Small Admissions

by Amy Poeppel

People's Book of the Week

"Perfect for fans of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep."-Booklist

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Best Books to Give Every Book Lover on Your List-Town & Country

In this witty, hilarious, and entertaining novel that's "The Devil Wears Prada meets Primates of Park Avenue" (The New York Times), a young woman is unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat world of New York City private school admissions.

Despite her innate ambition and summa cum laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being unceremoniously dumped by her handsome "almost fiance," she abandons her plans and instead spends her days lolling on the couch, watching reruns of Sex and the City. Her friends don't know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback, while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.

Miraculously, Kate manages to land a job in the admissions department at the revered Hudson Day School. In her new position Kate learns there's no time for self-pity or nonsense during the thick of the admissions season, or what her colleagues refer to as "the dark time." As the process revs up, Kate meets smart kids who are unlikable, likeable kids who aren't very smart, and Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer. Through a comical and crazy run of wildly unpredictable interviews, subtle bribes, outright threats, final judgments, and page-turning twists, the highly competitive and occasionally absurd world of private school admissions is brought to light in all of its outrageous glory that is reminiscent of Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep.

• ISBN13: 9781501122538
• Publish Date: 11 July 2017 (first published 27 December 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Atria Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Rowena]

This book made it onto my radar when it came through in my email and I immediately added it to my review pile. I took my time getting around to reading it but then Grace over at Rebel Mommy Book Blog reviewed the book and I was super excited to start the book and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it.

Kate Pearson is our main character and the story follows her and the people in her life from her family, her friends and the people she comes across every day at her new job as an admissions director for Hudson, a private school in New York City. After a disastrous relationship, Kate falls into a deep depression that takes her out of commission for a while and when her sister sets up a job interview for her to kick her out of her funk, Kate goes along with it and is surprised when she finds so much more than a new job. She finds a purpose. She finds a new circle of people that come to mean the world to her.

The book follows quite a few different people. There is Kate, of course, but there is also her sister, her friends, her boss and some of the parents that are trying to get their kids into Hudson. This book was fun and it was interesting but I have to note that in the beginning, it was confusing as hell. At least it was for me. I couldn’t figure out why Chloe’s bit was in first person, while everyone else was in third person, including Kate’s bit since Kate is the main character. It was hard to keep everyone sorted in my head but I continued on and was glad for it because everything was sorted and the story really was a good time.

This book has a bit of everything to make it an enjoyable read. Crazy parents, bratty kids, bad friends, well meaning friends, supportive family members and a sister that thought she knew everything but made me want to smack her upside her head from time to time. Every time Victoria thought something bad about Kate, I wanted Kate to come out on top of something else that would drive Vicky crazy. Every time Silvia Blake came onto the scene, my eyes got bigger and bigger waiting to see what shenanigans she’d get herself into. Angela made me roll my eyes all over the place and Chloe frustrated me but I ended up really liking her. There was much to enjoy about this book. It made me laugh, it hurt my heart but in the end, everything worked out and I was entertained.

This was a good book and I definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for a fun chick lit book.