The Price of Admission

The Edge of Everything

by Dustin Thao

Two teens, divided by class, find each other in this heart-wrenching coming-of-age short story about belonging and second chances by #1 New York Times bestselling author Dustin Thao.

Evan never imagined anyone could notice him—let alone Dalton, the son of a wealthy hotel chain owner. While the two grew up together, they lived in different worlds. Evan, the son of a maid, did his homework in the supply room while Dalton lived a life of leisure. When their paths cross one fateful day, they find themselves drawn to each other as they navigate loss and inevitable change.

Dustin Thao’s The Price of Admission is part of The Edge of Everything, a collection of short coming-of-age stories of first love, messy choices, and self-discovery. Each story can be read or listened to in one sitting.

Genres: Short Stories, Novella, Young Adult, Audiobook, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 23, 2026

About the author

Dustin Thao is a Vietnamese American writer based in New York City. He graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. in Political Science, and is currently in a PhD program at Northwestern University. He writes contemporary fiction, and his debut novel You’ve Reached Sam is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Reviews

[Alexia · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Honestly, this story took a turn I didn't expect, but I thoroughly appreciated it.

It is a heartfelt tale about the importance of standing tall, embracing your true self, and relinquishing the need for external validation. The narrative emphasized that regardless of one's achievements, it isn't necessary to prove one's worth to others; simply knowing you've earned it is enough.
Despite what the blurb suggests, this isn't a romantic love story but rather a reflection on self-acceptance and authenticity.

By the end, I felt a deep sense of pride for Evan, and that sense of self-pride is what truly matters. I do wish the author had expanded this into a full-length novel rather than a novella, as a longer format would have allowed for greater development and added layers of depth to the characters and themes.

In conclusion, it was an enjoyable story.

[rei ‧₊˚✩彡]

pre-read:

fadhee told me to just skip the other books of this series because i have nothing good to say so far 😆 but it’s making me so uncomfortable to not finish a series 😐 so i’m sucking it up until i finish this series. we will see if it’ll finish me before i finish it lol! 😭

[vaishnavi ☆ﾟ⁠.⁠* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Iconic dedication! I have to give this book that 👏🏻


Unfortunately, I do not think making this a novella was the right choice :( I know the entire point of these Amazon originals is to be short reads, but this one would've really benefited from being a longer book.

I could not connect with Evan at all. The writing was so dry and detached. The entire time, I felt like I was listening to someone explain a dream they had rather than experiencing a story. Things happened, but I never felt invested in them. The abrupt tense shifts didn't help either and kept pulling me out of the narrative 😕

The dialogue was actually pretty good, but outside of them, the writing felt bland. I kept thinking this story had potential, especially since it's a coming-of-age with an exploration of class difference, but there simply wasn't enough room to develop the characters or make me care about them.

[Mai T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pride Month 2026 #4

Eat the rich

[Alya | short TBR clearance era · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts
By now I think it's safe to say I'll read anything and everything this author puts out, his stories just tug at my heart effortlessly, whether it's a 300 page read or 40 pages, never fails to hit me in the feels one way or another! Absolutely loved this one!

Plot Summary
Evan and Dalton grew up in the same place but in completely different worlds, separated by class and circumstance. When life brings them together again, they form an unexpected connection while helping each other navigate loss, change, and the possibility of a fresh start.

My Bookstagram

[Emma.catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A VERY short read, with very average results…

This is possibly the shortest book I have ever read, standing at 40 pages! That said, I probably shouldn’t have expected too much. While it lacked feeling in parts, Dustin managed to tackle some important, weighty topics in a way that was easy to read and didn’t feel rushed.

‘The price of admission’ is essentially a coming-of-age story that heavily features differences in class, friendship, self-discovery, and even a touch of LGBTQ+ representation.

