How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater

| HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE |

| Synopsis | back |

Embezzlement...Blackmail...Fraud...High School.

How I Paid for College is a comic novel about a talented, but irresponsible, teenager who schemes to steal his college tuition money when his wealthy father refuses to pay for acting school.

It's 1983 in Wallingford, New Jersey, a sleepy bedroom community outside of Manhattan. Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Bueller-type, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief, sending underwear up flagpoles and re-arranging lawn animals in compromising positions. The fun comes to a screeching halt, however, when Edward's father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard.

In a word, Edward's screwed. He's ineligible for scholarships because his father earns too much. He's unable to contact his mother because she's somewhere in Peru trying to commune with the Incan spirits. And, in a sure sign he's destined for a life in the arts, Edward's incapable of holding down a job. ("One little flesh wound on a Pekingese is all it takes to get fired as a dog groomer, even if you artfully arrange its hair so the scar doesn't show.")

So Edward turns to his loyal (but immoral) misfit theater pals to help him steal the tuition money from his father. Disguising themselves as nuns and priests (because who's going to question the motives of a bunch of nuns and priests), they merrily scheme their way through embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, and blackmail.

But along the way Edward also learns the value of friendship, hard work and how you're not really a man until you can beat up your father. (Metaphorically, that is.)

How I Paid for College is a farcical coming-of-age story, as if Catcher in the Rye were performed by the kids from Fame .

How I Paid for College is a book for anyone who's ever had a dream...and a scheme.

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| Reviews | back |

A witty high school romp ...Acito's characters are a self-consciously eccentric crew, but their haphazard friendships and over-the-top scheming are thoroughly believable. The ease with which Acito has choreographed their crazy capers makes you hope there's lots more where all this came from .
(New York Times Book Review)

Acito debuts with dazzling comic panache . The results is a thumbs-up winner from a storyteller whose future looks as bright as that of his young hero.
(Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Acito proves himself worthy of whatever praise people may want to throw his way. Hilarious . Memorable, warmly described characters. High school as it should have been .
(Kirkus, starred review)

Never a dull moment ...humor columnist Acito's amusing debut is sure to appeal to David Sedaris fans and older YAs.
(Library Journal)

HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE is funny, moving, in-the-know, and dead-on ...one of those rare books that young adults insist that all of their friends read, one carried around in backpacks just so the reader can be close to it at all times.
(School Library Journal)

A crime-laden romp for college tuition... a 21st century bedroom farce full of sexual antics, songs and high-stakes pranks a la Moliere..."
(USA Today)

A "Catcher in the Rye" for our weird 21st century age.
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

A plucky morality fable long on lessons of friendship and the shortcomings of selfish, self-absorbed adults.
(Gotham Magazine)

Narrated with riotously funny cynicism...It's a coming of age, coming out tale that escapes triteness and predictability, thanks to Acito's eye for the absurd.
(Time Out New York)

HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE is that most rare of pleasures: intelligent light reading .
(Book Marks)

Acito has fantastic narrative chops , writing funny, fast and satisfying chapters...This is a book for mature readers that reminds us what a blast immaturity can be .
(People Magazine)

Funny, entertaining, and ultimately endearing .
(Details Magazine)

A hilarious series of schemes and swindles reminiscent of the stories of David Sedaris or Joe Keenan .
(Pages Magazine)

A charming first novel... Wicked fun.
(Out Magazine)

Inspired plot ...Set this one aside for your next day of playing hooky and lying on the couch all day reading.
(Oregonian)

Acito makes an effortless transition from humor columnist to humor novelist and, in so doing, delivers on this fun-filled and farcical teen romp.
(About.com)

Difficult to put down ... Very funny
(London Financial Times)

Laugh-out-loud funny .
(The Leeds Guide)

A seriously adult teen novel... Wildly camp and achingly funny .
(BBC)

Sheer brilliance . Marc Acito's brilliant debut novel is a must read ...with cutting wit, vicious one-liners and some of the best bitching I have read in a long time... A brilliant laugh-out-loud novel .
(City Magazine, England)

An exuberant caper with good period detail.
(Independent, England)

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| Book Club Guide | back |

1. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE has been described as "if David Sedaris had re-imagined THE CATCHER IN THE RYE." Do you think the analogy to THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is appropriate and, if so, how?

2. The book is set in the fictional bedroom community of Wallingford, NJ. Could it have been set in another part of the country and, if so, where and why?

3. The story takes place in 1983-84, Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America." How do you think the Reaganite atmosphere affects the behavior of the characters? How are today's teenagers different from those in the 1980s and how do you think they would act in similar circumstances?

4. During the book, Edward is confused about his sexuality. What do you think of this confusion? Is he straight, gay or bisexual? How does his sexuality impact his plans and schemes?

5. In most classic coming of age stories, the parents are either absent, unavailable or dispensed with quickly. (Think of Holden Caulfield, Huck Finn and Harry Potter.) What is the point of having the parents absent and what do you think would have happened if Edward's parents had been around?

6. What role do the supportive adults (Aunt Glo, Mr. Lucas and Kathleen) play in Edward's life?

7. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE is in development at Columbia Pictures to become a major motion picture. Who do you see playing the characters?

8. Edward and his friends are obsessed with musical theater. What do the musicals discussed (GREASE/A CHORUS LINE, PIPPIN/YENTL) illustrate about the characters?

9. When Edward visits Mr. Lucas' apartment, Mr. Lucas talks about how books gave him a reason to live after his accident ("I kept reading, just to stay alive. In fact, I'd read two or three books at the same time, just so I wouldn't finish one without being in the middle of another--anything to stop me from falling into the big, gaping void"). What do books and reading mean to you?

10. Throughout the book, other works of literature are referenced (OEDIPUS REX, ANTIGONE, HAMLET, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, DAVID COPPERFIELD, PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN and GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN) How do these works relate to the themes in HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE?

11. Throughout the book, various religious elements are present (a Buddha, a New Age mom, nuns and priests; Edward even plays Jesus in GODSPELL). Discuss the relevance of the religious imagery and its significance.

12. Along the same lines, discuss the relevance of Frank Sinatra.

13. In Greek drama, a deus ex machina refers to the entrance of a god (on a piece of stage machinery) who uses his divine powers to solve all the mortals' problems. HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE contains a very intentional deus ex machina. How does it relate to the themes of the book?

14. The complicated plot is set in motion by Edward's overwhelming desire to be an actor. But, after reading the book, do you think Edward would be successful as an actor?

15. Is there a moral to HOW I PAID FOR COLLEGE?

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