This book was very thought provoking. It made you think about the decisions and actions you made in the past, present and future. I enjoyed the characters and their stories and how they dealt with their decisions. Vito, Tracy, Jack and the others all made choices in their life that they regretted or were dealing with. This book is about dealing with those choices and what happens. This is the first time I have read a story by this author and I would recommend reading this book as I enjoyed it immensely. I received a free book and the views and opinions are my own.

From the ideal example of millennial perfectionism to the perfect example of millennial burnout, Tracy Flick is the character we all need right now. Tracy Flick Can't Win is witty and edgy, capturing millennial angst in a way that feels familiar.
Tracy Flick is all grown up, or is she? Caught between ambition and responsibility, dreams and reality, Tracy Flick's notion of how the world should be in relation to how it is hasn't changed. Much to her dismay, at 40 she's not as special as she thought, she's stuck in a job she thinks she's better than, and she's cooking up a way to get what she thinks she deserves, Election for the almost middle-agers who loved Tracy so much in the 90's, this is a fun must read.

In TRACY FLICK CAN’T WIN we meet Tracy Flick many years later. Tracy is now the assistant principal at Green Meadows High School and a single mother to a daughter.
Jack Weede the current principal is set to retire and Tracy has her eyes on the job. Thought to be the natural replacement Tracy does not want to take any chances things might not go to plan. She aligns herself with Kyle Dorfman a successful businessman who has returned to Green Meadows. Kyle has an idea that he thinks will help the school. He wants to establish a Hall of Fame. Though the school board doesn’t approve many things easily, they give Kyle’s idea the green light.
The candidate that is one everyone’s mind is Vito Falcone. Vito was a star football player who made it to the NFL. Unfortunately an injury ended his career after a few years. Things didn’t go well for Vito after that. He is now trying to complete the 12 step program and is on a mission to apologize to the people he has treated badly.
As the title indicates things don’t go well for Tracy.
I really enjoyed TRACY FLICK CAN’T WIN. I thought it was a great follow up to ELECTION. I was completely invested in Tracy’s dreams and was in her corner.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced digital edition of this book.

Tracy Flick is the Vice President of a high school in New Jersey. When the principal announces his retirement, she appears to be his logical successor, but will she realize her dream?At the same time, the school introduces an honorary award program for alumnae. One of the first award winners is a football hero, Vito. Vito is a recovering alcoholic, attempting to trace and apologize to all those he has hurt. He also is suffering from an undiagnosed brain injury. Told with humour from the perspective of a variety of characters, this is a good read from Perrotta.

A great read and a perfect sequel! Loved all the characters but wish that some of the action happened earlier on in the book

I feel like I might be one of the few people that hasn't watched the movie Election. I was concerned going in to Tracy Flick Can't Win, that I might miss some of the finer details of the story, having not read the first book, or seen the movie. Shouldn't have worried, this book stands well on its own.

Tracy Flick has been working as the vice-principal for long enough, and when the principal gives his resignation notice, Tracy figures she's an automatic candidate for the job. But politics and back-room deals evidently thrive in small-town decision making, and Tracy's not sure if she will get the job, or if she even wants it in the end.

I am generally a fan of multiple POVs in a book, but, wow, Perrotta took that to a whole new level. I found it a bit difficult to follow all of the voices, and stay focused on their plot lines, and having to reread sections to refocus really broke my attention during this one. Not having read Perrotta before, I was pleasantly surprised with his dry wit, and some of the little zingers that he threw in. But overall, this book just didn't completely do it for me. Too many characters that came off as one-dimensional, and plot-lines that felt a bit scattered.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Having enjoyed ‘Election’ when she read it quite a few years ago, I was excited to see that us readers were getting a sequel for Tracy Flick. This book however fell a bit short for me.

The characters were well constructed and believable, however the story itself was a bit forgettable for me. There wasn’t a lot of action that went on throughout the book until the end honestly, and that made it a bit hard for me to stay focused while reading at times.