Nothing not to like 💚

3 🌟🌟🌟

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

An enjoyable coming-of-age story!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: James Aaron Oh
Narration Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 1h 8m

[lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

the reason for my lower rating is that i don’t think this story was the right choice to be a short story… the content was rushed and not fleshed out as well as i think it could of been if it was in long form.

i do really like his writing though! i was obsessed with his previous book you’ve reached sam, so im glad i got to read something else by him!

[Dozelina 666 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another quick read from The Edge of Everything collection, and while the story is definitely a bit cliché at times, I still found myself enjoying it.

As the blurb says, Evan grows up as the son of a maid working for Dalton's wealthy family. Their lives occasionally intersect, but they're never exactly childhood best friends. Everything changes after Evan's mother passes away and he's forced to move with his aunt. Thanks to a scholarship, he ends up attending an elite school where he reconnects with Dalton, and from there, the two slowly develop a friendship/ situation-ship.

What I appreciated most about this story was Evan's journey. More than the romance, this felt like a story about belonging and figuring out where you fit. Evan spends a lot of time trying to adapt, trying to fit into a world that often reminds him he doesn't belong there. Eventually, he learns that changing yourself won't magically make certain people kinder or less judgmental.

As for Dalton... yeah, we need to have words!!!

Things between them start off well enough, but once Evan gets accepted into a top university while Dalton is left waiting, Dalton's true colors start showing. Watching him stand by while Evan was treated badly and refusing to defend him despite their history, was incredibly frustrating. Needless to say, Dalton did not end up being my favorite character.

Everyone, repeat after me: We DO NOT like Dalton!!!

Thankfully, I loved where Evan's story ultimately went. I was happy to see him find people who genuinely appreciated him and to watch him build a future that made him happy.

Overall, this was a solid coming-of-age story about class differences, friendship, identity, and finding your place in the world.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the ARC.

https://turnthepagewithana.blogspot.c...

[mandie ੈ♡˳ · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay this had such an interesting premise and i honestly flew through it. i really liked seeing the commentary on class differences and watching the main character navigate a system that was never built for him while trying to make the most of the hand he was dealt. i just wish this had been longer because there was so much packed into such a short story, and i never fully bought into the romance because everything moved so fast. still, it was a solid listen and i'm glad i picked it up.

[Katie’s Bookshelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
I really liked this! A quick read about a young boy named Evan who works his ass off to get into a good school and learns to rise above the rich snobs around him

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mariah (Wondered Pages) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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The Price of Admission was my favorite short story in The Edge of Everything Amazon Originals collection. Dustin Thao managed to fit class differences, grief, first love, ambition, and growing up into 40 pages without making it feel rushed or disjointed. Evan and Dalton’s relationship also gave the collection lovely LGBTQ+ representation.

Evan Dao grows up around wealth without ever belonging to it. His mother works at a hotel owned by Dalton Claremont’s family. The boys spend their childhood in the same building while living completely different lives. Evan eventually receives the opportunity to attend Dalton’s elite private school after losing his mother. Their worlds become much harder to keep separate.

Evan broke my heart a little. He is smart and hardworking, but he is also painfully aware of how much money separates him from his classmates. At one point, he saves his own money to buy expensive tennis shoes just to fit in. Dalton compliments them and Evan felt like he was fitting in. Then, Dalton and his friends continue to exclude Evan. I wanted to hug Evan. He was trying so hard to look like he belonged among kids who never had to think twice about what their shoes cost.

The class divide gave the romance a twist. Evan and Dalton care about each other, but money and social status keep affecting their relationship. Evan constantly has to prove that he deserves access to spaces Dalton has occupied his entire life. That made Evan getting into Princeton through his own accomplishments satisfying. He did not need Dalton, Dalton’s family, or anyone else’s money to get him there.

Dalton’s behavior at Princeton surprised me. Watching him distance himself from Evan after everything they shared was disappointing. Evan deserved someone proud to know him and not someone willing to make him feel small.

Dustin Thao gave me believable characters and a coherent storyline in very few pages. I would have happily spent more time with Evan. I finished his story thinking one very important thing. Dalton did not deserve Evan.

