Class of '98
by A. L. Player
Adult/YA SciFi
November 26th 2013 by Swoon Romance
November 26th 2013 by Swoon Romance
Summary
Jackie Dunn and Matt Stewart barely knew each other in high school, back when she was a blue-haired alterna-kid and he was a preppy jock. High school rules dictated they'd never hang out, or sit at the same lunch table, or God forbid, date.
But when a weird storm transports them from their ten-year reunion back to senior year, they have to work together to figure out a way to get back to 2008.
Stuck in high school, Jackie and Matt agree to tough it out. They agree to do everything exactly as they remember, even though that means staying with the boyfriend Jackie knows will betray her, or playing nice with the girl that will someday be Matt’s ex-wife. Soon, they come to rely on one other, even become friends.
Jackie’s just starting to get used to curfews and term papers again, when Matt hits her with the biggest surprise of all: he’s fallen in love with her. He’ll change the past however he has to if it means a future with Jackie. But Jackie’s terrified they’ll not only alter their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.
Back to the Future meets She's All That, Class of '98 is a young adult/adult crossover that will appeal to teens and adults.
My Review
A book where there's time travel back to 1998 (the year after I graduated) with all the music, movies, and styles from then sounded like a fun, nostalgic read. The summary also made it sound like there would be some urgency to the plot. I was looking forward to finding out what was going to happen and how it all happened.
Some of the 90's stuff cracked me up. I don't remember mostly only having striped shirts or Jellies in the later years of high school. For me those were more like junior high and maybe freshman year, but I think some of that has to do with where you lived too back then when the Internet and social media was pretty non-exisitent, or at least was fairly minimal. I remember YouTube barely starting up in high school and not having a cell until college. We always had dial-up too. So that stuff brought back memories and it is amazing how much has changed over just a few years.
I liked the characters okay. Jackie still has some hang-ups from high school ten years later and some of that bothered me. She says she doesn't want to change anything, but then she doesn't want to be around her boyfriend and so I didn't feel she was really a consistent character or acting like the adult she should be. Matt was fun. He just seemed like a down-to-earth Jock. Kind of an interesting combination since he's supposed to be preppy. I think the future changed him since he didn't really like his old friends when he goes back in time. I thought he was a good counter to Jackie's personality. She could be a little high-strung or stressed out at parts and he seemed to relax her.
I felt like the plot could have used some of the urgency that I had expected. The characters basically go back to high school and then their lives pretty much are the normal day-to-day lives they had before with not a whole lot going on. Same classes at school, home life, friends, teen drama and such. Matt and Jackie are stressed about not saying or doing anything they shouldn't and getting back to the present, especially Jackie, but that is really the only tension that I felt through out most of the story.
I did like that the story starts with Jackie and Matt in the future. They meet up at their class reunion and end up talking even though they never associated in high school due to being in different cliques. I thought it was fun that they had the opportunity to change their future, or at least learn from their past. I have to say that I really enjoyed how the story came together in the end. Everything wasn't easy and all fixed, but it was sweet and everything worked out in the end.
Content: Some swearing and making out.
Source: From tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.
Some of the 90's stuff cracked me up. I don't remember mostly only having striped shirts or Jellies in the later years of high school. For me those were more like junior high and maybe freshman year, but I think some of that has to do with where you lived too back then when the Internet and social media was pretty non-exisitent, or at least was fairly minimal. I remember YouTube barely starting up in high school and not having a cell until college. We always had dial-up too. So that stuff brought back memories and it is amazing how much has changed over just a few years.
I liked the characters okay. Jackie still has some hang-ups from high school ten years later and some of that bothered me. She says she doesn't want to change anything, but then she doesn't want to be around her boyfriend and so I didn't feel she was really a consistent character or acting like the adult she should be. Matt was fun. He just seemed like a down-to-earth Jock. Kind of an interesting combination since he's supposed to be preppy. I think the future changed him since he didn't really like his old friends when he goes back in time. I thought he was a good counter to Jackie's personality. She could be a little high-strung or stressed out at parts and he seemed to relax her.
I felt like the plot could have used some of the urgency that I had expected. The characters basically go back to high school and then their lives pretty much are the normal day-to-day lives they had before with not a whole lot going on. Same classes at school, home life, friends, teen drama and such. Matt and Jackie are stressed about not saying or doing anything they shouldn't and getting back to the present, especially Jackie, but that is really the only tension that I felt through out most of the story.
I did like that the story starts with Jackie and Matt in the future. They meet up at their class reunion and end up talking even though they never associated in high school due to being in different cliques. I thought it was fun that they had the opportunity to change their future, or at least learn from their past. I have to say that I really enjoyed how the story came together in the end. Everything wasn't easy and all fixed, but it was sweet and everything worked out in the end.
Content: Some swearing and making out.
Source: From tour host, which did not affect my review in any way.
About the Author
A. L. Player teaches middle and high school English in Atlanta, GA. She lives with her guitar-playing, English-teaching husband and their three crazy rescue dogs. Her last name gets about the reaction you'd expect.
CLASS OF '98 is A.L.'s first novel.
Giveaway
4 – ebooks of Class of 98’ + $10 iTunes gift card (INT)
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