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Acceptance
A comic chronicle of a year in the life in the college admissions cycle. It's spring break of junior year and the college admissions hysteria is setting in. "AP" Harry (so named for the unprecedented number of advanced placement courses he has taken) and his mother take a detour from his first choice, Harvard, to visit Yates, a liberal arts school in the Northeast that is enjoying a surge in popularity as a result of a statistical error that landed it on the top-fifty list of the U.S. News & World Report rankings. There, on Yates's dilapidated grounds, Harry runs into two of his classmates from Verona High, an elite public school in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There's Maya Kaluantharana, a gifted athlete whose mediocre SAT scores so alarm her family that they declare her learning disabled, and Taylor Rockefeller, Harry's brooding neighbor, who just wants a good look at the dormitory bathrooms. With the human spirit of Tom Perrotta and the engaging honesty of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep , Susan Coll reveals the frantic world of college admissions, where kids recalibrate their GPAs based on daily quizzes, families relocate to enhance the chance for Ivy League slots, and everyone is looking for the formula for admittance. Meanwhile, Yates admissions officer Olivia Sheraton sifts through applications looking for something—anything—to distinguish one applicant from the next. For all, the price of admission requires compromise; for a few, the ordeal blossoms into an unexpected journey of discovery.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
22 people are currently reading
699 people want to read
About the author
Susan Coll
12 books155 followersSusan Coll is part of the events team at Politics and Prose bookstore, and the president of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. She is the author of the forthcoming Bookish People (Aug. 2022), as well as The Stager, Beach Week, Acceptance, Rockville Pike, and karlmarx.com. A television adaptation of Acceptance, starring Joan Cusack, aired in 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
May 30, 2023
5/21/20
1.5 stars: So I have an interesting history with this book: first, I picked it to read it for school, as it had met some EXTREMELY harsh qualifications. So first I liked it. Then I got bored. Then, I got so bored to the point of no return that I was like: okay I’m done. So I’d be able to pass the test, I basically skimmed through it to the point where I knew it vaguely well(and I gotta admit, it was getting slightly more interesting), and I passed. I really did not enjoy it, but I decided it didn’t deserve to be deemed to a 1 star so I raised it half a star.
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3/20/23
Just about three years later, I reread this book. I am a completely different person than I was when I originally read the book, and it makes sense that thirteen-year-old me wouldn't like this book because (she wasn't really open-minded) she wasn't able to relate, so the satire didn't go through to her. Now, I am sixteen, a junior in high school, and I was able to perfectly relate to the characters of this book and even laugh at times, so I can affirm that I just really didn't understand it at all. It's truly all about perspective. Some books really aren't for all ages.
1.5 stars: So I have an interesting history with this book: first, I picked it to read it for school, as it had met some EXTREMELY harsh qualifications. So first I liked it. Then I got bored. Then, I got so bored to the point of no return that I was like: okay I’m done. So I’d be able to pass the test, I basically skimmed through it to the point where I knew it vaguely well(and I gotta admit, it was getting slightly more interesting), and I passed. I really did not enjoy it, but I decided it didn’t deserve to be deemed to a 1 star so I raised it half a star.
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3/20/23
Just about three years later, I reread this book. I am a completely different person than I was when I originally read the book, and it makes sense that thirteen-year-old me wouldn't like this book because (she wasn't really open-minded) she wasn't able to relate, so the satire didn't go through to her. Now, I am sixteen, a junior in high school, and I was able to perfectly relate to the characters of this book and even laugh at times, so I can affirm that I just really didn't understand it at all. It's truly all about perspective. Some books really aren't for all ages.
