6. Little Children - Tom Perrotta

Let me just start by saying that I truly enjoyed Little Children. I have not seen the movie and cannot make any comparisons with the movie. This review is simply about the book. What Mr. Perrotta has created is a sharp, well-crafted, intelligent, and through look at suburbia and the lives of a group of bored parents that could be found anywhere.

First, we meet Sarah, a college feminist who looks back wistfully at that time when she uninhibited and involved in a bisexual relationship. She's in a bored and loveless marriage with man who'd rather look at internet porn than his own wife. Her life as a stay at home mother who's adult contact is limited to the other mothers at the playground is unsatisfying. She feels that her daughter, Lucy, is something of an annoyance and that she's out of place in her life. The other mothers at the playground include Mary Ann, a shrew of a woman who has her four year old prepping for Harvard and weekly sex scheduled with her husband on Thursdays at 9pm.

One day at the playground, Sarah sees the "Prom King". The Prom King is actually Todd, an attractive, muscular father of a precocious three year old son, Aaron. Todd is a stay at home father while his wife, Kathy, works on a documentary film about WWII. Todd is studying to pass the bar exam after having failed it two times prior. One of the other mothers bet Sarah $5 to get the "Prom King's" phone number. Sarah and Todd instead exchange a kiss that turns into far more than what it was intended, charging headlong into an affair.

After the arrival of convicted pedophile, Ronald, into the idyllic town to return to the home of his mother, the novel takes on a decidedly darker view. Ronald was suspected in the disappearance of another young girl, along with the conviction for exposing himself to a young girl. Ronald's arrival sends shock waves through the concerned parents and results in a community effort to remove Ronald from the town. This effort is spearheaded by Larry, a retired police office who left the force after a tragic work incident. Larry has his own marriage troubles and is unable to hold a job. Larry decides to make Ronald's past and subsequent removal from town his new job. Todd becomes an unwitting accomplice in Larry's efforts after joining a midnight, no rules, football league.

From here, the book chronicles Sarah and Todd's affair, along with each's own rocky marriages. We also follow Larry's efforts to remove Ronald from the town in an attempt to protect the children. The characters are incredibly well-written to the point that many may be able to pick out their own neighbors or friends. This book is deserving of the mountains of praise it has received. It is a hard book to review as a result. In short, read it now if you haven't.