freshman year wasn't that bad, last year i was so affraid, but really, most of the teachers didn't care if you were late on the first day, since we were freshmen, still trying to find all the right rooms
and do you have an orientation?? we did, and it really helped :)
i've never heard of the second book, but for mockingbird, i've read it twice, the second time was for school, and we had to write an essay on it too... and i liked the book. both times i read it i found the first chapter to be insanely boring and hard to get through, but eventually the plot speeds up :)
good luck with all that =)
i was having a bit of a writers block with that, sorry!