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Back To The Future meets She's All That, A.L. Player's debut novel is a young adult/adult crossover that will appeal to teens and adults...
Summary from Goodreads
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.
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.
Class of '98 is Available Now
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Excerpt
Jackie winced. She opened her front door and dropped her purse and laptop bag on glass table in the small foyer. “I don’t know, Mom, I don’t think I want to go to the reunion anymore.”
“What? Why not? You were so excited.”
Jackie looked at the file sticking out of her laptop bag. “Long day, you know? And I have this contract I need to start on.”
“The contract will wait, Jack. I just worry that if you don’t go, you’ll wish you had.”
“I’ll regret not going to my fiftieth. The ten-year high school reunion is just not a big deal. How much could have possibly changed?”
“But didn’t you reserve a hotel room?” her mother asked. “Which you didn’t have to do, you know. You can stay here with me and Daddy.”
“I didn’t want to bother you if I got in late.” The truth was Jackie doubted she could handle tiptoeing into her childhood bedroom, trying not to wake her parents. It seemed an almost bizarrely antique notion, as if she might be equally likely to put on a petticoat or do the Lindy hop.
“You know it’s no bother. But if you don’t show now you’ll lose the cost of a night at least, won’t you?”
Jackie flopped onto her overstuffed purple couch. “I’m not worried about it.”
“Well…oookay,” her mother replied in the sing-song tone that meant that Jackie might as well take all of her money out of the bank and toss it into the air, Mary Tyler Moore-style.
“They’ll charge me for the night either way, right? If I stay home I can catch up on my TV shows. Oh, and bonus, not have weird conversations with people I barely knew.”
“Not the best reason I’ve heard,” her mother said with a snort. “Do whatever you want to do, sweetie. I just think you’d have fun, seeing everyone. Plus it can be hilarious how much people change. You know, the first person I saw at my reunion was the girl who won homecoming queen. Even at our tenth she looked a little worse for wear.”
“What? Why not? You were so excited.”
Jackie looked at the file sticking out of her laptop bag. “Long day, you know? And I have this contract I need to start on.”
“The contract will wait, Jack. I just worry that if you don’t go, you’ll wish you had.”
“I’ll regret not going to my fiftieth. The ten-year high school reunion is just not a big deal. How much could have possibly changed?”
“But didn’t you reserve a hotel room?” her mother asked. “Which you didn’t have to do, you know. You can stay here with me and Daddy.”
“I didn’t want to bother you if I got in late.” The truth was Jackie doubted she could handle tiptoeing into her childhood bedroom, trying not to wake her parents. It seemed an almost bizarrely antique notion, as if she might be equally likely to put on a petticoat or do the Lindy hop.
“You know it’s no bother. But if you don’t show now you’ll lose the cost of a night at least, won’t you?”
Jackie flopped onto her overstuffed purple couch. “I’m not worried about it.”
“Well…oookay,” her mother replied in the sing-song tone that meant that Jackie might as well take all of her money out of the bank and toss it into the air, Mary Tyler Moore-style.
“They’ll charge me for the night either way, right? If I stay home I can catch up on my TV shows. Oh, and bonus, not have weird conversations with people I barely knew.”
“Not the best reason I’ve heard,” her mother said with a snort. “Do whatever you want to do, sweetie. I just think you’d have fun, seeing everyone. Plus it can be hilarious how much people change. You know, the first person I saw at my reunion was the girl who won homecoming queen. Even at our tenth she looked a little worse for wear.”
**What's your favorite high school and/or high school reunion memory?**
Sound off in the comments below...
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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.
Stay connected with A.L Payer
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