Joe College

“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