New Releases by Tom Perrotta

"Tracy Flick is back and, once again, the iconic protagonist of Tom Perrotta''s Election--and Reese Witherspoon''s character from the classic movie adaptation--is determined to take high school politics by storm.Tracy Flick is a hardworking assistant principal at a public high school in suburban New Jersey. Still ambitious but feeling a little stuck and underappreciated in midlife, Tracy gets a jolt of good news when the longtime principal, Jack Weede, abruptly announces his retirement, creating a rare opportunity for Tracy to ascend to the top job. Energized by the prospect of her long-overdue promotion, Tracy throws herself into her work with renewed zeal, determined to prove her worth to the students, faculty, and School Board, while also managing her personal life--a ten-year-old daughter, a needy doctor boyfriend, and a burgeoning meditation practice. But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. Among her many other responsibilities, Tracy is enlisted to serve on the Selection Committee for the brand-new Green Meadow High School Hall of Fame. Her male colleagues'' determination to honor Vito Falcone--a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief, undistinguished career in the NFL--triggers bad memories for Tracy, and leads her to troubling reflections about the trajectory of her own life and the forces that have left her feeling thwarted and disappointed, unable to fulfill her true potential. As she broods on the past, Tracy becomes aware of storm clouds brewing in the present. Is she really a shoo-in for the Principal job? Is the Superintendent plotting against her? Why is the School Board President''s wife trying so hard to be her friend? And why can''t she ever get what she deserves? In classic Perrotta style, Tracy Flick Can''t Win is a sharp, darkly comic page-turner, and a pitch-perfect reflection on our current moment. Flick fans and newcomers alike will love this compulsively readable novel chronicling the second act of one of the most memorable characters of our time"--

Now an HBO series starring Kathryn Hahn! “Light, zingy, and laugh-out-loud funny” (People), the New York Times bestselling novel about sex, love, and identity as seen through the eyes of a middle-aged woman and her college freshman son. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve Fletcher is struggling to adjust to her empty nest. One night she receives a text from an anonymous number that says, “U R my MILF!” Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life—serving as Executive Director of the local senior center and taking a community college course on Gender and Society—Eve can’t curtail her own interest in a porn website that features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve’s online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence. Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve’s son Brendan—a jock and aspiring frat boy—discovers that his new campus isn’t nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night. “The sweetest and most charming novel about pornography addiction and the harrowing issues of sexual consent that you will probably ever read” (The New York Times Book Review), Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they’re no longer sure of who they are or where they belong. “Tom Perrotta’s latest might just be his best” (NPR).

New York Times bestseller! From the bestselling author of The Leftovers and Little Children comes a penetrating and hilarious new novel about sex, love, and identity on the frontlines of America''s culture wars. Eve Fletcher is trying to figure out what comes next. A forty-six-year-old divorcee whose beloved only child has just left for college, Eve is struggling to adjust to her empty nest when one night her phone lights up with a text message. Sent from an anonymous number, the mysterious sender tells Eve, "U R my MILF!" Over the months that follow, that message comes to obsess Eve. While leading her all-too-placid life-serving as Executive Director of the local senior center by day and taking a community college course on Gender and Society at night-Eve can''t curtail her own interest in a porn website called MILFateria.com, which features the erotic exploits of ordinary, middle-aged women like herself. Before long, Eve''s online fixations begin to spill over into real life, revealing new romantic possibilities that threaten to upend her quiet suburban existence. Meanwhile, miles away at the state college, Eve''s son Brendan-a jock and aspiring frat boy-discovers that his new campus isn''t nearly as welcoming to his hard-partying lifestyle as he had imagined. Only a few weeks into his freshman year, Brendan is floundering in a college environment that challenges his white-dude privilege and shames him for his outmoded, chauvinistic ideas of sex. As the New England autumn turns cold, both mother and son find themselves enmeshed in morally fraught situations that come to a head on one fateful November night. Sharp, witty, and provocative, Mrs. Fletcher is a timeless examination of sexuality, identity, parenthood, and the big clarifying mistakes people can make when they''re no longer sure of who they are or where they belong.

A collection of stories focuses on suburban nuclear families, including "Senior Season," "Nine Inches" and "The Smile on Happy Chang''s Face."

The story, Grade My Teacher, set at and around small-town Gifford High School, explores favorite themes of bestselling author Tom Perrotta''s, who TIME magazine called the "Steinbeck of surburbia." The public and private self-images of a high school math teacher uncomfortably collide when she has a coffee date with a student who has posted negative comments about her on grademyteacher.com

"This book was originally published by Bridge Works Publishing Co.,Bridgehampton, New York [in 1994]."--Title page vers

A startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss from the New York Times bestselling author of The Abstinence Teacher and Little Children. What if the Rapture happened and you got left behind? Or what if it wasn''t the Rapture at all, but something murkier, a burst of mysterious, apparently random disappearances that shattered the world in a single moment, dividing history into Before and After, leaving no one unscathed? How would you rebuild your life in the wake of such a devastating event? This is the question confronting the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, a formerly comfortable suburban community that lost over a hundred people in the Sudden Departure. Kevin Garvey, the new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized neighbours, even as his own family falls apart. His wife, Laurie, has left him to enlist in the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence but haunt the streets of town as "living reminders" of God''s judgment. His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet by the name of Holy Wayne. Only Kevin''s teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she''s definitely not the sweet "A" student she used to be. Kevin wants to help her, but he''s distracted by his growing attraction to Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family in the tragedy, and is still reeling three years later, groping for a way to face the remainder of her life. Through the prism of a single family, Perrotta illuminates a familiar America made strange by grief and apocalyptic anxiety. The Leftovers is a powerful and deeply moving book about people struggling to hold on to a belief in their own futures.

