THE ABSTINENCE TEACHER (Tom Perrotta) - January 18, 2008

Another masterful effort from Perrotta. He effectively sets up two vastly different characters - Ruth, the beleaguered sex-ed teacher; and Tim, the born again Christian - and manages to transform both of them into fully-realized, completely compelling figures. This is no small feat given that Tim initially comes off as something of a bore, yet by the time the book is finished, he's as richly developed as Ruth (the book ends with the two presumably hooking up, which - at the outset - would have seemed unthinkable but is ultimately a perfect conclusion). ***1/2 out of ****