Strange Yet True... Well, To Some Extent.

Today's post is, as promised, on the nonfiction known as High School Confidential, by author Jeremy Iversen. A bit shorter, as it has been a while since reading the book. Ok, a lot shorter. I'm even skipping the table of information. Anyway, this... is the story of a 22-year-old man who wanted to see the life of a SoCal high-schooler, and after a series of events requiring some strange arrangements, managed to secretly enroll as a high-school transfer student in San Diego, California.

Now, his aim was to learn about... well, I already described it in my last post. No need to repeat that whole bit about the bizarre world of high school. Anyway, his experiences are... interesting. They're described to a pretty detailed extent. And... he of course can't get into any compromising situations. He writes himself out of the story as much as possible while preserving the main details. Thing is, this nonfiction is hugely based on perspective, and I feel there may be some bias. The book was widely declaimed as an invasion of privacy, especially as some of the high-school students had really opened up to Iversen.

He'd been at each event that he detailed, or done research about the area to find out. And what he uncovered was a strange and tangled mess of relationships and a high school that was suffering, overrun by divisions, and through it all a compelling tale of conspiracy, heartbreak, and redemption. Unfortunately, the intended goal was not to create a tale but a report, and the author himself acknowledges that he got too involved, until he was unsure of who he was anymore- a student or an adult.

I'm conflicted about this book, really. On one hand, it sparked outrage and cries of betrayal from students he befriended. But the story itself has a (mostly) happy ending. Because through loss and angst, the students he met got through to graduation. Well, almost. And Iversen shows that yes, students can make a difference. Each of the people he met showed this. They showed responsibility (or lack of it) and their actions decided who they became.

I've got to give this book a five point five. It was filled with coarse language (though this was hardly the author's fault) and occasionally became too graphic. But throughout it all there is the theme of life, and death. And the graduation scene is not to be missed. So... 5.5. That's all I've got to say.

~V