- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Downtown Press; Original edition (April 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743464672
- ISBN-13: 978-0743464673
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 13.4 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 272 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #297,642 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Booklist
Juska's first novel is as light and winning as a 1980s love song--and in its own way, as earnest. Eliza Simon is a 26-year-old copywriter who feels that life and love are passing her by. When she's not avoiding family dinners with her perfect sister, Camilla, or dissecting TV reruns with her friend Andrew, Eliza is writing a semiautobiographical book about dating "rock stars"--which for Eliza means everyone from Jack Wagner to the moody drummer who won her heart at the high-school talent show. In a series of hilarious (and sometimes painful) flashbacks, Eliza reminisces about the rock stars she has known and loved, including, of course, Jack Wagner, whose image she lovingly steamed onto a T-shirt when she was in the fifth grade. Juska's references to 1980s girlhood are perfect, as when Eliza remembers herself on a date with a high-school boyfriend "dressed in some senseless combination of long underwear and men's boxer shorts." A funny and endearing addition to the "single girl in the city" genre. Meredith Parets
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Book Description
Eliza is looking to date a rock star -- though she uses the term loosely. None of her boyfriends have been famous. Most have unbearable habits and overbearing mothers. A few only played show tunes. Still, they're intense. Pierced. Tragically stubbled. With a predilection for dressing in black. Eliza finds them deep -- in theory, anyway. But in reality, none comes close to the object of her original rock-star crush: actor/crooner Jack Wagner. When her latest catch turns out be another mama's boy, Eliza begins to realize love is nothing like her favorite '80s song.
Just as Eliza is planning her next move, she's dealt an emotional triple-whammy involving her sister, her best friend, and a horrific blind date. That's when she realizes that only by taking a good look at her past -- and her tape collection -- will she ever be able to hear a different kind of song and live a different kind of life.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
As Karl the Bass Guitarist cruises along the Garden State Parkway at 90 mph in a black Saab Turbo 9000 with Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire thumping through the two amp-eight driver audio system, I suspect it will soon be over between us. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
As Karl the Bass Guitarist cruises along the Garden State Parkway at 90 mph in a black Saab Turbo 9000 with Rage Against the Machine's Evil Empire thumping through the two amp-eight driver audio system, I suspect it will soon be over between us. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
The 80's references were great, but that was about all,
By
This review is from: Getting Over Jack Wagner (Paperback)
I am a really big fan of the Eighties, And when I saw a book called 'Getting Over Jack Wagner" I had to read it. Elise Juska the story of Eliza, a twenty-six year old who has one dating rule. Date only rock stars, even if they are not famous yet. This book is just giving the reader a look at some of Eliza's date and the friends around her. But over all this is not one of Downtown Press better books. If you are a fan of the eighties then you will enjoy all of the pop culture references but that is about all.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Light, easy, fun read.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Getting Over Jack Wagner (Paperback)
Come on you guys - some of you were so harsh. The book's not breaking any literary ground, but it's good. Well written. Fun. Light without being fluffy. Just buy it, read it and enjoy.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great trip down memory lane!,
By
This review is from: Getting Over Jack Wagner (Paperback)
Eliza is in love with Jack Wagner. The lyrics to "All I Need" constantly flow through her head, and when she needs to calm herself down or is bored, she writes them down to make herself feel better. It's funny, I remember thinking this song was just ridiculous back then, but obviously our tastes are a little different (my sing-it-in-my-sleep song was probably more like "Bizarre Love Triangle"). The cheesiness of the song, at least in my eyes, doesn't detract from the overall theme of the book, which is how can Eliza get out of the '80s and early '90s and into the 21st century. Or wait, maybe that should be the theme? Just kidding. Actually, the author does a great job of sneaking in references to the 80's and 90's without making the story sound too retro.I really enjoyed all of the references to popular trends from the 80's that I had forgotten, like Shrinky-dinks, Strawberry Shortcake, fluorescent clothing, and so many others. They are all mentioned in the book, and it is worth reading to the end and holding onto just for that very reason. It's funny, but I was able to relate to the rock star obsession. How many of us can honestly say we weren't obsessed with a rock star at a certain point in time? Of course there's a fine line between idolizing them and dating them, and many of us have crossed that line too. The reasoning behind why Eliza continued to do this, but ended each relationship for silly reasons (remember Seinfeld?) was fairly sound. I'm starting to think about how I carry myself and could be similar in some ways to Eliza - that has to say something in favor of the book. The author is just terribly funny, and this book made a fairly good read. It dragged in parts, but overall I was interested enough to finish it, mainly to get all of the 80's and 90's references, which are the highpoints of the book. Pick it up for a great trip down memory lane!
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