Soon to be a major motion picture starring Reese Witherspoon
"Tom Perrotta is...one of the great writers that we have today. I love
this book." --Harlan Coben
An "engrossing and mordantly funny" (People) novel about ambition,
coming-of-age in adulthood, and never really leaving high school
politics behind--featuring New York Times bestselling author Tom
Perrotta's most iconic character of all time.
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. Her male colleagues' determination to honor
Vito Falcone--a star quarterback of dubious character who had a brief,
undistinguished career in the NFL--triggers memories for Tracy and leads
her to reflect on the trajectory of her own life. As she considers 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?
A sharp, darkly comic, and pitch-perfect chronicle of the second act of
one of the most memorable characters of our time, Tracy Flick Can't
Win "delivers acerbic insight about frustrated ambition" (Esquire).
