National Network for Equitable Library Service

Ever wish that in the afterlife you'll be able to exact revenge on the people who made your life so miserable? The Five Jerks You Meet on Earth takes on that sidesplitting premise. Loser Al Mitchell finally gets a chance to win — even though he's dead. Al Mitchell is middle-aged, divorced, childless, balding, unemployed, stoop-shouldered and dead — but these are the least of his problems. When Mitchell dies in a chaotic merry-go-round wreck, he goes to Heaven hoping to discover the meaning of his sad-sack life by meeting the five most influential people he's known. But too bad they're busy meeting with more important people! In their place, Al meets his grade school lunch lady, family plumber and a hairdresser who turned down all of his romantic advances. So much for peace in the afterlife! Intent to make amends, Heaven's powers-that-be allow Mitchell to return to Earth (with help from a bumbling angel named Adrian) to achieve a goal even better than enlightenment. He gets to exact revenge on the five jerks who made his life so miserable! Ray Zardetto's The Five Jerks You Meet on Earth hilariously — but respectfully — parodies Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It turns the premise of that inspiring best-seller on its head — and it speaks to the avenging loser in all of us!