Reviews

Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz

stacyreadsalot's review against another edition

4.0

At times it seemed a bit forced, the way a lot of pieces fell together in a neat little package. But, a twist at the end caught me by surprise and all in all, I did really like the book.

laurenipsum's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

davenash's review against another edition

4.0

If you’ve like The Virgins, Prep, or even I am Charlotte Simmons and perhaps Franey and Zooey, you’ll like Admission. Admission is what happens when the female protagonist finishes her Ivy League school, but hangs around as you guessed it an Admissions Officer. In some ways she grows beyond college before her peers and others she does not. Eventually most people move on and this novel is about coming to terms with college and doing just that.

amysbrittain's review against another edition

4.0

The title and cover led me to think it was a fluff book, but this is a real, enthralling story with several solid subplots and turned out to be a book I couldn't put down. Korelitz doesn't fall into the trap of making her book a fictional, cheapened tell-all about behind-the-scenes college admissions, yet she does give a full picture of the various challenges, complications, and thrill of giving exceptional kids a chance to attend Princeton.

lfagundes's review against another edition

2.0

korelitz is very into describing what an admissions officer does... sometimes she rambles on about it so much it's like a rant, and distracts from the plot.
and that plot is ok, nothing special.

simplyparticular's review against another edition

1.0

After 100 pages, I didn't care enough about Portia to continue reading. The cheating on her part, plus what I'm guessing is her partner's relationship with the British shrew, pretty much sealed the deal.

elsiemookow's review against another edition

2.0

Admission follows a 38 year old Princeton Admissions officer as she finally "admits" part of her past. Yes, it is an intentional pun. Overall I was quite disappointed- it is being made into a movie this year, and usually that means their is some potential, or at least a lot of action. Jean Korelitz is an amazing writer, but holy cow, the book needed to be about half as long. I still remember being lectured on "show not tell" in high school English class- she however, is not a proponent of that school of thought. Of the 350 or so pages in the book, 50 pages were "action" the rest was the main character thinking, remembering, speculating,...etc. I admit that I did want to know how the story ended, but kept staring off into space about every ten pages or so. I really wanted to like this book, but just can't recommend it.

eandrews80's review

3.0

I know the movie adaption of this novel quite well, since I'm a Tina Fey super fan, so it was interesting to read the source material. The book is markedly different than the film -- not only in terms of plot and characters, but in tone. This is far more somber, introspective, and slowly paced than I expected, and focuses just as squarely on the minutiae of college admissions as it does on Portia's life.

ninetalevixen's review against another edition

3.0

Spread a little thin, imo, between sexy times and backstory and main plotline. But I enjoyed the essay excerpts, though on my first read I was left a little confused as to whether

Spoiler

Jeremiah was actually her son or not

.

UPDATE: This book held up pretty well upon re-reading a few years later, when I was in the middle of my own college admissions journey! At this point I felt like I was better able to appreciate it, with a more mature understanding of the characters and themes.

cocahina's review

4.0

Review pending.