Little Children by Tom Perotta

My favorite book is "Little Children" by Tom Perotta. This book was so well-written, and the characters were realistic and engaging. I could relate to the story line:

The lonely housewife who is in a stale marriage; she also feels like an outside among her peers and feels judged by them. This woman was so relatable. It's almost hard to believe that this book was written by a man, because he understands women so well. She's not perfect and she's vulnerable, and ends up falling in love with another man. They have a very passionate affair and decide to run off together.

His marriage is stale as well. His wife works full-time while he stays home and takes care of their child. He's supposed to be studying for the bar exam. Along the way, he meets the main character (the lonely housewife) and decides to run away with her. He sleeps with her instead of taking the bar exam; he joins a local football team; he's in the process of finding himself.

He and the housewife are both lonely and vulnerable, but very passionate about each other.

Then there's the other plot line: A convicted child molester has been let out of jail and is living with his mother. He is ridiculed and shunned by the whole community. In the end, he tries to kill himself, and is found by the housewife one night on the playground where she plans to meet her lover and run off with him.

This event sobers her: She must deal with the situation at hand; she decides she can't take her daughter and run away from her life. It's an interesting ending. A really wonderful book.