What I did really like about the book however was that I got to see how Tracy’s life shaped up many years later. It was nice to be able to see what became of Tracy.

When Jack Weede decides to retire Vice Principal Tracy Flick is assured the job is hers. But it won’t be as easy as she has been told it will be.

This book was interesting enough. I liked all the side stories and the short chapters were great. I love books with alternating POVs but for a book where so much was going on, it was a surprisingly dull.

I want to preface this by saying that I have never read the original novel, in fact until I saw this one pop up on here I didn't even know the movie was based on a book. And if I'm being honest the first time I watched the movie I really didn't like it becuase I HATED Mr M, the second time I watched it was right after I got approved for this book because I wanted a refresher and this time I enjoyed it... but I still hate Mr M.

This book continues Tracy Flick's story where she is an assistant prinicipal and her over achieving ways come back full force when she finds out the principal is set to retire at the end of the year. But things are never easy for Tracy are they (#TracyDeservesBetter)? If she wants to get approval she's going to have to make a Hall of Fame for the school and one of the nominees is the school's former star football player who played four games in the NHL before injury and alcoholism took over.

This book is told through several different POVs which I've always loved. But for me a lot of the voices blended together and if I had to stop reading in the middle of a chapter I'd sometimes have to go back to the start to remind myself of who I was reading. Some character voices did stand out a little more and I did want more of them - I especially wanted more of Tracy Flick, herself. I would have loved if the entire book was told through her point of view because let's be honest, that's why we're all here right? We're all here because we decided to "PICK FLICK!"

There are some really great moments in this book as well as dark-comedy and an interesting look at real world issues. But something about it just felt lacking for me, I'm not entirely sure what it was. I do think I'll revisit this book at some point because there are parts I'm still thinking about and maybe then I'll change my rating.

One of the very last DVDs that I ever rented was the Reese Witherspoon vehicle Election. I’m not trying to date myself since the film came out in 1999 — were DVDs even a thing during that year? (I forget). I wound up watching it sometime after the fact (maybe 10 years ago?), as I was going through a big Alexander Payne binge at the time, soaking up all the films that he had directed. Anyhow, the movie — which is based on a book by Tom Perrotta that came out the previous year — is about a young woman named Tracey Flick who seemingly has everything academic going for her as she tries to win her high school’s election for student council president. I haven’t read the book, but the movie — to the best of my memory — is pretty good. Basically, if I’m remembering this properly, Tracy Flick was a character who had just about everything going for her, even if one of her teachers is trying like mad to make sure she loses the election. She embodies everything about youthful ambition and getting to exactly where you want to go in life.

To that end, Election’s sequel — Tracy Flick Can’t Win — is a kind of reversal of fortune story. Now in her 40s, Flick is the assistant principal of a high school. Her over-achiever ambition sets in once again when she learns that the school’s principal is set to retire in a year. However, if she wants to climb to the top of the educational pecking order, she must stick handle a proposal from the school board to create a Hall of Fame to elevate said academic institution to a hallowed place — from which it has been slipping from since the football team stopped winning sometime in the late ’90s. To that end, there is a star candidate and graduate of the school — a former NFL quarterback who played all of four games of professional football before blowing out his knee, thus beginning his slow descent into alcoholism. This ex-player is the type of guy who would be a question mark when it came to showing up for his own induction if he were to manage to make it to the nomination ballot in the first place. But that’s the least of Flick’s troubles. A lot of life has happened to her, and can she rebound from personal setbacks to become the principal of her school?

This is a short book that some could probably read in one sitting lasting perhaps two or three hours. However, it is a stellar read. It’s hilarious and touching and poignant and a little sad. The book really resonated with me as a middle-aged man because part of the book is really about the promise of youth and how it gets crushed by the big bad world out there. Like Flick, I thought I was going places in my 20s with my journalism and fiction-writing careers (both mutually exclusive, thanks). Life didn’t turn out the way I expected. You could say that life just isn’t fair, so here I am on Medium cranking out book reviews to account for all my professional failures. To that end, this novel is directly on point about what it means to be middle-aged and not as successful as you thought you might have turned out to be. I was kind of left speechless by the author’s wisdom, and it seems strange that he gets being middle-aged so right. I mean, sure, he’s lived through it, but he acutely knows what it’s like to be someone who doesn’t get a taste of the big show, even if he doesn’t remember it because, well, he’s been a successful writer with movie and TV deals for a long time now.

