Review: if you had a chance to redo high school with what you know now, would you?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 19, 2013
****I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.****If you had a chance to redo high school, would you do things differently? Class of '98 was a fun (and oftentimes stressful!) trip back in time to Jackie and Matt's senior year of high school where they get to answer that very question. At their ten year high school reunion, they are transported back to their homecoming dance senior year by a freak storm. They're the only ones who know the truth, and at first, they decide not to change anything.While I was reading, I felt such a mixture of emotions with vivid memories assaulting me! At first, I felt so much pain I could hardly breathe, because I was reliving my own high school experience with them and the awkwardness of it all. A.L. Player captures the high school experience perfectly. Jackie is an "alterna-girl" while Matt is a popular jock. I identified with Jackie straightaway and while I wasn't crazy about her decisions, I was more like her in the sense of how I fit into the high school picture.The book spans over six months. Jackie is determined not to change anything after the time travel movies she has seen and the basic "rules" discussed in those movies. She's so determined she becomes obsessed. When she talks about what they should do with Matt, she explains her reasoning for not changing anything, and he agrees. Soon, his twenty-eight-year-old mind can't cope with the teenagers surrounding him, and he begins living his life differently. At first, Jackie is furious, but then she relents and changes what she would have done, too.Both of them know what happens to them in the future, and Jackie is so worried about what she knows is going to happen, she obsesses over it. Matt is right when he tells her she is so obsessed with the past and future that she can't live in the present. Jackie has AWESOME parents by the way. The kind of parent I want to be for my kids - where I give guidance when needed but also allow them to be who they are without judgement.I loved the pop culture references and was looking forward to them. There was so much good music and so many good movies in the 90's! Plus I learned that the movie Clueless was based on the novel Emma. I swear I didn't know that, and if I did, then I had forgotten. When Jackie jumps into her best friend, Ali's, car and Garbage is blasting through the speakers, I wanted to cheer. Those were some good days (at times, lol).Who wouldn't want to go back to a time where you have no responsibility except for homework and trying to stay out of trouble? Well, as Jackie and Matt learned, you're basically trading one set of headaches for another. But they also learned about love along the way with not only all of its messiness but also the way it can allow you to be fully accepted by the other person. I cheered for their romance all the way. I never really like Shane all that much, knowing how he hurts Jackie in the future.Class of '98 made me think about what I would do if this happened to me. I'm in the class of '99, and so many times I've thought over the years how I'd like the chance to redo high school. There's so much I would change, but if I didn't have the knowledge that I do now, I wouldn't want to go back. Luckily, Jackie and Matt had a huge advantage - when they were transported back in time, they retained the knowledge they've gained over the last ten years plus knowing what was going to happen to them. It showed me how much growth people go through from high school to adulthood, and the way the choices you make have a ripple effect that get you to where you are today.