Rating: 
Summary: I'm a non-classmate and I couldn't put this book down
Review: After a decade of figuring themselves out, the "subjects" Colin's talks to speak so candidly about themselves that you can't help being affected. There's tragedy, growth, old rivalries--everything you'd expect in a reality TV show, but this book stars humans instead of stereotypes. The stories are special because they're so personal, but I doubt they're unique to this high school. Readers of our generation will find something to relate to in this inventory of loosely intertwined lives. It's short stories about the lives of over-achievers told well by another over-achiever.
Rating:
Summary: It's never that simple. Even in high school.
Review: Chris Colin's book is one of the most generously written portraits of adults our age that I've seen yet -- a collection of personal stories that explores the process of how we've grown and changed into adults since high school, and also how being brought up with the opportunities of a challenging education (or challenging the need for traditional education itself) hasn't made us into another lost generation. The spirit he put into the book and the willingness to document his experiences, no matter how painful, actually freed him to get to the heart of what troubles many people our age, and in a way that is never clinical.Even though I was a member of the Class of '93 at Thomas Jefferson, I know the stories will resonate no matter who reads them. I especially appreciated the candor in the chapter about Sean Bryant, whose death was a shock not only to our high school class, but also to our fellow classmates at the University of Virginia.
Rating:
Summary: Insight
Review: Chris really managed to take an awkward and scattered time for all of us and treat it with kindness, while still resonating truth. His insights hit home and his voice makes for a compelling read. Whether you are this particular GenX class or not, his book transcends the individuals he wrote about and speaks to the decade and to adolescence as a whole. It's an emotional ride, but worth every penny.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, incomplete, and exploitative.
Review: Disclaimer: I was the in the TJ class of '94. Colin tries to argue that the class of '93 had hope, and then lost it, and is kind of lost trying to find it again. He uses learning about LGBT rights as a metaphor for the social consciousness of '93, so a substantive discussion about the ongoing study of race (or class!) has no place in his story. I do think he has a rough sense that something is wrong with this picture, and that's why he repeatedly and awkwardly returns to the issue of race. I wish he had been less defensive and made more of an effort to engage those issues. And as a friend of Sean Bryant's, I think making his story the last chapter is inappropriate and exploitative. All of the other stuff aside, that alone makes me feel uncomfortable.
Rating: 
Summary: Chris really got me!
Review: Hmmm.. where to start. I am one of the people featured in Chris's book and I couldn't disagree more with David Jacob's review (sorry David). While I admit I jumped around chapter to chapter, not reading the book in order, I did not think that Chris exploited us in any way or tried to find artificial themes to tie us all together. Nor did I see this as a book about a group of people who lost hope... I love this book... and it takes a lot for me to say that because I usually hate what people write about me. Seriously. Journalists always get it wrong, make me sound totally different than I am, or quote me completely out of context. While I think Chris does simplify my views of and experiences with race, how could he not? It's only one chapter... :) And I don't think he was defensive on the issue... just a little nervous because he was trying to, and I believe succeeded in, being honest about an issue that was NOT discussed during our high school years. Anyway, read this book. There are some really fascinating stories in here... especially ones that wouldn't normally be heard coming out of TJHSST.
Rating:
Summary: Chris really got me!
Review: Hmmm.. where to start. I am one of the people featured in Chris's book and I couldn't disagree more with David Jacob's review (sorry David). While I admit I jumped around chapter to chapter, not reading the book in order, I did not think that Chris exploited us in any way or tried to find artificial themes to tie us all together. Nor did I see this as a book about a group of people who lost hope... I love this book... and it takes a lot for me to say that because I usually hate what people write about me. Seriously. Journalists always get it wrong, make me sound totally different than I am, or quote me completely out of context. While I think Chris does simplify my views of and experiences with race, how could he not? It's only one chapter... :) And I don't think he was defensive on the issue... just a little nervous because he was trying to, and I believe succeeded in, being honest about an issue that was NOT discussed during our high school years. Anyway, read this book. There are some really fascinating stories in here... especially ones that wouldn't normally be heard coming out of TJHSST.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous, weighty and intimate view of 90s-today
Review: I didn't expect to become fully engaged in the lives of a cohort from the class of '93, partly because mine is 15 years ahead. Yet, I was swept in immediately by the author's charming and breezy writing style. Colin manages to think and write from a humorous and detached vantage point, while at the same time interjecting weighty topics both personal and global. I found plenty to relate to or think about in the stories of Colin's classmates and his honest and intimate chronicle of his own internal experiences in high school and the following decade. I laughed many times while reading the book and also remembered how intense the high school years and decade of initiation into the world of work and adult life can be.
Rating:
Summary: Humorous, weighty and intimate view of 90s-today
Review: I didn't expect to become fully engaged in the lives of a cohort from the class of '93, partly because mine is 15 years ahead. Yet, I was swept in immediately by the author's charming and breezy writing style. Colin manages to think and write from a humorous and detached vantage point, while at the same time interjecting weighty topics both personal and global. I found plenty to relate to or think about in the stories of Colin's classmates and his honest and intimate chronicle of his own internal experiences in high school and the following decade. I laughed many times while reading the book and also remembered how intense the high school years and decade of initiation into the world of work and adult life can be.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of money.
Review: I hoped this book would be a snapshot of what the adolescent experience was for me and my generation, but it wasn't. Instead, it was a narrative "yearbook" for Thomas Jefferson students only. I should have paid attention when all of the reviews on Amazon were by the people written about in the book, but I wasted my money anyway. It would have been nice to have a document that told the story of the dot com youth, the gen xers, the whatever you want to call us, but these descriptions felt more like an introduction to the new cast of MTV's the Real World, a representative of every social clique. Here's the gay one, here's the conservative, here's the wild one. Boring. Sensationalized. Please do not waste your money on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Simply awful; a weak attempt at meaningfulness.
Review: What Really Happened is a poor attempt at conjuring up powerful memories of high school. The main reason for this is a format issue, I think. Had the author only written about a few people more in depth, I think the book would have been a much more interesting read. Instead, Chris Colin has broken his whole high school class down into different stereotypes and them summed up their lives in two sentences. Garbage.
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