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Overview
One night in 1978, Tyler Gray wakes up to find a beautiful girl named Shay lying in his bathtub. For inexperienced, nerdy Tyler, this is not a common occurrence, but it’s even stranger because Shay insists that she’s from 2006. Of course Tyler doesn’t believe her, but once she proves it, they strike a deal: Tyler will try to help get Shay back to 2006 if Shay helps him become more popular.But the more time Shay spends in 1978, the more she likes it. And while she helps Tyler with the popular crowd, she also wreaks havoc by going out with his worst enemy, making over his sister and helping his mother get a job as a cafeteria worker—at his school! Can Tyler get Shay home before his life is completely turned upside down?
Publishers Weekly gave D. L. Garfinkle a Flying Start for Storky, praising its "wry outlook" and "lovable hero" in a starred review. With Stuck in the 70’s, Garfinkle creates another funny look at teen life with just a touch of magic. It’s far-out, man!
Editorials
KLIATT -
A cheerful story about a hip teenager from our times who somehow is caught in a time warp and ends up living in a typical family in the 1970s. The first scene of the novel gets us started when one narrator, Tyler, finds the naked beauty in his bathtub and can't believe his good fortune. Said beauty, the second narrator, Shay, is sarcastic and spoiled; but, slowly, as time goes on, she decides she doesn't want to leave the ‘70s. There are no cell phones or Starbucks, but life is less frantic and she finds people who care about her. The only person who did care in her previous life is Mariel, the Spanish housekeeper, and she actually finds the teenage Mariel in the 1970s. Shay is naked in the first scene because she was having sex with a guy just before she ended up in a world that was happening before she was born. So, at one point in the novel, she has sex with a guy in the ‘70s hoping this will get her back to her present. It doesn't. Just so you know, the language and situations in this story are a bit edgy. Garfinkle herself was a teenager in the 1970s, and perhaps she too is nostalgic about those times when life was simpler. Today's readers will find the 1970s quaint in many ways, and they will laugh at the inevitable jokes: "So, what, your mom's like a Martha Stewart?" "Who's Martha Stewart?"School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up
When Tyler walks into his bathroom in the middle of the night and sees strange, but gorgeous, Shay taking a bubble bath, he thinks he's dreaming. She thinks it's an elaborate joke. One minute she's in 2006 and the next minute, the dorky guy who won't stop staring at her is telling her it's 1978. All Shay wants to do is get back home. Tyler wouldn't mind if she stayed a while and maybe helped him improve his science-geek reputation. They strike a deal. She will help him out at school if he'll figure out how to send her back to her own time. Hiding her from his family proves impossible, so they concoct an elaborate story about her missing parents and why she must stay with them. Soon she's turning Tyler's life upside down. Told in alternating chapters by the two teens, this is a fun tale of love and finding one's true identity. It has lots of pop-culture references (then and now) and some sexual situations. Not an essential purchase, but a quick read and a good pick for reluctant readers.
—Ginny CollierCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.