Sophomore (Class of '88, No 2)

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I found this at a flea market a few years ago and read it on vacation. I felt silly reading this yellowed, kinda beat-up book rom the '80's but it was really good, i couldn't pu it down...Buy it!

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: This is a classic book of experiences during high school. It is known that sometimes girls can be petty during this time because of their insecutities of friendships and social status. This is a cute story of how competition, popularity, and pressure can affect someone's actions against another. It shows all perspectives from different groups. Sophomore year in high school is thought of as a time where you find yourself and your social status. Emotions run wild and feelings of happiness and pain are felt frequently throughout. Seeing all sides of the spectrum allows the reader to see all good and bad points of the characters actions and motives. The plots in this story reflect those that could actually take place. Though it does not cover the academic side, it does show a great view of the social life. This is a cute story with a great ending that will uplift your spirit!

Rating:
Summary: Social view of high school
Review: This is a classic book of experiences during high school. It is known that sometimes girls can be petty during this time because of their insecutities of friendships and social status. This is a cute story of how competition, popularity, and pressure can affect someone's actions against another. It shows all perspectives from different groups. Sophomore year in high school is thought of as a time where you find yourself and your social status. Emotions run wild and feelings of happiness and pain are felt frequently throughout. Seeing all sides of the spectrum allows the reader to see all good and bad points of the characters actions and motives. The plots in this story reflect those that could actually take place. Though it does not cover the academic side, it does show a great view of the social life. This is a cute story with a great ending that will uplift your spirit!

Rating:
Summary: The continuing saga
Review: While perhaps not as purely, sentimentally transporting as its predecessor, Class of '88: Freshman, the Sophomore year book continues in its fine tradition. Its most welcome additions are two worthy boyfriends for Meg & Celia, respectively: Jason and Tim. Jason is the class clown, a male cheerleader (the fact that this is never commented on serves to underline the force of his personality & charisma, one of Cooney's most inspired tropes) whose fearless wit wins him the heart of Meg and the enmity of that delightful adversary, Whitney Hain. Tim is the quiet, self-doubting basketball champion, whose invincible presence on the court serves to mask his inner shyness. Both characters add to the ensemble which Cooney sometimes skillfully, sometimes clumsily, corralls.

There are some unfortunate sections of the book; Allie, the most appealing character in Co88:F, is reduced to an overreacting parody of herself throughout most of the book, and dated computer programming references make sure you never forget that this is, indeed, the class of 1988. And the monotonous despair of the book, coupled with the equally crushing spirit of the first installment, can exasperate you. Was anyone's high school experience this relentlessly down? Only Jason brings the other side of high school to life, and his perspective on the world is ultimately shown to be a shallow one. Still, for sheer poshlost, no high school teen series ever matched the Class of '88 books, and you are advised to pick them up if you find them in your library or at a used-book sale.

Rating:
Summary: The continuing saga
Review: While perhaps not as purely, sentimentally transporting as its predecessor, Class of '88: Freshman, the Sophomore year book continues in its fine tradition. Its most welcome additions are two worthy boyfriends for Meg & Celia, respectively: Jason and Tim. Jason is the class clown, a male cheerleader (the fact that this is never commented on serves to underline the force of his personality & charisma, one of Cooney's most inspired tropes) whose fearless wit wins him the heart of Meg and the enmity of that delightful adversary, Whitney Hain. Tim is the quiet, self-doubting basketball champion, whose invincible presence on the court serves to mask his inner shyness. Both characters add to the ensemble which Cooney sometimes skillfully, sometimes clumsily, corralls.

There are some unfortunate sections of the book; Allie, the most appealing character in Co88:F, is reduced to an overreacting parody of herself throughout most of the book, and dated computer programming references make sure you never forget that this is, indeed, the class of 1988. And the monotonous despair of the book, coupled with the equally crushing spirit of the first installment, can exasperate you. Was anyone's high school experience this relentlessly down? Only Jason brings the other side of high school to life, and his perspective on the world is ultimately shown to be a shallow one. Still, for sheer poshlost, no high school teen series ever matched the Class of '88 books, and you are advised to pick them up if you find them in your library or at a used-book sale.