinoffs of its spinoffs (and you thought only Marvel<em> <\/em>and Star Wars<em> <\/em>were good at franchising?) &mdash; has sold over 250 million copies worldwide.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When asked what she thought was the secret of <em>Sweet Valley&rsquo;s<\/em> success, Pascal indicated that they could be thought of as a kind of modernized version of Jane Austen novels, but for young girls &mdash; books that helped them understand many of the basic problems and types of characters they were encountering in their everyday realities. But according to my sister, whose bookshelves were as filled with <em>Sweet Valley <\/em>books as mine were with <em>Goosebumps<\/em>, their appeal was much simpler: &ldquo;They were great girly pre-teen stories.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Daniel Ross Goodman is a&nbsp;<\/em>Washington Examiner&nbsp;<em>contributing writer and a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School. His latest book,&nbsp;<\/em>Soloveitchik&rsquo;s Children: Irving Greenberg, David Hartman, Jonathan Sacks, and the Future of Jewish Theology in America<em>, was published last summer by the University of Alabama Press.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Magazine &#8211; Obituary: Francine Pascal, 1932-2024**<\/p>\n<p>As the Harry Potter series gained popularity in the early 2000s, a heated discussion emerged among parents and educators regarding the impact of children immersing themselves in such imaginative tales. Some expressed concern that developing a preference for these easily accessible stories at a young age might hinder their ability to appreciate more substantial literature later on in high school and college. Conversely, others believed that any reading was beneficial and that once children engaged with books, they could evolve into readers who explore diverse genres and topics.<\/p>\n<p>J.K. Rowling wasn&#8217;t the first author of young adult fiction to ignite worries about children&#8217;s reading habits. Before Harry Potter\u2014and even before Goosebumps\u2014there was Sweet Valley High, an immensely popular series that significantly shaped the young adult book market and left an enduring mark on a generation of girls nationwide. The creator of this series, Francine Pascal, passed away on July 28 in New York at the age of 92.<\/p>\n<p>Born as Francine Paula Rubin on May 13, 1932, in Manhattan and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Francine had a childhood filled with comic books, fairy tales, and movies. Her inclination towards storytelling seemed like a natural extension of her imaginative upbringing; however, she entered the realm of young adult novels through an unconventional path. Initially working as a freelance writer for gossip magazines led her to contribute pieces to more prominent publications like Cosmopolitan and Ladies\u2019 Home Journal.<\/p>\n<p>After marrying journalist John Pascal in 1964, both secured writing positions for ABC&#8217;s daytime soap opera The Young Marrieds. When producers required them to relocate to Los Angeles\u2014a move they were unwilling to make\u2014they left the show to pursue independent writing projects based on John\u2019s coverage of Patty Hearst&#8217;s bank robbery trial and one inspired by Francine\u2019s brother Michael Stewart\u2019s play about George M. Cohan.<\/p>\n<p>Pascal&#8217;s major breakthrough came when she was already in her fifties while attempting to write her own soap opera; an editor friend suggested an idea so straightforward yet innovative it seemed surprising it hadn\u2019t been done before: \u201cDallas for teens.\u201d This concept inspired Pascal to create what would become Sweet Valley High\u2014a series centered around two teenage twin girls navigating typical adolescent challenges such as crushes and rivalries while living in a Los Angeles suburb.<\/p>\n<p>She quickly drafted this idea into a book which Bantam Books (now part of Penguin Random House) published along with orders for twelve additional titles right away. Realizing Bantam would continue requesting more Sweet Valley stories than she could produce alone at that pace led her to hire other writers who crafted books based on her detailed outlines\u2014resulting in approximately one new title each month.<\/p>\n<p>Since its debut publication in 1983\u2014including numerous spinoffs set across various educational stages\u2014the Sweet Valley franchise has sold over 250 million copies globally. When asked about its success formula during interviews over time; Pascal likened them somewhat modernized versions akin to Jane Austen novels tailored for younger audiences\u2014helping girls navigate relatable issues through familiar character types encountered daily.<\/p>\n<p>However according my sister\u2014who shared my enthusiasm for both Sweet Valley titles alongside Goosebumps\u2014their charm lay simply within being enjoyable girly pre-teen narratives.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel Ross Goodman is contributing writer at Washington Examiner &amp; postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School; his latest work titled *Soloveitchik\u2019s Children: Irving Greenberg*, *David Hartman*, *Jonathan Sacks*, &amp; *the Future*&#8230; published last summer by University Alabama Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2854,"featured_media":2321587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Obit_081424.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[37622,12730,37621,32229,32076],"class_list":["post-2321586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-1932-2024","tag-author","tag-francine-pascal","tag-obituary","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Obit_081424.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2321586"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2321586\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2321587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2321586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2321586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2321586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}