October 11, 2014
This book grew on me. This morning I was in the middle of it and I was incredibly annoyed by the satire that wasn't that funny and the unrelatable middle-upper middle class angst over admission to selective schools. I had some spare time on my hands this morning (ironically enough, proctoring the SATs) and decided just to power through it so I would be done with it. Then oddly enough, the book grew on me. Maybe it was the setting, but this was one of the few books that I have read that ended in a satisfying way. The conclusion spoke to the quirks we all have, the fact that we can live happy lives despite the compromises and disappointments we live through and the resilience of teenagers. Glad I saw the book through, especially on this morning. :)
March 18, 2019
i got this book for 25 cents at a library clearout sale. i always wondered why it was withdrawn. i decided to read it now after having it for years and years in light of the recent admissions scandal. one of the storylines about an admissions officer proves that the scandal isn't all that shocking given the legal bribery and inequal admissions that occur due to legacy, donations, building a new library wing, etc. it was interesting to read this as a recent grad and take me back to that time in my life. i cannot imagine attending a high school like this. my high school never had a day where kids wear their future school t shirts, because that would have been super awkward in a school where prob half the graduating class goes to college and most college goers go to local schools. the suburbs seem kinda surreal. i could not handle that sort of pressure. it's strange to think about how big of a decision it is to decide where to go, because this choice you make at 17 ends up bringing you to the people who you will know your kids (and possibly find the person you're going to make those kids with). but i guess it really isn't. if i went to any of the other schools i am sure i would still have found good friends and meet a love of my life and live an averagely similar life. oberlin got one shout out. the restructuring of the fictional yates school storyline also reminded me of oberlin's current death spiral. i liked this book overall, it served well as my pre-bedtime book.
August 15, 2025
An academic satirical novel that I wanted to like a lot more than I did.
There are moments when the writings is really satirical and funny, but there were too many more moments where the characters, primarily nervous high school students worrying about the college admissions process, do the all-too-ordinary things you'd expect would happen in a novel about college admissions. Though the stories are centered on Harry, Taylor, and Maya, college seniors fretting over college admissions, the volume of other characters prevents the reader from empathizing or remembering much of them.
Perhaps the most intriguing story involves Olivia, the interim Dean of Admissions, and her affair with an environmental engineering professor, and her desperately reluctant navigation of university politics, consistently being urged to admit less excellent students because they're connected to major donors.
The book would have been better with a plot that contained more notable events, rather than progressing in a fairly matter-of-fact manner.
There are moments when the writings is really satirical and funny, but there were too many more moments where the characters, primarily nervous high school students worrying about the college admissions process, do the all-too-ordinary things you'd expect would happen in a novel about college admissions. Though the stories are centered on Harry, Taylor, and Maya, college seniors fretting over college admissions, the volume of other characters prevents the reader from empathizing or remembering much of them.
Perhaps the most intriguing story involves Olivia, the interim Dean of Admissions, and her affair with an environmental engineering professor, and her desperately reluctant navigation of university politics, consistently being urged to admit less excellent students because they're connected to major donors.
The book would have been better with a plot that contained more notable events, rather than progressing in a fairly matter-of-fact manner.
December 27, 2008
For the parents of Cecil County’s graduating seniors, it’s only a few short months until their children are packed up and sent on their way to various colleges, signaling the last number in the college admissions dance. For the parents of incoming juniors and seniors, this dance has just begun.
In her widely acclaimed new novel Acceptance, Susan Coll delivers a witty satire that encourages parents and college hopefuls to take heart. Told from the point of view of three seniors at a highly competitive high school, the novel is the story of their journeys toward “acceptance.” There’s “AP” Harry who dreams of Harvard and balks at the suggestion of anything less; Taylor, who has a tense relationship with her mother as well as a pathological habit of stealing the neighbor’s mail; and Maya, a talented swimmer, mediocre student, and disheartened daughter in an Indian family of Ivy Leaguers. Their lives intersect during a campus visit to Yates College, a third-rate liberal arts school in upstate New York that, by way of a computer glitch, has been listed on U.S. News & World Report’s Top 50 list (parents of college bound juniors and seniors know the publication well).
As the year progresses and the three wait to learn their fate, it becomes clear that the journey toward acceptance is indeed more important than acceptance itself. Harry struggles to prove himself in a family whose expectations fall far below his idealized Harvard, while Maya battles expectations that are too high. Taylor is immediately enamored of Yates, but writes an overly confessional admissions essay that she fears might ruin her chances of getting in. Each arrives at a separate, but meaningful conclusion.
Acceptance was born out of Coll’s own experiences with the college admissions process after launching three children into the world. Her humor, sensitivity, and abilitly to key in to certain aspects of teen/student culture in the 21st century make this an excellent book for parents and teens to read together.
Other books to guide the process:
Getting In by James Finney Boylan
All Loves Excelling by Josiah Bunting
Getting In Without Freaking Out: The Official College Admissions Guide for Overwhelmed Parents by Arlene Modica Matthews
Peterson’s Four Year Colleges, 2007 37th ed.
