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Class of '88 #1
Freshman
Five friends. Nick the golden boy, Celia the beautiful, Sean the thinker, Allie the wild, Meg the brave.
Brand-new Redwood High holds a different promise for each of them. Celia could be popular for the first time in her life--if she stops being Allie's friend. Nick could be a campus star--but only if he plays by someone else's rules...rules that don't include Sean. Meg has a chance to be a leader...and to be passed over by the boy she loves.
Together, they could have faced anything. But after freshman year, they may never be together again.
Brand-new Redwood High holds a different promise for each of them. Celia could be popular for the first time in her life--if she stops being Allie's friend. Nick could be a campus star--but only if he plays by someone else's rules...rules that don't include Sean. Meg has a chance to be a leader...and to be passed over by the boy she loves.
Together, they could have faced anything. But after freshman year, they may never be together again.
- GenresYoung AdultFiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 7, 2020
Was feeling nostalgic. I've had this book since 1988. It didn't fail to transport me back to those days of teen angst. The days of the group mentality and dynamic. No easy way to traverse the days halls and years of high school. Meg, Allie, Sean, Nick, and Celia had to learn the hard way that you need your friends from beginning to end. I hope to find the sophomore, junior and senior books that I've never read.
October 10, 2014
I read a few books in this series back when I was in middle school and somehow they came up in book club... So I found the whole series (8 books! Four books each for Class of 88 and Class of 89) on Amazon for $1 a piece and I couldn't resist! They are pretty terrible, but it is a fun little bit of nostalgia!
June 6, 2013
Ok, so I first read this series in 6th grade. While I was completing the April A-Z Challenge, this series became my topic for "T", I decided to read the whole series again.
I read the series a lot while growing up and you'd think with how often I talk about it (read more about that here, here, and here) that I'd have already reread it for this blog. It wasn't that I didn't want to read the series again, it was just that I had such fond memories of it that I didn't want my adult brain to ruin it. I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!
So, I reread it with trepidation and then a funny thing happened. While thinking of myself as a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in high school, I was also thinking about my students.
Thinking about the books in this manner made me look at each in two ways 1] as a piece of nostalgia and 2] as a how-to manual of sorts. I'll be talking about each book in this manner.
Class of '88 Freshman
The Story
I think this book has one of the best beginnings. Five friends all wrapped up in one another in their childhood hang-out, a tree house, anxiously waiting for the first day of school. Only this first day won't be like any other as they are going to a brand-new high school and several junior highs are flowing into make up the student body. Allie and Cecilia are so different that they must be best friends. Nick and Meg are the group leaders and also the best of friends. Sean is the nerdy member of the group, best friend to all, but sort of an outsider as well. Their experiences are typical of every high school freshman. Allie and Cecilia want to try out for cheerleading, but only one has the looks and the potential. The other must find another way to fit in. Their friendship slowly fades. In a different atmosphere Nick and Meg realize that they may be more than friends; the only problem is that they realize this at different times. This goes on through-out their high school experience. And, Sean has to realize that he's more than the smart hanger-on to a star football player. He must find his own merit. It takes a shocking event for him to begin the journey.
As A Piece of Nostalgia
I remembered reading this for the first time and being enthralled with the idea of high school. While the story that occurs in this book (five friends entering a new high school) doesn't happen to everyone the feelings of alienation, dependence, independence and wanting to fit in are still quite real. I thought maybe this time around that I would feel a little more for the character I like the least (Cecilia) but I found myself disliking her more as I've realized those kinds of girls actually just grow up to marry boys like them and neither of them really change much, they just have annoyingly shallow children that I have to teach. I sympathized more will Allie as a kid than I do now as well as I know that girls like her turn out alright in the end. I hate her parents, but some parents are just too selfish for words. There is a scene with Sean towards the end of the book that still breaks my heart and makes me wonder how kids (same cruelty only more passive now) can be such bullies. I still have a deep love for Nick and Meg as I see myself in Meg (aside from that long hair thing) and I believe that Nick tainted (still debating whether this is good or bad) the way that I look at all boys, even today. I love how his character develops throughout the books.
