by B. J. Novak
First published 2014
A boy discovers a $100,000 prize in his Frosted Flakes box but realizes claiming it might destroy his family. Across these interconnected stories, characters chase impossible dreams and face unexpected consequences. A woman plots to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins by asking for his own advice. A school principal decides to eliminate math forever. An ambulance driver abandons his career to become a singer-songwriter. The vengeful hare from the classic fable obsesses over beating the tortoise in a rematch. A man in heaven procrastinates visiting his grandmother because eternity offers too many choices. Friends plan a Facebook-era intervention while someone discovers that wearing the same red shirt daily unlocks romance. Each story explores the gap between what people want and what they get. The collection examines how love, fear, family, and ambition drive ordinary people toward extraordinary decisions that reveal who they really are.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, humor, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: ordinary-people-extraordinary-decisions, unexpected-consequences
Period: 21st-Century
288 pages · Hardcover · Knopf