In her widely acclaimed new novel Acceptance, Susan Coll delivers a witty satire that encourages parents and college hopefuls to take heart. Told from the point of view of three seniors at a highly competitive high school, the novel is the story of their journeys toward “acceptance.” There’s “AP” Harry who dreams of Harvard and balks at the suggestion of anything less; Taylor, who has a tense relationship with her mother as well as a pathological habit of stealing the neighbor’s mail; and Maya, a talented swimmer, mediocre student, and disheartened daughter in an Indian family of Ivy Leaguers. Their lives intersect during a campus visit to Yates College, a third-rate liberal arts school in upstate New York that, by way of a computer glitch, has been listed on U.S. News & World Report’s Top 50 list (parents of college bound juniors and seniors know the publication well).
As the year progresses and the three wait to learn their fate, it becomes clear that the journey toward acceptance is indeed more important than acceptance itself. Harry struggles to prove himself in a family whose expectations fall far below his idealized Harvard, while Maya battles expectations that are too high. Taylor is immediately enamored of Yates, but writes an overly confessional admissions essay that she fears might ruin her chances of getting in. Each arrives at a separate, but meaningful conclusion.
Acceptance was born out of Coll’s own experiences with the college admissions process after launching three children into the world. Her humor, sensitivity, and abilitly to key in to certain aspects of teen/student culture in the 21st century make this an excellent book for parents and teens to read together.
Other books to guide the process:
Getting In by James Finney Boylan
All Loves Excelling by Josiah Bunting
Getting In Without Freaking Out: The Official College Admissions Guide for Overwhelmed Parents by Arlene Modica Matthews
Peterson’s Four Year Colleges, 2007 37th ed.
October 3, 2007
really enjoyed this book. I thought it was funny and a little sad at the same time. The book is fiction and is the story of 3 juniors going through the college admissions process. I have known students like AP Harry (becuase he has taken so many AP courses), Maya, a gifted athlete, whose SAT scores alarm her family, and Taylor, whose mother is obsesses about the admissions process. Students applying for college will particularly enjoy the skewering of the whole competitive process of applying to college.
November 30, 2014
Okay. Much better book on same topic is Early Decision by Lacy Crawford.
May 4, 2018
In the novel, Acceptance, the main character is referred to as "AP Harry." Harry aspires to attend Harvard University after high school. During the novel, a realization comes upon Harry which changes his perspective on the cost of college. "The tutor ... had only just come to understand that 'money was a problem ... ' Harry could only imagine his mother's reaction, which she hadn't shared with him. He felt bad having her spend so much money on him-she worked incredibly hard and rarely complained, and he couldn't recall the last thing she had done for herself," (Coll,90). During this stage of the novel, Harry begins to consider other colleges of less price. The accumulation of costs all pile up on his mother, Grace. She is a single mom, constantly working multiple jobs to stay afloat. This passage is important because Harry recognizes what his single parent does without notice. Grace cares about Harry, wanting him to fulfill every ambition he possibly can. Harry understands he was never and will never be alone. The support of Grace truly shines through during this scene, being recognized by not only the reader, but also Harry.
September 4, 2017
I thought that Acceptance by Susan Coll had an interesting theme and represented issues that are definitely present in today's age, and may be appealing to read about for a high school student eager to learn about the stress of college acceptances (from the perspective of students, parents, and a college administrator). The variety of characters with different experiences and viewpoints was something I liked. However, I found the book slightly boring (nothing very dramatic ever really happened, and if something did it was to a barely mentioned minor character), and some aspects confusing, as in it jumped around in places and I found it hard to tell when things were taking place. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style either (sentences dragged on and on). For a book in the 'humorous fiction' section of the library, I didn't find anything in it really humorous at all.
October 30, 2018
I reread this novel this fall for a writing class on Social Class and Education that I am teaching. It's a smart and funny account of the rat-race-like competition high school students (and their parents) go through to get into a college "of their choice". The first-year students in my course certainly identified with it. Indeed what I saw as stereotyped and exaggerated characterizations they tended to view as realistic. I was hoping that the book would help us think about the defining pressures of being in the upper-middle-class, but mostly we just talked about anxieties of college admissions that the group was still not fully over. I suspect that, in part, that problem can be traced back to the novel—which seems to me to settle for "smart and funny" rather than try for something more ambitious.
