Tag / Tracy Flick Can’t Win

by admin

Book 14 (of 52) – Election

Election – Tom Perrotta

Jim McAllister, history teacher and faculty, advisor to the Student Government Association, has a problem.  He blames Tracy Flick, the only declared candidate, for ruining his friend’s career, a former teacher who had an inappropriate relationship with Flick the year before.  To settle the score, he convinces Paul Warren, a football star, to run against her as a way to boost his college resume.  Paul’s sister Tammy decides to run as well, jealous that Paul is now dating her former friend, and secret crush.  As his home life implodes, Mr. M, as he’s known to his students, risks it all to stop Tracy from winning, which blows up his professional life.

Adapted into a hit 1999 film starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon, Election was Tom Perrotta’s second novel.  I became reacquainted with the Tracy Flick character last fall, when Perrotta released the sequel Tracy Flick Can’t Win.  This tale unfolded much as I expected it to, from my recollections of a 25-year-old film.  I have yet to be disappointed by one of Perrotta’s works, so I’m sure I will be digging back into his back catalog soon enough.

 

by admin

Book 38 (of 52) – Tracy Flick Can’t Win

Tracy Flick Can’t Win – Tom Perrotta

Tracy Flick, now an assistant principal in New Jersey, once again finds herself embroiled in high school politics, as she works to convince the school board that she’s the right choice to replace the retiring principal.  But while she gives her support for a new school Hall of Fame in exchange for support, she isn’t the shoo-in she thinks she should be.  Things change at the initial Hall induction ceremony, where things go sideways and she earns the position she feels she deserves.  The only question is if it was worth it?

I first became acquainted with the character of Tracy Flick in the 1999 film adaptation of Tom Perrotta’s novel Election, where a young Reese Witherspoon portrayed the overqualified student running unopposed for student body president until a male teacher plots against her.  In Tracy Flick Can’t Win, Perrotta brings the character back for another run through the wringer as an adult who, while highly successful, has never met her own expectations for her where she should be in life due to life getting in the way.  This time around, she once again sees herself losing out on something to which she feels she’s entitled to a football hero and decides to cut loose.  In the end, she gets the position she wanted, but pays a heavy price.  I would like to read Election one day and rewatch the film to see how they match up.