Admissions

by Eric Sasson

In New York City, college isn’t just paid for—it’s bought. Admissions draws back the veil of privilege on New York’s affluent applicants and the families that will do anything to secure their futures. The right high school, the right SAT tutor…everything counts. On top of that, there’s the application itself. Describe yourself in one thousand words.

Uptown. If Gabrielle Levy had to describe her daughter Arianna in one thousand words, her first words would be “brilliant” and “unstoppable”—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Gabrielle will do anything to make sure her daughter’s future is wrapped up with a bow, preferably in Princeton colors. She’s even hired one of New York’s top SAT tutors, Randall Miller. When she learns that another top student at prestigious Valhalla High might be applying to Princeton as well, she knows there’s trouble. In her mind, Mandela Robertson has one uncontestable edge over Arianna: race. Diversity, rather. To secure her daughter’s place at Princeton, Gabrielle formulates a plan that will change her daughter’s life—and her own—in ways she never dreamed.

Downtown. SAT tutor extraordinaire Randall Miller isn’t feeling so extraordinary. His job at the tutoring company is bringing him down, his novel won’t write itself, and The One isn’t anywhere in sight. At least he has a steady client at Valhalla, Arianna Levy. When another Valhalla student, Legion Cartwright, falls into Randall’s lap, he can’t believe his luck. But Legion needs more than SAT prep—his father let him play the stock market with his college tuition and he lost everything. After meeting Randall—and seeing the way he looks at him—he knows this tutor might be the solution to all his problems if he plays things right. As Randall finds himself falling for Legion, his novel finally starts to take shape around their impossible relationship. When Legion raises the stakes, demanding the ultimate sacrifice, Randall can’t refuse. If nothing else, he needs to know how his novel ends.

In an astonishing, challenging debut, Eric Sasson fashions a kaleidoscopic narrative of refracted perspectives that converge into a portrait of a flawed system and those it would break or mold.

391 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2018

About the author

Eric Sasson is the author of the short story collection Margins of Tolerance (Livingston Press, 2012) and the novel, Admissions. (Braddock Avenue Books, June 2018) His stories have been nominated for the Robert Olen Butler prize, the Pushcart prize, and one is in The Best Gay Stories 2013. For three years, he wrote “Ctrl-Alt,” a column on LGBT culture for the Wall Street Journal, and he is now a regular contributor to Vice, The New Republic and GOOD magazine. His articles have been featured on “Meet the Press” and “Morning Joe Scarborough,” and in February 2017, he was part of the team that was awarded the National Magazine award “Ellie” for Personal Service. Other publication credits include pieces in them., Salon, Five Points, William and Mary Review, The Puritan, BLOOM and Nashville Review, among others. He received his MA in Creative Writing from NYU and has taught fiction writing for the Sackett Street Writers Workshop in Brooklyn, where he was born, bred, and still resides.

Reviews

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

A howlingly great book! Set in the late 1990s, early 2000s, this book is about what great lengths people would do to find satisfaction in their ordinary, misguided lives. Randall, Gabrielle, Legion, Arianna, Ken, Morty and Mandela all round out the ensemble of hilariously drawn out characters who all intertwine with one another often leading into tragicomic misadventures that collide into life changing, and even life threatening moments. Sad, hopeful and wickedly funny, it’s a great summer read! Don’t miss it.

[Anne Kadet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me up late, marveling at our delusions.

[Phyllis Shafer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will have you thinking about the characters when you aren't reading it, anticipating getting back to it and finding out what they are up to now! A complex web of conflicting motives binds these characters together. Initially, they seem less than sympathetic (privileged New Yorkers!) but slowly their humanity reveals itself and honesty wins the day. A great debut novel by Eric Sasson. He is definitely someone to watch.