I can say that Tracy Flick Can’t Win does work as a stand-alone novel. As noted earlier in this piece, I hadn’t read Election before reading this and only saw the movie — which I only vaguely remember. But while the sequel does briefly touch on events from the previous book/film, it doesn’t linger there. You could be a new fan of the Flick universe and still figure out what’s going on. It takes a special type of author to be able to do that. In short, this is a stand-up, compelling and astonishing book — whose sole gripe I have against it is that it is so short. Things just fly by in a “blink and you’ll miss it” way. However, and this may sound like a paradox butted up against what I’ve just written, part of the appeal of this book is the speed at which it is told. The author is spinning multiple narrative plates here as the novel is told from many different viewpoints at a breakneck, clipped pace. Perhaps that’s the whole point of Tracy Flick Can’t Win: this is the story of many different people whose lives are passing them by right before their eyes. All in all, maybe we all just can’t win because death is the big equalizer and none of what we do is going to matter in the end because we’ll all be forgotten centuries from now. That might seem to be kind of pessimistic and depressing, but, thankfully, the novel does have a sort of happy, relatively upbeat ending. All in all, everyone gets what they deserve, even if it might not be exactly what they want.

I’m guessing that there’s a potential Reese Witherspoon vehicle lined up behind this book. If so, it’ll be interesting to see how it gets pulled off without a Matthew Broderick-like character in tow for balance. But one thing is for sure: it’s bound to make for a good popcorn-y movie that is equal parts comedy and equal parts drama. A lot is going on here to take in that would be interesting to see get stuffed into a couple of hours’ worth of film. But I’ll watch it, even if I now “rent” my DVDs from the library and must wait on copies to become available alongside everybody else. (But who knows? I may don a mask and try this at my local multiplex.) Just like Election is revered as a bit of a modern-day classic, I’m sure Tracy Flick Can’t Win would be an equally impressive follow-up. Groan if you want to, but it could very well turn out to be, well, a pretty decent Flick.

I loved Election so I was so excited that Tom Perotta wrote a sequel. Did not disappoint! I tore through this book.

Over the past several years I have often thought, Whatever happened to Tracy Flick? and now, we know. Delighted to include this title in the June edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)

Tracy Flick Can’t Win, Tom Perrotta

Tracey Flick Can’t win is then follow up to Tom’s 1998 novel turned cult classic movie, Election.

While there are ties to the original, Tracy can be read as as a stand-alone. While I saw Election in film, this was my first book by the author, I was expecting wry and dry-witted humour, perseverance riding the line of absurdity. I thought it was good and I could see the authors unique craft in bringing characters to life. I wasn’t wowed.


My thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for a digital arc.

Tracy Flick Can’t Win • Tom Perrotta ⭐️ - 3 stars
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This is Tom’s follow up novel to Election which was written in 1998 - however this can be read as a standalone.

This is my first book by this author and I didn’t know what to expect. Overall I thought the book was fine it touched on some important topics that are current today. I also enjoyed the way he wrote the characters and liked that we got to read from their point of view.
Even though I didn’t mind having multiple POVs I didn’t think it was very relevant to the story or plot. I also wasn’t expecting that ending and wasn’t expecting the book to take that dark of a turn.

⚠️: If you are interested in reading take a look at trigger warnings there are quite a few in my eyes

Thank you to @NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a honest review

I have not read the book “Election” or watched the movie. I found this second book to be an interesting read. The book is well paced. It has multiple points of view narrated by different characters.
**
The publication date for the book is June 7, 2022. Thank you to Tom Perrotta, @netgalley and Scribner for an Advance Reader Copy.
**

thank you to scribner and netgalley for the e-arc!

