The plot of this book is more complicated and entertaining than it seems, especially if you ever went to high school. It follows the lives of 5 characters who are getting ready to attend their 40 year high school reunion. Everyone goes for a different reason but also the same ones - to reconnect, to show others how they've turned out, to satisfy the curiosity of how everyone else turned out. The author does an amazing job of building each character so that you feel like you know them on a personal level. It was an easy read but also full of lessons to learn.
I graduated in 2000 and went to my high school reunion 2 years ago. In the age of Facebook, Skype, and email it's hard to convince people to get together in person. Maybe my class wasn't as close as other classes or the timing was bad or everyone was so spread out, I don't know, but it wasn't very well attended. However, I still had a great time and am glad I went. I now live in St. Louis but went to high school in Lacey, WA. So in addition to the reunion I got to sneak in a mini vacation to a place I hadn't been back to in 8 years. Everything was different and I found myself glad to only be visiting. It was still beautiful and held a lot of great memories, but it wasn't home anymore.
High school was good for me; I don't have any traumatic stories to share other than the usual coming of age ones. I don't know what clique I fell into; I participated in a lot of things. I was a cheerleader, involved in student government and the National Honor Society and a Freshman Mentor. I like to think I got along with mostly everyone and pray that I was never a "mean girl". I had my close group of friends and we still talk to this day. I don't see them as often as I'd like but I hope that if we have a 20 year reunion we'll be able to get together and laugh about old times and still see the good and fun in each other. We can never go back, and I wouldn't want to, but it's fun to reminisce about when you were young and carefree. It's especially fun for me to reminisce with the people back in WA since the people I am around here in St. Louis aren't the people I grew up with. They don't "remember when..." or burst into cheers with me or sing the fight song. I've changed a lot since high school and most days my life turned out nothing like I expected (does anyone's?!). But I'm happy and I'm surrounded by good people so I consider myself incredibly lucky.
I'm glad I read this book, maybe I'll remember to re-read it when it's time for my 40 year reunion!
Read about it or buy it here.
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