[Jonathan Vatner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admissions is a compulsive, propulsive read about wealthy New Yorkers who use devious means to get what they want...when it comes to college admissions. The characters are delightfully snarky, and the narrative hops around enough to keep things from slowing down. At first, all the characters seem stuck in their lives and almost bored with the world around them; as the novel progresses, they face deeper truths about themselves and grow in surprising ways.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: start this novel and you’ll be compelled to return to it again and again! This is riveting fiction, with a wonderful plot and dramatic moral choices. What is truly remarkable is the author’s empathy toward not only the gay SAT tutor at the book’s center but also to the rich teenagers he tutors—and their impossible parents. My only disappointment is that this is yet another novel where (surprise? no!) the main character is himself writing a novel. And the last part runs on a bit long. But these are mere cavils. Make no mistake: this is a fabulous read and a splendid debut!

[Keerthana · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS A FREAKING ROLLERCOASTER. Oh my god. You could never tell what was going to happen next. But also I loved that the book didn’t sacrifice character development for its zany plot. These characters were beautifully fleshed out. I loved Gabrielle in particular. Incredibly written and INSANE plot lol.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an incredible read. The plot and most of the characters were gripping and complex, and the pacing tight. I stayed up way too late on more than one night to read this, as Sasson kept ratcheting up the tension. Sasson’s command of language, too, was downright lyrical in spots, nudging me repeatedly to grab a highlighter to mark the phrases I found particularly elegant. (A favorite: “It wasn’t the bread that we yearned for; it was the light.” Another favorite: “What’s the point of being free if you have no imagination?”)

There are so many layers of story happening within this book, and the web of interconnectedness between the characters is handled masterfully.

Most of all, this book made me think about big questions I had long since forgotten. Within the first 50 pages, I was transported back to being a 17-year-old, trying to establish independence and authenticity and passion, and swearing never to be a lame adult who only cares about security and status. What happened to that person? Yes, priorities change over time, but Sasson’s book reminds us that perhaps we don’t have to forfeit our values to be successful in life.

The book’s topic is timely, too. Even as I was reading it, a discussion about parents being overly involved in their kids’ academic lives popped up on my FB feed, and I enthusiastically recommended this book to the people participating in that thread.

All that said, I felt it necessary to knock off a point for a combination of reasons. Despite his ability to masterfully portray nuances and complexities with language, Sasson seems to doubt his own ability, and too often (for my tastes, anyway) resorts to odd metaphors and similes for character descriptions. And while I respect his willingness to experiment with form, I didn’t love the meta aspect at the end – it felt like he was explaining, within the novel itself, why he made the literary choices he did, and used the technique to further assert the fictionality of the book, as if he didn’t trust us to understand these things on our own.

Finally, the book would have benefitted from an additional round of copyedits, but now I’m just nitpicking. All those things taken together only add up to one star removed – because the book is still really, really good.

[Roxanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. I went into it assuming that Randall would be the primary protagonist, but it's truly an ensemble cast. The different POV chapters are written incredibly well and are quite distinct - you can always tell who's speaking (and the inclusion of a Ken chapter completely delighted me). There were several moments that would have made a natural ending, but Sasson takes the story further, to good effect. I liked the ending and the level of closure we got. I also loved the meta-ness that runs throughout the book - because as a reader, we know we're reading a book by a writer who teaches SAT prep, and Randall is a struggling writer teaching SAT prep who ends up writing a novel about his life as an SAT prep tutor - but Sasson pushes it further than the obvious and really plays with the meta element. Overall, this is sharp and funny and I highly recommend it.

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the words of Professor Hinkel from Frosty the Snowman “Messy, messy, messy”. Where to even start with this book?? Overall what a way to explore how we interact with one another, how we shape one another and what we really value in this life. Sasson does such an incredible job crafting characters you start out despising and then by the end you can’t help but see yourself in them. And all the while with beautiful writing throughout! The plot was also deliciously filled with so many amazing twists and turns! Overall a fast and fun read!

[Chin-Sun Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A smart, snappy (and sexy) tour de force about the cutthroat world of Ivy League wannabes—those with access and those without, and all the players behind the curtain. It's a social comedy, but there are also moments of dark truths and empathy. It's a page-turner, especially as it builds to its finale, so be prepared to get sucked in!

[Jody Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This witty, smart novel moves at a quick pace among several characters navigating the college admissions process, from an SAT prep tutor, to a handful of overachieving students, all the way to an overzealous helicopter parent. Every angle of this developmental milestone is explored, and our foibles and delusions are laid bare.