May 10, 2025
I'm an Admissions-Lit addict, and this is among my favorites. There are many characters to root for, and several well-developed storylines that are both plausible and engaging. The concept of an unknown college mistakenly winding up on US News' top 50 list makes for philosophical fodder, especially in the world of symbolic-interactionist sociology. What if a school is highly prestigious simply because we decide it is? US News already knows the answer, and probably so could the rest of us. However, to be clear, Ms. Coll makes sure her novel is about the young people affected, even damaged, by this immensely stressful "ritual". Bravo.
October 8, 2017
Definitely a clever little satire of the whole college application and admission process (from both the college and student/family sides). The multiple angles to consider make this story ripe for a book group discussion. Definitely NOT for anyone deep in the throes of their own parent or soon-to-be high school graduate experience or anyone who has just completed the process and will cry “too soon”. A little distance means that you will appreciate the dark humor and familiarity of the stereotypically hard-core parents who let their babies grow up with a dream school.
July 14, 2018
Got this book at a church bag sale, and as a recent MSEd grad and high school teacher, I thought it would be a good read...
Honestly, I stopped 30 pages in. Usually I'll stick it out and give a book a chance but it seemed flat and depressing. The characters aren't all that interesting, and there's just nothing spectacularly special about it.
I came on here to see what the general consensus is. I don't want to base my opinion solely off of what others thought, but I also don't have a reason to keep reading.
Honestly, I stopped 30 pages in. Usually I'll stick it out and give a book a chance but it seemed flat and depressing. The characters aren't all that interesting, and there's just nothing spectacularly special about it.
I came on here to see what the general consensus is. I don't want to base my opinion solely off of what others thought, but I also don't have a reason to keep reading.
April 2, 2020
This book chronicles the year of "acceptance" (aka Junior year) for high school students and shares perspectives from three upper middle class students, their parents, and a college admissions counselor. I was originally drawn to this book because the topic intrigued me, but I quickly discovered that the book very closely mimics the demographics of my own NHS students, right down to the Maryland setting. Coll's writing wasn't what kept me engaged, but this book did get better with each passing "month" of the acceptance process.
January 24, 2021
This is a good novel with good characters. The depiction of the competition of college entrance is accurate, having gone through it a few years ago. There is certainly the air of satire while being dead serious. Some parents may see these characters as ridiculous but I have observed overly competitive students and parents at every college we visited. The colleges equally have a sales pitch and answer the same questions over and over.
There were a few plot points that I did not feel added much to the novel but it was an enjoyable read.
There were a few plot points that I did not feel added much to the novel but it was an enjoyable read.
December 3, 2017
I think that I’ve discovered a new favorite author. This book was so fun and intoxicating. I the heels of Nanowrimo, I observed thoughtfully and carefully the skillful way that Coll combines scenes, plot, dialogue, and social commentary. I appreciated very much the multiple points of view, and I value what this novel is saying about the insanity of college admissions. Can’t wait to try another Coll novel.
January 12, 2025
Good book that kept me interested but it didn’t have a good ending or resolution it kind of abruptly stopped and I think it was ridiculous at times in a way that wasn’t really believable. I enjoyed how it followed different characters and stories and it was interesting to see things from different perspectives.
March 31, 2019
I thought this book gave great insight into the college application process and the competition of high schoolers. As a sophomore in high school, it was enlightening and kind of scary to think that I would be doing this in two years. I enjoyed it and I would definitely recommend it!
January 8, 2019
This gave me anxiety. It was like reliving my highschool experience trying to get into college.
January 30, 2020
Just remembered about this book I read as a preteen/teenager. Would have been useful to keep in perspective as I went through the college admissions process and then through college.
December 1, 2021
I really enjoyed following the characters through this plot.
August 29, 2022
2.5 — OK
Read
March 3, 2023Familiar to those of us in highly competitive areas - though the characters have too much going on.
December 25, 2025
i get it
November 2, 2022
Wasn’t really a fan of this book. Just wasn’t that engaging and i found it rather stressful since I’m about to enter the world of college applications with my kids.
