A deliciously funny romp of a novel about one overly theatrical and sexually confused New Jersey teenagers larcenous quest for his acting school tuitionIts 1983 in Wallingford, New Jersey, a sleepy bedroom community outside of Manhattan. Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Buellertype, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief. The fun comes to a halt, however, when Edwards father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard.Edwards truly in a bind. Hes ineligible for scholarships because his father earns too much. Hes unable to contact his mother because shes somewhere in Peru trying to commune with Incan spirits. And, as a sure sign hes destined for a life in the arts, Edwards incapable of holding down a job. So he turns to his loyal (but immoral) misfit friends to help him steal the tuition money from his father, all the while practicing for his high school performance of Grease. Disguising themselves as 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 youre not really a man until you can beat up your fathermetaphorically, that is.How I Paid for College is a farcical coming-of-age story that combines the first-person tone of David Sedaris with the byzantine plot twists of Armistead Maupin. It is a novel for anyone who has ever had a dream or a scheme, and it marks the introduction to an original and audacious talent.