Been There, Survived That: Getting Through Freshman Year of High School

BEEN THERE, SURVIVED THAT GETTING THROUGH FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL JOE PINSKER, HANNAH SHR, CAROLYN HOU, MAXFIELD PETERSON EDITED BY KAREN MACKLIN YA Non-fiction Rating: 4 Enchantments The first year of high school can be overwhelming. Not only are you starting at a new school but you have to worry about new teachers, friends, and even where to sit at lunch. And that doesn't even include the cafeteria lunches. All this can cause anyone to break out in a cold sweat. BEEN THERE, SURVIVED THAT is a manual written by four teens who have experienced being freshmen. They give some helpful suggestions on what to expect that first year of high school. Some things that are covered include how to survive the lunchroom, not kissing up, dealing with stress and burn out. There are also funny freshman year horror stories. Plus, top list of things to either do or not do. The advice is practical and helpful and not based on an adult's idea of what you should do as a freshman. That's what's great about this book. It's written for and by teens who know what it's really like. This manual is sure to appeal to those just entering high school. Zest Books has an exciting line of non-fiction books that cover issues that are important to teens. They have an internship where teens from different high schools around San Francisco are chosen based on their interests and accomplishments in writing, reading, editing, and teen culture. If interested in becoming a teen advisor, send a letter of interest to [email protected] Check out their website at www.zestbooks.net Kim ENCHANTING REVIEWS Sept. 08

I'm going to be a junior in High school next year and when I read this book a month ago it made me wish I'd had it back when I was a Freshman. The real teen writers knew everything from experience and then some. This book reads like an encyclopedic Q & A book so theres no pressure to read it cover to cover and the advice and annecdotes seldom ring false and always hilarious beyond belief. Worth reading even if you have nothing to do eith freshman year.

Of all of the Zest books that I have read, this one has got to be my favorite- there must have been at least 5 times when I burst out laughing reading to myself. Having recently survived freshman year myself, I found the advice inside to be quite helpful and insightful, and I was glad that this book (probably because it was written by teens themselves) took humor as its primary tool for doing so. The NOT sections of the book were its strength just because they were so funny and took a sarcastic approach to teen advice that I hadn't seen in other similar works. I also enjoyed the fact that because Been There was written by teens, it relied more on anecdotal advice than preachy ultimatums. Overall, a funny and valuable piece of literature for any aspiring freshman.