Read
January 13, 2013Acceptance by Susan Coll (287 pages) (Young Adult)
Acceptance is a realistic fiction that talks about the reality of a competitive high schoolers who try their best towards "acceptance". However, the three protagonist have different opinions of being "accepted". One of the character "AP" Harry comes from a low-expectation family; however, "AP" Harry wants to show how he can achieve the Harvard dream by trying as hard as he can to reach that. Taylor has a complex relationship with her mother, who labels her daughter as "challenged" which gives her an advantage in her SAT. She also has issues such as stealing mails from other houses and enjoys from that act. Finally, Maya comes from an Ivy League Indian family, whose expectation is of course very high. Even though he is very successful in her swimming lifestyle, she is not the best student in the town and her family is disappointed with that. All three of these kids, with different aspects of being accepted into colleges comes to Yates College, a third-class university, which got in the Top 50 school because of a typo. The story takes place during the year while the students learn if they are accepted to their goal college. Harry tries to prove to his mother how he can achieve the Harvard dream that his mother doubts in a caring way. Taylor tries to confess her secret through the essays she hand into college but fears that the writing will make her lose that college. Maya, opposite of Harry, desperately fights for the Ivy League standard set up by her family by trying her best to reach the impossible. All three have them end up in a conclusion that changed their initial ideas.
I really loved Acceptance because I could relate to the book a lot, since I am also a high-schooler struggling to grasp the idea of getting into college in this tough environment. I feel as though I am in a similar situation with Maya, because my parents have such a high expectation to my college that it pressures me quite a bit. Because I could relate the book, I think I was able to enjoy the book a lot better. I hope that this will help me at my senior year to cope with the fear of maybe not getting into the ideal college and not being able to break the high standards.
Acceptance is a realistic fiction that talks about the reality of a competitive high schoolers who try their best towards "acceptance". However, the three protagonist have different opinions of being "accepted". One of the character "AP" Harry comes from a low-expectation family; however, "AP" Harry wants to show how he can achieve the Harvard dream by trying as hard as he can to reach that. Taylor has a complex relationship with her mother, who labels her daughter as "challenged" which gives her an advantage in her SAT. She also has issues such as stealing mails from other houses and enjoys from that act. Finally, Maya comes from an Ivy League Indian family, whose expectation is of course very high. Even though he is very successful in her swimming lifestyle, she is not the best student in the town and her family is disappointed with that. All three of these kids, with different aspects of being accepted into colleges comes to Yates College, a third-class university, which got in the Top 50 school because of a typo. The story takes place during the year while the students learn if they are accepted to their goal college. Harry tries to prove to his mother how he can achieve the Harvard dream that his mother doubts in a caring way. Taylor tries to confess her secret through the essays she hand into college but fears that the writing will make her lose that college. Maya, opposite of Harry, desperately fights for the Ivy League standard set up by her family by trying her best to reach the impossible. All three have them end up in a conclusion that changed their initial ideas.
I really loved Acceptance because I could relate to the book a lot, since I am also a high-schooler struggling to grasp the idea of getting into college in this tough environment. I feel as though I am in a similar situation with Maya, because my parents have such a high expectation to my college that it pressures me quite a bit. Because I could relate the book, I think I was able to enjoy the book a lot better. I hope that this will help me at my senior year to cope with the fear of maybe not getting into the ideal college and not being able to break the high standards.
March 12, 2010
Follows the lives of three high school juniors--Taylor, Maya, and Harry--as they apply to a number of colleges and cope with the pressures of their teachers and parents, and an admissions advisor, Olivia, who struggles to sift through applications after her university was accidentally placed ona list of the top fifty schools in the country. - from library catalog record
I read this for our facutly book club meeting. Our theme was humor and although I would call this satirical, I hesitate to say it is humorous (at least by most people's definition). I did enjoy reading it eventually...it took awhile for me to get interested. Anyone dealing with students who are trying to get into the "Ivies" for college or students who overstress about college acceptance might want to read it. Then again...maybe not!
Review from School Library Journal:
This book follows a handful of high school students throughout the year leading up to their graduation. It is a harrowing and hilarious story told from the points of view of the teens and their families as they navigate the maze leading to the holy grail of acceptance by a major university. Coll celebrates and skewers the people and the politics waged on both sides of the application process as the students pick their dream colleges and these institutions either pick them back or toss them onto the scrap heap of second- and third-tier safety schools. The characters evolve through their trials and learn about themselves and one another and accept the loss of one dream while embracing another. They include Harry, a scarily normal overachiever; Maya, the talented but seemingly least gifted of a wealthy Indian family; and Taylor, a girl teetering on the verge of self-abuse or self-discovery. These are teens who come from fairly affluent families and schools. They are treated with respect and love by the author, and readers will return the favor. YAs interested in the college selection process will find this book illuminating as they see in it their own fears acted out and resolved. It reads a bit like a Stephen King novel minus the horrific ending.