[annes_mesmerizing_books · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this novella on NetGalley and, as a Dustin Thao fan, I immediately started reading.

The premise is a strong and important one: two teens divided by class find each other and navigate loss and inevitable change. I also think this story would shine as a fully fleshed‑out novel.

As a novella, it felt rushed to me (it starts when Evan is nine and ends when he finishes college) and a bit too telling for my taste. Because of that, I struggled to fully connect to Evan and Dalton.

But… if Dustin Thao ever expands this into a full novel, I’d buy it in an instant.

Thank you, Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, for the ARC.

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[Leticia🌻 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Price of Admission is a short story that spans over several years. It follows Evan, who lost his mom at a young age and was later raised by his aunt, and attends a prestigious high school on a scholarship; at the school, Evan is surrounded by teenagers who grew up/raised in wealth and luxury. Although Evan forms a close bond/relationship with Dalton, the son of the hotel chain owner (where Evan's mom used to work); everything changes when Evan is admitted to Dalton's dream college.

Thank you Amazon Original Stories for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Olga Rudnitska · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story about the rich and the poor, the privileged and the underprivileged.
I hope Evan doesn’t come across any Daltons on his journey.

[Moon_child31 · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

[Sotiria Lazaridou · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Price of Admission is a book that had an interesting premise and several ideas I genuinely appreciated, but my experience with it was ultimately quite uneven. Dustin Thao takes on themes of grief, identity, friendship, family expectations and the pressure to define yourself according to other people’s ideas of success. there is clearly a lot that the novel wants to explore and I found some of those questions compelling. at the same time, I often felt that the execution did not reach the level of the concepts themselves, which made it difficult for me to become fully invested in the story.

one of the aspects I found most interesting was the novel’s focus on the relationship between personal ambition and external expectations. the characters are navigating circumstances in which education, family, money and ideas about achievement all influence their choices. I appreciated that the book does not treat these pressures as completely straightforward. wanting something for yourself can become complicated when it conflicts with what your family expects from you and I thought this was one of the more relatable elements of the story. even when I did not agree with the characters’ decisions, I could understand why they mattered to them.

the emotional premise also had potential, particularly in the way the novel approaches grief and the difficulty of moving forward while still being affected by the past. I liked that grief is not presented as something that can simply be resolved through a single realization. the characters have to deal with uncertainty, unfinished conversations and emotions that do not necessarily develop in a predictable order. some of these moments felt genuinely affecting to me, especially when the focus shifted away from the larger plot and towards the characters themselves.

however, I struggled at times to connect with the writing as deeply as I think the novel intended. there were scenes that were clearly supposed to be moving, but I occasionally felt that the emotions were being explained too explicitly rather than being allowed to develop naturally through the characters’ actions and interactions. I tend to prefer emotional fiction that gives me enough space to interpret what a character is feeling and there were moments here when I felt that the book was telling me what I was supposed to feel. this did not make the story ineffective, but it did make some of its more serious moments less impactful for me.

furthermore, the characters were similarly inconsistent in terms of how strongly I connected with them. I found some of their conflicts believable, particularly their uncertainty about what they wanted from their futures, but I did not always feel that their personalities were developed with the same level of attention. at times, their decisions seemed primarily designed to move the story towards the next emotional development rather than arising naturally from everything that had come before. I wanted to understand certain characters more fully, especially when their relationships became increasingly important to the narrative.

for me, The Price of Admission was a book with several worthwhile ideas, but an execution that did not always match its potential. I enjoyed its exploration of grief, family expectations, ambition and the uncertainty that comes with trying to make decisions for yourself. I also appreciated the moments when the characters felt vulnerable and imperfect rather than simply serving a predetermined narrative. however, the uneven pacing, occasionally over-explained emotions and characterisation that I did not always find convincing kept me at a certain distance from the story. I finished the book with mixed feelings, but not with the sense that my time reading it had been wasted. there were particular themes and character moments that I found meaningful, even if the novel as a whole did not affect me as strongly as I had hoped.