A glimpse into parallel lives in a suburban town Tom Perrotta has made recognizably in his bestselling novels like Election, Little Children, and this fall''s The Leftovers. Clay wouldn''t have said his life was defined by his place on the high school football team''s roster, but when he''s sidelined by injury, everything, including his sense of self, seems different. And it''s not just that his concussion was bad enough to cause his parents and doctors to worry, to make him have trouble concentrating. It''s that he''s seeing the previously familiar people in his world—from his girlfriend Megan to his geriatric neighbor Mrs. Scotto—from a new perspective. Perrotta''s warmth and ability to describe the dramatic moments in the average lives of characters of every age are perfectly presented in "Senior Season", a story that will add a layer to fans'' pleasure in this author''s themes and concerns. This e-book also includes an excerpt of The Leftovers.

Following in the footsteps of the late great Lester Bangs -- the most revered and irreverent of rock ''n'' roll critics -- twenty-four celebrated writers have penned stories inspired by great songs. Just as Bangs cast new light on a Rod Stewart classic with his story "Maggie May," about a wholly unexpected connection between an impressionable young man and an aging, alcoholic hooker, the diverse, electrifying stories here use songs as a springboard for a form dubbed the lit riff. Alongside Bangs''s classic work, you''ll find stories by J.T. LeRoy, who puts a recovering teenage drug abuser in a dentist''s chair with nothing but the Foo Fighters''s "Everlong" -- blaring through the P.A. -- to fight the pain; Jonathan Lethem, whose narrator looks back on his lost innocence just as an extramarital affair careens to an end -- this to the tune "Speeding Motorcycle" as recorded by Yo La Tengo; and Jennifer Belle, who envisions a prequel to Paul Simon''s "Graceland" -- one that takes place at a children''s birthday party replete with a real live kangaroo. With original contributions from Tom Perrotta, Nelson George, Amanda Davis, Lisa Tucker, Aimee Bender, Darin Strauss, and many more -- riffing on everyone from Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen to the White Stripes, Cat Power, and Bob Marley -- this is both an astounding collection of short stories and an extraordinary experiment in words and music. Soundtrack available from Saturation Acres Music & Recording Co.

A sharp, funny and beautifully observed satire about the disturbing influence of the Christian right from one of America''s most cherished authors.

"An absorbing, fleshed-out portrait of an American male edging toward adulthood" from the New York Times–bestselling author of Bad Haircut ( The New York Times Book Review). A New York Times Notable Book of the Year For many college students, Spring Break means fun and sun in Florida. For Danny, a Yale junior, it means two weeks behind the wheel of the Roach Coach, his father''s lunch truck, which plies the parking lots of office parks in central New Jersey. But Danny can use the time behind the coffee urn to try and make sense of a love life that''s gotten a little complicated. There''s loyal and patient hometown honey Cindy and her recently dropped bombshell to contend with. And there''s also lissome Polly back in New Haven—with her shifting moods, perfect thrift store dresses and inconvenient liaison with a dashing professor. If girl problems aren''t enough, there''s the constant menace of the Lunch Monsters, a group of thugs who think Danny has planted the Roach Coach in their territory. "Perrotta serves up a hilariously satirical eighties cocktail, with an Ivy League twist." — Glamour "Perrotta . . . has drawn Danny so exquisitely . . . that you feel as if you know him pretty damn well . . . Danny is delightfully likeable—a Huck Finn of higher ed." — The Washington Post Book World "Tom Perrotta gets it right . . . one of the few convincing portrayals of college life I''ve ever come across." — Newsday "An overwhelmingly pleasing book." — The New York Times "Companionable and humane, lighthearted and surprisingly touching." — Newsweek

A group of young suburban parents, including a stay-at-home dad, a former feminist, and an over-structured mom, finds its sleepy existence shattered when a convicted child molester moves back into town and two of the parents have an affair.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Leftovers and Tracy Flick Can''t Win comes a darkly hilarious novel about a high school election that brings out the worst in everyone—the basis for the film starring Reese Witherspoon! Tracy Flick wants to be President of Winwood High. She’s one of those ambitious girls who finds time to do it all: edit the yearbook, star in the musical, sleep with her English teacher. But another teacher, staunch idealist Jim McAllister, aka “Mr. M.,” thinks the students deserve better. So he persuades Paul Warren—a well-liked, good-hearted jock—to throw in his hat. But that puts Paul’s sister Tammy in a snit. So she runs too, on an apathy platform, before starting a real campaign...to get herself kicked out of school. The idea was to educate the students at this suburban New Jersey school in the democratic process and the American way. But with all the sex scandals, smear campaigns, and behind-the-scenes power brokers at Winwood High, it doesn’t look as if they need any lessons....

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