One of the biggest things I worry about with my children is that they will think life mirrors what they see on television.  As a huge High School Musical Fan, I know that my nine-year-old thinks that high school is going to be much like she sees it portrayed on the big screen.

It was a hard lesson for me to learn when I got to high school and realized that it wasn’t like it was on Beverly Hills, 90210 or even Saved By the Bell.

Elisha Cooper, author of several children’s books, felt the same way that I did so he did something about it.  He spent 8 months in a high school in Chicago chronicling the lives of eight students - 6 seniors and 2 juniors.

Wanna know what he did after that?

He wrote ridiculous/hilarious/terrible/cool: A Year in an American High School and depicts high school life from big dates, proms, friends, college applications and more.  In essence, he’s giving you their lives as they really unfold and not something that Hollywood has created.

The only thing that I can say about this book is that it is a must read.  I particularly enjoyed it as it wasn’t made up; it was real.  I’ve also encouraged each of my youth group students to read it, because they, too, are caught up in how the media says it’s going to be.

I was able to follow the lives of these eight students and remember what high school was like for me and be thankful that I’m past all of that.

The book is wonderfully written and a fairly quick read.  It’s very easy to picture yourself with these students as they go through their school year and while I found it difficult to follow along at first, after a chapter or two, I didn’t miss a beat.

Elisha hopes that his book portrays real high school life, with a different and more nuanced perspective that kids will find valuable and in my opinion he hit the nail on the head.

If you have a emerging or high school student, I highly recommend that you pass this book on to them, or encourage them to read it.  High school isn’t as much as a disappointment when the expectations aren’t set as high.

Also, be sure to check out Elisha Cooper’s Website for more information on this book as well as the others that he’s written.

Filed under books, books for teens |