I read this for our facutly book club meeting. Our theme was humor and although I would call this satirical, I hesitate to say it is humorous (at least by most people's definition). I did enjoy reading it eventually...it took awhile for me to get interested. Anyone dealing with students who are trying to get into the "Ivies" for college or students who overstress about college acceptance might want to read it. Then again...maybe not!
Review from School Library Journal:
This book follows a handful of high school students throughout the year leading up to their graduation. It is a harrowing and hilarious story told from the points of view of the teens and their families as they navigate the maze leading to the holy grail of acceptance by a major university. Coll celebrates and skewers the people and the politics waged on both sides of the application process as the students pick their dream colleges and these institutions either pick them back or toss them onto the scrap heap of second- and third-tier safety schools. The characters evolve through their trials and learn about themselves and one another and accept the loss of one dream while embracing another. They include Harry, a scarily normal overachiever; Maya, the talented but seemingly least gifted of a wealthy Indian family; and Taylor, a girl teetering on the verge of self-abuse or self-discovery. These are teens who come from fairly affluent families and schools. They are treated with respect and love by the author, and readers will return the favor. YAs interested in the college selection process will find this book illuminating as they see in it their own fears acted out and resolved. It reads a bit like a Stephen King novel minus the horrific ending.
Read
July 4, 2015One of the most marvelously counterintuitive (and efficient, and valuable) equations is "Comedy = Tragedy + Time." This satirical novel is probably funniest and most insightful to those who are furthest from its subject matter, but it is a mark of Coll's skill that the novel is capable of drawing those of us (teachers, parents, and I hope students) who are close to its subject into realizing how mockable we all are when we succumb to the insanity of the modern American college-admissions ratrace.
The targets of Coll's satire are many, and all absorb their shots in this novel: thoughtless and conforming and unthinkingly grinding students, status-greedy parents, self-righteous teachers and administrators, unprincipled college faculty and admissions folks, etc. Would that all of us can take a step back and realize how idiotic we sound when we lapse close to the farces Coll depicts. In fact, this world is so insane that she doesn't make it farcical enough to differentiate her satire from the reality she is mocking. Oh, well.
And yet she finds some humanity in most of these characters, and she certainly knows well about the worst-case scenarios that are real in stress-ridden schools and ridiculous college admissions processes and expectations. Some trite (but, worth admitting: too-often forgotten, especially in this particular whirlwind) "Life is passing too quickly"s (239) and "there was too much emphasis on...the idea that [happiness]...could be attained through superficial means like going to the one perfect school"s (244) speckle the landscape. The writing around them is uniformly impressive and the plotting and organization engage the reader even more impressively.
Everyone who is too close to the college-admissions Scylla or Charybdis deserves to row backward with a read of this novel. Laughing at ourselves is a valuable reward.
The targets of Coll's satire are many, and all absorb their shots in this novel: thoughtless and conforming and unthinkingly grinding students, status-greedy parents, self-righteous teachers and administrators, unprincipled college faculty and admissions folks, etc. Would that all of us can take a step back and realize how idiotic we sound when we lapse close to the farces Coll depicts. In fact, this world is so insane that she doesn't make it farcical enough to differentiate her satire from the reality she is mocking. Oh, well.
And yet she finds some humanity in most of these characters, and she certainly knows well about the worst-case scenarios that are real in stress-ridden schools and ridiculous college admissions processes and expectations. Some trite (but, worth admitting: too-often forgotten, especially in this particular whirlwind) "Life is passing too quickly"s (239) and "there was too much emphasis on...the idea that [happiness]...could be attained through superficial means like going to the one perfect school"s (244) speckle the landscape. The writing around them is uniformly impressive and the plotting and organization engage the reader even more impressively.
Everyone who is too close to the college-admissions Scylla or Charybdis deserves to row backward with a read of this novel. Laughing at ourselves is a valuable reward.
April 13, 2014
I reserved this book at my library because I clearly remember specific scenes from the Lifetime movie version of this i had watched at age 10, though the majority of it I had completely forgotten.
