A Tale, A Tale, A Tale to Tell!

Alright so I already kind of reviewed this book awhile ago but I did it in the same review as a movie and since I loved it so much I felt that I just had to do it again, this time properly. The book is called "How I Paid For College: A Tale of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theartre" by Marc Acito and first published in 2004 by Broadway Books. The edition I have is a paperback published by Bloomsbury and with the ISBN 9780747574231. This has become one of my favorite books and I feel like because of this it deserves the whole story of how I found it and came to love it.

Before I started working in one I used to love browsing in bookstores, I think that I might still enjoy browsing in used bookstores but none of that is the point. The point is this, when I went to visit a friend in Portland, Oregon she promised to take me to Powell's books. This is heaven for booklovers, it is rows and rows and floor after floor of books. The main store is very easy to get lost in, not that this would be a problem for a booklover. Anyway in Portland there are three different locations of Powell's, while there I ended up going to all three of them. There was a location in their mall that we went to and while browsing I came across a book called "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito and it caught my eye. Not just because it was a large yellowish book with the word sex in big pink letters and a buddha on the back. Although that really did catch my eye, but it was the description on the back and what I read of the first few pages. I was sitting, well standing in the bookstore laughing out loud. I knew that I couldn't just walk away from such a book so I bought it. 

There are very few books that make me laugh out loud but this was one of them. It is the story of Edward Zanni a 17-year-old living in a tiny town in New Jersey with big dreams. He wants nothing more than to graduate high school and go on to study musical theatre at Julliard. But his dreams come to a screeching halt when his father refuses to pay his tuition. His best friend, the very dramaticly inclinded Paula, has a much simpler dream of losing her virginity by the end of summer which fortunately can't be squashed by a disapproving parent. When Edward decides to throw an end of summer party they meet Doug who is different and a little dangerous. Mainly because Edward finds himself sexually attracted to him. And though Edward is dating Kelly and she wants to have sex Edward tries to hold her off all the while fantasizing about Doug.

The mad cap group finds themselves getting into all sorts of adventures and schemes including stealing a smiling buddha from the front lawn of a house. This becomes their mascot for what they call creative vandalism. When it seems that Edward's only option when it comes to school is finding a job he does his best to really get into the role of the "working man." However being of the true artistic temperment he can't seem to hold a job for very long. So Edward's friends come up with a different plan, find a way to steal the money from his father. The schemes are all a little outrageous and some even downright ridiculous, including one in which everyone dresses up as nuns. 

I don't want to go into too many details because this book is so much funnier when going into it blind. There are so many twists and turns and surprises and laugh out loud moments that they are best left for each reader to discover themselves. This is a book that I happily recommend because I loved every bit of it. It made me laugh out loud and it made my heart race with excitment. The book "How I Paid For College" has made it into my top favorite books and I think that it might make it into yours. That is of course if you enjoy books that are funny, full of adventure, witt, and musical theatre at every turn. It's a book that requires an open mind, an open heart and a great sense of humor! I hope you find a copy of the book "How I Paid For College" by Marc Acito because it will pay for itself in laughter, it's a tale that wants to be told and knows how to laugh at itself. Hop on board and enjoy a laugh or two along the way.