Luke Goes to Bat

by Debra Garfinkle

Book Overview

Upset over the way he played stickball with the neighborhood kids on Bedford Avenue, young Luke is about ready to give up his dreams of playing for the majors until his grandfather takes him see his hero, Jackie Robinson, play at Ebbets Field and learns an important lesson about determination and perseverance.

• Format: Hardcover
• ISBN: 039924669X
• ISBN13: 9780399236044
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Length: 32 Pages
• Dimensions: 10.4" x 0.4" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Bitchin' book.

D.L Garfinkle's novel "Stuck in the 70's" is a great book. This very well written book takes you right back to 1978 or helps you expierence it for the first time. The characters are very diverse and you can really relate to them. A good book makes you feel emotion towards the characters and this period piece does just that. With its wit, humor, heartbreak and sadness this book is a must read! (May contain spoilers.) In 2006, 17 year old Shay Saunders doesn't know what to do with her life or what she wants to become. she spends her days ditching school, shopping and sleeping around with different guys. She lives with her housekeeper, Mariel, who cares for her and really wants her to get on the right track and her mother who doesn't know that Shay exists. After a night of drinking and fooling around with her scumbag friend Jake in his hottub, Shay ends up in a regular bathtub that belongs to 18 year old Tyler Gray. Much to Shay's disbelief, Tyler tells her that she is not with Jake but in the year 1978. Tyler is a physics loving nerd who believes that he has a way to get a complaining Shay back to 2006, where her 18th birthday bash needs to be planned. At first, Shay goes around causing problems for Tyler and his family. Despite all that she has done, Tyler wants her to stay in 1978 to make him popular. She agrees but only if Tyler and his best friend and fellow science genius, Evie, find a way to send her back to the future. Much to Tyler's dismay, Shay starts getting involved with his enemy, Rick "The Dick". Will Tyler become the bitchin' dude on campus? Will Shay find a way back to 2006? What will Shay do for Tyler's family? Why is science loving Evie wearing makeup? Read on to find out! This book has a suprising but perdictable ending which I was very satisfied with. It also opened my eyes to the world of 1978 and helped me understand a lot of things. I was really sad to see it end! Anyone who loves a time travel story with a bit of love and drama should read this book! Taylor Hodgkins 6/19/08

A quick trip back to 1978

One night in 1978, Tyler Gray finds beautiful Shay Saunders lying naked in his bathtub. She claims it's 2006, which seems totally ridiculous until Shay accurately predicts a world event. Then Tyler accepts the truth-Shay is stuck in the 70's with no way home. Shay and Tyler strike a deal: Shay will try to make Tyler more popular if Tyler uses his physics knowledge to send her back to 2006. But the longer Shay stays in 1978, the more she likes it. While she helps Tyler with the cool crowd, she also wreaks havoc at home by making over his little sister, dating his worst enemy, and getting his mother a job as a cafeteria worker--at his school. How will Tyler get her home? And will Shay want too? While reading this book, I found myself reminiscing about my own 1978 experiences. At the time I was a senior in high school and somewhere in between the cool and unpopular group of kids. I so remember watching the original Star Wars like 6 times, having feathered hair, drooling over John Travolta, and even wearing polyester! Stuck in the 70's is a fast paced fun read. Readers will connect with Shay and her journey from a self centered brat to someone who wants a `real' family and connects with Tylers. She finds out that she does matter, no matter what time period. I loved the dialogue between Shay and Tyler. D. Garfinkle does a wonderful job of showing the conflict both Shay and Tyler have through their dialogue. The pacing is great and I ended up not wanting the story to end. If you are looking for a time piece YA--this is the book. Humorous, fun, and a quick trip to the past. What more could you ask for?

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

I was on memory road while reading this book. Garfinkle has nailed the seventies. Since I was in college and high school at the time, I remembered many of the references that were mentioned. I was also blown away about how many things that I take for granted were not around then. For today's teens, though, this book is great! Shay is a high school student in 2006. She is burned out with life and spends her days skipping school, getting high, and having meaningless sex. She lives with her mother, who basically doesn't know that she is alive, and her housekeeper, who is really trying to get Shay back into life by taking the place of a parental unit. After an afternoon of sex and champagne, Shay falls asleep in a hot tub. When she wakes up she finds herself in a bathtub with a teenage boy, named Tyler, staring at her. She figures out that she is in the year 1978. She and Tyler spend the rest of the story trying to get her back to 2006. While that is happening, Shay takes a good look at her life in 2006 and her life in 1978, where she has found that she is intelligent, somewhat chaste, and has the ability to help others with their lives. This story has a good message and it's hard to put down. The characters are multi-faceted and believable. I really liked and rooted for both Tyler and Shay, hoping their lives will turn out to be great. STUCK IN THE 70'S is also the first book I've read where the cool guy has values and is just as sweet as the geek. Whenever someone in 1978 tells Shay that she is sweet and Shay can't believe it, I remembered how powerful words are and told myself to use them to make positive changes in the world. Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Worth getting "stuck"

D.L. Garfinkle nails the subtle details of enduring teenage priorities: looks, fashion, popularity, in her hilarious novel "Stuck in the 70s." Very cleverly written, the book shows us in persistently humorous ways how much the world has changed/stayed the same in the last three decades. It's a delightful read, impossible to put down... so as long as you're going to get stuck somewhere, it might as well be with Garfinkle's very, very funny book.