Soon to be a major film

Tracy Flick, star of Election and one of the most memorable characters of our time, returns in this dark and insightful comedy about midlife.

Ambitious and hardworking Tracy Flick feels underappreciated and stuck. Her job as a high school assistant principal isn’t the political career she dreamed of as an over-achieving teen, so when the longtime principal abruptly announces his retirement, offering a rare chance of promotion, Tracy is filled with zeal at the prospect of success.

But nothing ever comes easily to Tracy Flick, no matter how diligent or qualified she happens to be. As she takes her shot at the top job, her male colleagues’ determination to honour Vito Falcone, a star quarterback of dubious character, triggers troubling memories of her high school experience, and storm clouds brewing in her present – her goals, career and relationships – send Tracy spiralling.

‘One of the great writers that we have today. I love this book’ Harlan Coben

‘Engrossing and mordantly funny’ People

‘Told with Perrotta’s piercing wit, wisdom, and exquisite insight into human folly, Tracy’s second act delivers acerbic insight about frustrated ambition’ Esquire

‘Brilliant, biting satire’ Associated Press

In this humorous fiction, Tracy Flick's coming of age story is a tie-in to her present struggles, where she battles the media's portrayal of her and the dubious character of Vito Falcone. Her family, her best support system, watches as she navigates through the storm clouds of her career.

For fans of Emily St. John Mandel (Last Night in Montreal), James S. A. Corey (Nemesis Games), Hernan Diaz (Trust), Gabrielle Zevin (Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow), and Ruth Ware (The It Girl).

HarperCollins 2023

Tracy Flick Can’t Win

Tracy Flick Can’t Win