Book Chat - Class of 98

[Kathy]

Holy cow, where has this month gone? I totally thought I had a few more days to get this one read. Needless to say, I haven't finished this one yet. So, those of you who have please jump in and get the ball rolling. I'll hopefully get this done in the next few days. Sorry! :)

[Katie]

Okay...first of all, as I mentioned in my review, I did not appreciate the swearing, underage (teen) drinking, and "hooking up." According to my teens, that can mean just dating, but in this case, it sounded more like one night stands. I did appreciate that it didn't go into details though. Even though I knew this was going on, it was more just flat out mentioned and not embellished. Phew!

That said, I loved the idea and plot of the book. Sometimes I think back to my past and wonder if I would have gone to a different college, would I have still met and married my husband? If I would have been brave enough to try out for a club or sport, would I have had different friends or met different people? Would one small decision change the entire course of my future? I loved the ending!! I loved Matt!! I loved watching Jackie and how secure she was in some areas of her teenage life and yet how much growing she did. She was kind of on both sides of the spectrum. What I really loved was watching her learn to deal with things and to just let go.

Wow...that was long. :) I can't wait to see what the rest of you thought of it.

[Tiffany]

Katie I agree with the swearing teen drinking and so forth that occurred in the story. I absolutely loved the relationship with Jackie and Matt during the first half of the story. I wanted to see more of Matt in the second half. I wanted to see him stand up to his dad.

I was kind of hoping some of the future would have changed and his parents would have worked it out and still been married. That he would have never married Christie.

I loved the line where he say's something like "anything that leads me to you isn't a mistake" but then he kind of gives up. She apologized and told him she loved him but he wasn't having any more of it.

I also wanted a little more detail at the end.

I found the characters cute and enjoyable.

[Jessie]

I agree with everyone so far. I could have done without the teen drinking and swearing. I liked how Jackie and Matt's relationship developed until they got drunk together. I know they're supposed to be 28 year olds in 18 year olds' bodies, but I still wish they would have made wiser decisions.
I also couldn't understand why Jackie was so serious about not changing things. I know she was scared about the unknown, but why not try to fix those mistakes and lead a better, happier life.
After that whole dilemma, I was really disappointed that the changes Jackie finally made didn't effect the future at all. I was expecting something like the movie 13 Going on 30, where she goes back to the future and her decisions have made her a better person, and she gets the guy!

[Katie]

I agree, Jessie. I wanted to see her choices affect the future! Tiffany, that's a great line--I loved the one, too!