[har. · Rating 3 out of 5]

┆ ⤿ 📚 ⌗ started: july 2, finished: july 2

3 stars 𓂃˖ ࣪⊹

summary: ⋆˚࿔
evan has spent his whole life feeling invisible. as the son of a hotel maid, he grows up on the sidelines while dalton, the son of the hotel's wealthy owner, lives a completely different life. despite the gap between them, the two form an unexpected connection that forces them to confront grief, privilege, belonging, and the paths others expect them to follow.

thoughts: ⋆˚࿔
this was a really good story! one thing i've loved about the edge of everything collection is that every novella has a deeper message hidden beneath the surface if you take the time to look for it.

for me, this one was about not always following the path that's been chosen for you. whether it's expectations from your family, your social class, or the life people assume you'll live, it's okay to choose what truly makes you happy instead.

i do wish this had been a little longer because i wanted more time with evan, but overall i thought it was a heartfelt and meaningful read with a message that really stuck with me.

ⓘ thank you to amazon original stories, dustin thao, and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
⊱ ۫ ׅ ✧ OUT NOW

[Liz | lizzuplans · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was very neutral, almost bland. There was no excitement in it– very descriptive and leaning almost to “and then… and then…”.

The shortness of the story did not allow me to connect with it or to the various characters. I did not really like anyone, which is a shame, and I feel this novella could have been fleshed out a lot more.

All in all, not for me.

I received an ARC of this book (thanks!) and these are my own opinions.

[Mirinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Evan's story and found the themes of class and belonging especially interesting. His journey felt realistic, from wanting to fit in with wealthier classmates to figuring out what truly mattered to him.

The story covers a lot in a short space, so some parts move quickly, but I liked the direction it took and thought the ending worked well.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[ren ౨ৎ (in a tiny slump) · Rating 1 out of 5]

you know that feeling when someone is just yapping at you and you keep going "mhm" because you don't know how to respond and you just sort of want them to stop talking? that's what this book feels like it embodies.

it's completely the definition of telling and not showing, which is one of my greatest pet peeves as a reader.

nevermind the price of admission, this was the price of substance in a book.

[Daniel Myatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another tale of coming of age, this time focusing on the decisions we make growing up, aren't always the right ones, but if we are willing to learn from them and grow, that's the important thing! 😁

[Savannah Curci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very empowering for those of us who have had to work hard for everything in life

[felicia]

New novella series
Authors :
Nicola Yoon
Ann Liang
Rainbow Rowell
Dustin Thao

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Selling Pitch:
Working class boy realizes his rich avoidant boyfriend ain't shit.

Pre-reading:
I read You've Reached Sam and thought it was fine to bad.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Server and rich boy always makes me think of Raven Boys.

Dude, he sucks.

What, like it’s hard?

That's not a good burn.

This is the first one in the collection that actually feels like a complete short story.

Post-reading:
A passable little snippet. It has nothing new to add to class commentary. There’s nothing particularly memorable about the prose. It’s not really romantic. You can zip through it without any jarring flaws pulling you out of the story, but once again, you'll probably never think of it again.

Who should read this:
YA queer romance fans

Ideal reading time:
Anytime

Do I want to reread this:
No

Would I buy this:
No

Similar books:
* The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater-YA magical realism, paranormal, romance, queer
* Sirens and Muses by Antonia Angress-lit fic, academia, queer, romance
* In Tongues by Thomas Grattan-lit fic, queer
* The Secret History by Donna Tartt-dark academia, thriller, ensemble cast, queer, social commentary

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[maddie's reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the arc!

Rtc

[Bianca Swart · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how this shows how status affects everyone. It really showed if well with Evan and Dalton and how Dalton treated him in the end.

[Abi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Nik's Nook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one!

[Nicole Mellott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novella 4 in the Edge of Everything series. A good story about learning to accept yourself and stand up for who you are.