The 7 Tom Perrotta Books You Should Marathon Read

In this distinctly satirical and compassionate novel, Ruth Ramsey is a high school human sexuality teacher whose openness is not appreciated by all her students—or their parents. Ruth goes head to head with Tim Mason, her daughter’s soccer coach and her new adversary when he uses evangelical Christianity to target the loose-lipped sex ed teacher.

Now an enormously popular HBO series, THE LEFTOVERS is a startling, thought-provoking novel about what happens to the citizens of Mapleton, New York after the Sudden Departure—the bewildering disappearance of two percent of the global population. Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new major, is trying to speed up the town’s healing process but is distracted by his own fractured family and his growing relationship with Nora Durst.

It’s Spring Break, but Yale junior Danny is stuck behind the wheel of his father’s lunch truck, trying to work out his complicated love life with not one but two different women, while avoiding a territory war with a group of thugs called the Lunch Monsters. This might be Perrotta’s warmest and most light-hearted novel about a young man trying to find his place in the world.

Perrotta’s highly entertaining first novel, THE WISHBONES follows a 31-year-old rock guitarist with a New Jersey wedding band who decides to propose to his longtime girlfriend, only to begin an affair with a New York poet. He quickly finds himself torn between letting his dreams die and having a steady gig.

A surprisinging host of thirtysomething parents in a sleepy American suburb are thrown together when a convicted child molester moves back to town and two restless parents begin an affair that goes farther than either ever planned. LITTLE CHILDREN explores ordinary adult drama in an unexpected and mordantly humorous light.

Also a film starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick, ELECTION is a hilarious novel about a high school election that brings out the worst in everyone. With all the sex scandals, smear campaigns, and behind-the-scenes power brokers at Winwood High, these suburban teenagers are acutely mimicking the nastiest of democratic processes.

It seems only fitting to end your Perrotta marathon with his latest and greatest. Happily, this new novel is just on sale! Sharp, witty, and a must-read book of the summer, 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.