the book of joe.

This wasn't the best book I've ever read or anything, but I still highly recommend it. It would be a perfect transition book if you've got two long and/or complex books on your to-read list and you need a little filler.

The Book of Joe, by Jonathan Tropper, is about Joe Goffman, who leaves his very One Tree Hill-like town in Connecticut after high school only to write a best-selling "fiction" book that sheds a (really) bad light on almost everyone Joe knew or had a relationship with. The embarrassing book even gets made into a movie staring Leonardo DiCaprio. Seventeen years later, when Joe has to return home after his father has a heart attack, he also has to return to all the people whose reputations he ruined.

His time home is both challenging and rewarding: he comes into contact with his high school sweetheart who was his only true love, he spends precious time with his best friend who is dying of sickness, his fancy Mercedes gets keyed, the neighborhood book club keeps littering his lawn with copies of his book, and at the core of it all, Joe just tries to figure out how he truly feels about his life, past and present.

The book was interesting in that many little things happened in the story, yet it is not a plot-driven book. Really, readers just want to see what Joe is going to learn about himself as he comes-of-age a little late in life - early 30s, to be exact. Jonathan Tropper has a way of keeping your interest piqued by giving you a little bit of everything: sarcasm, humor, wit, bad decisions, reconnection, sorrow, romance, and of course, a few absurdities. If we learn one thing from the people of Bush Falls, Connecticut, it's that everyone has personal struggles and nobody is 100% normal or happy.

The Book of Joe feels real yet new, depressing yet uplifting, and deep yet witty. I won't say that this book will change your life but I will say that this is the perfect book to delve into if you just need new material to read but don't want to waste your time. This book will not disappoint.