'tracy flick can't win' is the sequel to tom perrotta's beloved 'election', and follows tracy flick in her adulthood as she vies for the principal position at a local high school.

this started very slowly but once you get to know the characters... man is it gripping. the last 100 or so pages had me on the edge of my seat—the tension builds up and crashes down in a way that you really don't expect. it's less satirical than 'election', in my opinion, and features more of that standard perrotta despair that you would find in something like 'the leftovers.'

this book was definitely still not better than the 1999 movie adaptation, but it was better than the first book in this series, so i'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has been dying to know where tracy flick ends up.

You may remember Tracy Flick from the movie, Election, which was based on Tom Perrotta's book of the same title. Tracy is back - 25 years later and still trying to move up in high school, although this time she wants to be principal.
There are a lot of great qualities to this book - the shifting points of view are seamless, effortless and quick - they really make the story fly. Tracy navigates middle age, patriarchy and stereotypes of the education system and a somewhat awkward high school Hall of Fame venture. The ending is very unexpected, and as always, Perrotta sometimes makes daily life events, both the mundane and unpredictable, very interesting.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for an ARC in exchange for review.

Tracy Flick Can't Win tugged at my heart strings as I cheered her on as she really seemed like she couldn't win.

Can she beat the old boys school system and get the top job.

The odds are against her but they certainly should not be.

I like all the characters, even the ones I was snarling at and the pages turn quickly.

I have not read Election by Tom Perrotta but I will now and I will also be checking out his other books.

I really enjoyed reading Tracy Flick Can't Win and would have a wine with her any day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada, Scribner for an entertaining read.

If you fondly remember Election, Tom Perrotta’s 1998 satirical novel about a high school election, or the film of the same name, featuring Reese Witherspoon as the irrepressible, boundlessly ambitious, endlessly energetic Tracy Flick, running for high school president, you’ll be drawn to this 2022 follow-up of Tracy’s life story. But it’s not necessary to have read Election to appreciate this book; it works well as a standalone. Tracy is now 40-ish, a single mother of a 10-year-old daughter, and vice-principal of a suburban New Jersey high school. This is not at all how she pictured her life when she was 20-something and two years into the law program at Georgetown University, her sights set on an eventual career in politics. But life was not kind to her plans; admirable Tracy withdrew from law school to look after her ailing mother, and here she is. But she’s dazzlingly competent at her job and still ambitious—when the current principal of the school announces he’s retiring, Tracy is re-energized to compete for the post. She figures she has all her ducks in a row: a recent successful period as acting principal, good relations with the members of the school board, etc, etc. She seems like a lock. So why does she sense something going subtly awry and the principal post slipping from her grasp?

Beautifully told in a chorus of voices, Tracy’s own, of course, the retiring principal’s, a couple of student’s, a tech billionaire who’s returned to his hometown, a former high school football hero who went on to an undistinguished brief NFL career and a train wreck of a life beyond who’s coming home to be honoured, etc. This is a darkly comic satire of 21st-century life. You can’t help but pull for Tracy, so chastened by life but unbowed. Funny and sad—I guess that makes this bittersweet? Whatever, I very much enjoyed this and heartily recommend it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC. Goodreads says the expected publication date is June 7.

Tracy Flick is a middle-aged, assistant principal. When the principal at her school decides to retire, she's certain that she's a shoe-in for the position. Between School Board politics and complicated pasts, things take a few unexpected turns.

I haven't read Election or any of Tom Perrotta's other books so I wasn't sure what to expect. I found this book a bit boring to read. The premise of the book led me to believe that Tracy would be a riveting, central character. While I appreciated the slew of other characters and their inter-connected backgrounds, I found the plot slow to progress. Often wondering, 'why is this relevant?'. Overall, this wasn't the book for me but perhaps I would have enjoyed it more had I read Election.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the ARC.