cover image The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld

The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld

Dan Elish, . . St. Martin's, $24.95 (290pp) ISBN 978-0-312-33945-6

From the author of Nine Wives comes this amusing tale of an insecure college grad who wants nothing more than to drop a few pounds, write the great American novel and lose his virginity. Raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, Justin Hearnfeld is plagued by his lackluster track record with the opposite sex. After landing a job teaching English at the Clarke School for Boys, his abhorrent former high school, Justin becomes obsessed with striking yet unattainable co-worker Beverly Kinney. But his friend and fellow teacher David Grinstein, persuades him to instead try for Sadie Black, a teacher at Clarke's sister school. To add to the complication, Justin's pious ex-girlfriend, Abigail Wilson, comes back into his life with a newfound enthusiasm for sex. Enmeshed in an awkward and slightly unbelievable love triangle, Justin has to contend with the many uproarious obstacles standing between his virginal self and sex. Elish's lighthearted romp will strike a chord with the early 20s set. (Apr.)