About the book: year / This is a true story. In the fall of 1979, twenty-two-year-old Cameron Crowe walked into Principal William Gray's office and asked permission to attend classes for the entire year with the goal of writing a book about teenagers from Ridgemont High and Redondo Beach, California. This book is a daily record of the lives of reckless and sometimes empty-headed teenagers who are just on the verge of their future..