As A How to Manual
Freshmen really do have bigger fish to fry than finishing their homework. They are trying to fit into high school. They are trying to understand how and why friendships are changing. They are being looked at and talked to by upper classmen. All of this is going on outside of my class. And, although I am with some of them more than they are with their parents that doesn't mean I am with them 24/7. So much inner turmoil and feelings are churning up during this year. It's a wonder that any learning occurs at all.
Seriously, this is probably the first book that I read from my youth that stood up to my feelings as an adult. I want to read it again, right now.
I read the series a lot while growing up and you'd think with how often I talk about it (read more about that here, here, and here) that I'd have already reread it for this blog. It wasn't that I didn't want to read the series again, it was just that I had such fond memories of it that I didn't want my adult brain to ruin it. I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!
So, I reread it with trepidation and then a funny thing happened. While thinking of myself as a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior in high school, I was also thinking about my students.
Thinking about the books in this manner made me look at each in two ways 1] as a piece of nostalgia and 2] as a how-to manual of sorts. I'll be talking about each book in this manner.
Class of '88 Freshman
The Story
I think this book has one of the best beginnings. Five friends all wrapped up in one another in their childhood hang-out, a tree house, anxiously waiting for the first day of school. Only this first day won't be like any other as they are going to a brand-new high school and several junior highs are flowing into make up the student body. Allie and Cecilia are so different that they must be best friends. Nick and Meg are the group leaders and also the best of friends. Sean is the nerdy member of the group, best friend to all, but sort of an outsider as well. Their experiences are typical of every high school freshman. Allie and Cecilia want to try out for cheerleading, but only one has the looks and the potential. The other must find another way to fit in. Their friendship slowly fades. In a different atmosphere Nick and Meg realize that they may be more than friends; the only problem is that they realize this at different times. This goes on through-out their high school experience. And, Sean has to realize that he's more than the smart hanger-on to a star football player. He must find his own merit. It takes a shocking event for him to begin the journey.
As A Piece of Nostalgia
I remembered reading this for the first time and being enthralled with the idea of high school. While the story that occurs in this book (five friends entering a new high school) doesn't happen to everyone the feelings of alienation, dependence, independence and wanting to fit in are still quite real. I thought maybe this time around that I would feel a little more for the character I like the least (Cecilia) but I found myself disliking her more as I've realized those kinds of girls actually just grow up to marry boys like them and neither of them really change much, they just have annoyingly shallow children that I have to teach. I sympathized more will Allie as a kid than I do now as well as I know that girls like her turn out alright in the end. I hate her parents, but some parents are just too selfish for words. There is a scene with Sean towards the end of the book that still breaks my heart and makes me wonder how kids (same cruelty only more passive now) can be such bullies. I still have a deep love for Nick and Meg as I see myself in Meg (aside from that long hair thing) and I believe that Nick tainted (still debating whether this is good or bad) the way that I look at all boys, even today. I love how his character develops throughout the books.
As A How to Manual
Freshmen really do have bigger fish to fry than finishing their homework. They are trying to fit into high school. They are trying to understand how and why friendships are changing. They are being looked at and talked to by upper classmen. All of this is going on outside of my class. And, although I am with some of them more than they are with their parents that doesn't mean I am with them 24/7. So much inner turmoil and feelings are churning up during this year. It's a wonder that any learning occurs at all.
Seriously, this is probably the first book that I read from my youth that stood up to my feelings as an adult. I want to read it again, right now.
July 20, 2010
This series was my life when I was growing up. When I was reading LJ Smith's Secret Circle that is and then discovered that teens with magic were much more interesting than teens with regular teen problems! ;)
November 14, 2020
I read this series back in the 80’s when I was a teenager. I loved them back then. Re-reading them now, I see how corny they are, but I’m loving the 80’s references and slang.
July 8, 2021
I have the original paperback copies of this series. It's one of my all-time favorites!
November 18, 2021
I read this in middle school and loved the series, I’m so happy to see that it really did hold up!
November 21, 2022
A sweet introduction to five friends who start high school and deal with the repercussions of growing up and apart, and then back together again. I'm definitely going to read the rest.
April 20, 2025
I have the original paperback copies of this series. It's one of my all-time favorites!
April 14, 2022
This book was very good! I am reading this for the first time as a freshman and I found that Meg to be relatable in my life!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews