484 ratings | 110 reviews | avg rating:4.35

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Anne

689 books | 14 friends

Adrienne

581 books | 23 friends

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592 books | 37 friends

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1,270 books | 411 friends

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Irena Smith

Goodreads Author

Born

in Moscow, Russian Federation

Website

https://www.irenasmith.com/

Twitter

irenawrites

Genre

Memoir, Travel, Parents and Children

Influences

David Sedaris, Patricia Lockwood, Sloane Crosley, Scaachi Koul, Lacy C ...more

Member Since

December 2012

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Irena Smith is the author of the award-winning memoir, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays and the forthcoming Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip. Her obsession with how words work began early (as a child growing up in Soviet Russia, she was known to occasionally stand on furniture and recite Pushkin poems). After emigrating to the United States with her parents and swearing up and down that she would never learn to speak English, she went on to earn a PhD in Comparative Literature and taught literature and writing at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissions work and writing.

Irena currently writes two Substacks—Personal Statements and The Curmudgeon’s Guide to College ...more

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Irena Smith's Blog

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Combine Editions
Irena Smith’s books

Average rating: 4.37 · 402 ratings · 102 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays 4.36 avg rating — 401 ratings — published 2023 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Troika: Three Generations, Three Days, and a Very American Road Trip it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	World of Ocean 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Irena’s Recent Updates

Irena Smith rated a book it was amazing As a Jew: Reclaiming Our Story from Those Who Blame, Shame, and Try to Erase Us – A Defiant Memoir of Heritage, Identity, and Antisemitism by Sarah Hurwitz	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Like Sarah, I grew up without a meaningful connection to my Jewish heritage. Her account of learning to separate the signal from the noise and to discover her true identity was powerful, courageous, and deeply moving—and necessary reading not only fo ...more
Nov 28, 2025 03:57PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — As a Jew by Sarah Hurwitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith wants to read The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 14, 2025 06:56PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — This book is not mine, please remove it topic " Hi, there's a book I did not write on my author page. Please remove it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... Thank you so much! ...more "
Jul 28, 2025 10:30PM
Irena Smith rated a book it was amazing Go On Pretending by Alina Adams	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
As a Soviet emigre, I read this book with deep admiration for its meticulously detailed historical descriptions of the Cold War Soviet Union. As a reader, I was engrossed by the vividly rendered characters from the get-go (although I confess to wanti ...more
Jun 13, 2025 10:08AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Go On Pretending by Alina Adams. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Go On Pretending by Alina Adams <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith wants to read What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 05, 2025 09:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — This book is not mine, please move it (part 19) topic " Hi, these books are not mine. Please delete them from my profile. Thank you so much! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... https://www.goodreads.com/ ...more "
Mar 27, 2025 07:35PM
Irena Smith rated a book it was amazing The Byways by Mary Pascual (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I rarely read YA fiction—I read The Byways on a friend's recommendation, and I am SO glad I did. CeeCee is a deeply likable, deeply hurting main character, and her journey through the alleyways and byways of a world whose weirdness masterfully evokes ...more
Mar 14, 2025 02:43PM · 1 like · like · see review
Irena Smith rated a book it was amazing A Golden Life by Ginny Kubitz Moyer (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I was more than halfway into A Golden Life (which I devoured in two days, with breaks for only the most non-negotiable demands of being an adult in the world) before I realized why I was so captivated by the book: its combination of meticulous histor ...more
Dec 10, 2024 10:02AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Golden Life by Ginny Kubitz Moyer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Golden Life by Ginny Kubitz Moyer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith liked David's review of The Expert System's Brother (Expert System, #1): "As always Tchaikovsky writes an inventive book, although there are a few similarities to his novella Elder Race (alien planet colonized by humans whose descendants have lost the memory of this and much of the technological knowhow as well). This one " Read more of this review »
Dec 09, 2024 06:15PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Expert System's Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Expert System's Brother by Adrian Tchaikovsky <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Irena Smith and 1 other person liked Karla Osorno's review of The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays: "Rating 5 stars. I have a senior in high school and college essays are top of mind so when I saw this memoir from an education consultant I was interested. This book surpassed my expectations. Irena Smith organizes her essays, which vary in length, aro" Read more of this review »
Dec 05, 2024 07:33PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Golden Ticket by Irena Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Golden Ticket by Irena Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Irena Smith (?)

“failing in an ambitious undertaking—and delving into the reasons for failing—is far more interesting than succeeding.”
― Irena Smith, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays

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“The hierarchies of shame in high school are at least as complex and unforgiving as those in an eighteenth-century Puritan hamlet,”
― Irena Smith, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays

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“College admission is arbitrary and howlingly unfair. As a matter of fact, it’s a lot like life.”
― Irena Smith, The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays

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Irena’s Quotes

“Odds are about a hundred to one, you are not destined for greatness. Your people will appreciate you all the same.”
― Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead

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“because we are all a great deal luckier than we realize, we usually get what we want—or near enough.”
― Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

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Irena Smith’s Followers (36)

Irena’s Bookshelves

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Irena Smith

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