I thought this book might be sad, might even make me cry, as it was obvious that from the movie that it included the element of depression, divorce, college rejection, alcoholism, the splattering of dreams, and acceptance of the fact that your dreams had just been splattered. What I got instead was a very mature (not in sexual terms, but brain-wise) novel. Not particularly moving or special, it had a certain essence to it that I really enjoyed. Dry-humored but honest, the third-person narration served as a great tool throughout the story and even made me laugh a couple times. All of the drama created by the Lifetime movie did not exist at all. The characters, though maybe a bit exaggerated to get the point across, were heart-breakingly realistic in their emotions.
College applications are no doubt a stressful topic (I haven't yet applied to college, as I'm only fourteen), and the idea of a town full of people whose main purpose in life is to get their kid into one of the top schools was in my mind, so ingenious. This wasn't brutal or heart-breaking; it simply just presented one idea after another, and whether the idea was sad or not, said life goes on.
A mature book, probably recommended to those who are willing to read about people's lives without the added dramatic effects. (As for the author, I'm very interested in reading her other novels, especially Rockville Pike. Apparently I may live quite close to her.)
I thought this book might be sad, might even make me cry, as it was obvious that from the movie that it included the element of depression, divorce, college rejection, alcoholism, the splattering of dreams, and acceptance of the fact that your dreams had just been splattered. What I got instead was a very mature (not in sexual terms, but brain-wise) novel. Not particularly moving or special, it had a certain essence to it that I really enjoyed. Dry-humored but honest, the third-person narration served as a great tool throughout the story and even made me laugh a couple times. All of the drama created by the Lifetime movie did not exist at all. The characters, though maybe a bit exaggerated to get the point across, were heart-breakingly realistic in their emotions.
College applications are no doubt a stressful topic (I haven't yet applied to college, as I'm only fourteen), and the idea of a town full of people whose main purpose in life is to get their kid into one of the top schools was in my mind, so ingenious. This wasn't brutal or heart-breaking; it simply just presented one idea after another, and whether the idea was sad or not, said life goes on.
A mature book, probably recommended to those who are willing to read about people's lives without the added dramatic effects. (As for the author, I'm very interested in reading her other novels, especially Rockville Pike. Apparently I may live quite close to her.)
July 25, 2010
This book was touching a little close to home for me, having just received my AP scores and planning to go to college in a couple of years. The book surrounds the lives of three kids from one high school bent on sending kids to the Ivy League.
First is AP Harry. Obsessed with going to Harvard, Harry not only manages to drive himself insane, but causes his single mother a great deal of distress during the application process. Though he is incredibly intelligent, Harry has never been at the top of the pack at his extremely competitive school.
Next is Maya. A swimmer on the school's team, Maya's less than satisfactory SAT scores keep her from the Ivy League. With parents just as fervent about college as AP Harry, Maya is looking for a way to break it to them that, unlike her older siblings, Harvard is not in the cards for her.
Last is Taylor Rockefeller. Despite her mother's insistence, they are of no relation to Standard Oil or any of its money. A boarder-line delinquent, Taylor can make the grades to take her almost anywhere. While her mother pushes for the Ivies, Taylor's sights are set on the small college of Yates, where the story begins.
This book is not only interesting, but informative to a certain degree. It focuses entirely on the logistics of getting in, making all the clearer the book's actual purpose. There is more to life than college, and certainly more than acceptance.
First is AP Harry. Obsessed with going to Harvard, Harry not only manages to drive himself insane, but causes his single mother a great deal of distress during the application process. Though he is incredibly intelligent, Harry has never been at the top of the pack at his extremely competitive school.
Next is Maya. A swimmer on the school's team, Maya's less than satisfactory SAT scores keep her from the Ivy League. With parents just as fervent about college as AP Harry, Maya is looking for a way to break it to them that, unlike her older siblings, Harvard is not in the cards for her.
Last is Taylor Rockefeller. Despite her mother's insistence, they are of no relation to Standard Oil or any of its money. A boarder-line delinquent, Taylor can make the grades to take her almost anywhere. While her mother pushes for the Ivies, Taylor's sights are set on the small college of Yates, where the story begins.
This book is not only interesting, but informative to a certain degree. It focuses entirely on the logistics of getting in, making all the clearer the book's actual purpose. There is more to life than college, and certainly more than acceptance.
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