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tmdavis's review against another edition
4.0
In brief. the story of one Princeton admissions officer who made a difficult choice many years ago that is now coming back to haunt her.
Lots of narrative rather than dialogue and lots of information about how the admissions process works. There were a lot of things in play that I never realized.
However, the ending seemed to just fizzle out and wrap things up to neatly for a woman who kept a secret all to herself for almost twenty years.
Lots of narrative rather than dialogue and lots of information about how the admissions process works. There were a lot of things in play that I never realized.
However, the ending seemed to just fizzle out and wrap things up to neatly for a woman who kept a secret all to herself for almost twenty years.
ampersandread22's review against another edition
4.0
The blurb on the back of this book doesn't sound like something particularly exciting, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was difficult to put down. Having (somewhat) recently gone through the college application process myself (although my experience was not quite as rigorous as required by the Ivy League), it was fascinating to see the other side of the application process, with a fictional spin to it. I particularly liked the paragraphs detailing certain Princeton applicants scattered throughout the novel. It added great color to moments in the story that might be plodding or boring. However, I could never get a clear picture of Portia herself. She mentions maybe twice that she has curly hair, but the author never suggests she is noticeably attractive, overweight, quirky, or truly memorable. Towards the end of this rather weighty book, however, I found myself getting a bit incredulous. What, truly, are the odds of Portia finding her son so serendipitously? And while her actions in helping Jeremiah at the novel's conclusion are truly selfless, it was all wrapped up a bit too fast for my taste. Those, however, are the only parts of this great books that prevent me from giving it a solid, well-deserved 5.
crabbygirl's review against another edition
4.0
I went out of my way to get this book (having enjoyed You Should Have Known and The Plot) because I thought the author gave an interview where she said it was a prelude to The Devil and Webster so I wanted to read it first... but I may be wrong. Anyhow, once again this is a delightful read in that you just enjoy being in the writer's prose, the ease, the descriptions that you nod along to, the general enjoyment of learning about a new topic (this time College admissions). And of course her clever title referencing the 'admission' she makes to herself in the end. I can't say when you finish it you come to some earth shattering conclusions, but do all books have to do that? reading this author reminds me of how I could devour books in my 20's and I miss that. I also miss the general story-telling nature of novels where identities were only mentioned to serve the plot and not the other way around.
kallbri's review against another edition
5.0
When you get to the end of a book and loudly exclaim, "NO!," you know it was completely worth it. Jean Hanff Korelitz writes real characters that pull you into their lives hoping for the best, or the worst. I had no trouble connecting with Portia, the protagonist, and dizzying life of stress. Being a current university attendee (though at a school that accepts all applicants), the story had me feeling remorse for all those who applied to a college/university of their dreams and were denied, but even more so for those who had to do the denying. It was hard for me to put it down, but even harder to deal with the fact that book had to come to an end.
mlangman's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. Although it was a bit unrealistic for a novel that is supposed to be realistic fiction, I loved the protagonist, her personal life, and her work in Princeton's admissions office. On the whole, interesting, and ultimately, despite many setbacks, is uplifting.
thereadingzone's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the Princeton tidbits, but the plot is disjointed.
lghammond's review against another edition
4.0
very well written and quite engaging... sometimes I just had to stop and reread a sentence or two because they were so lovely... this one's not particularly poetic, but beautifully descriptive:
she wondered if it wasn't possible to just start over with a new machine and new number. (Surely the phone company was well versed in domestic upheaval. Surely the abandoned were eternally lined up at Verizon and Sprint, claiming they could never start fresh without seven altogether different digits, or at least the same digits in a different order.)
she wondered if it wasn't possible to just start over with a new machine and new number. (Surely the phone company was well versed in domestic upheaval. Surely the abandoned were eternally lined up at Verizon and Sprint, claiming they could never start fresh without seven altogether different digits, or at least the same digits in a different order.)
cloverdog's review against another edition
1.0
Unfortunately, I saw every plot twist coming. While I enjoyed the evocations of campus life at Princeton and Dartmouth, that wasn't enough to make me like the main character, who was irritating as all get out. The combination of dry paragraphs on the technicalities of college admissions with an almost-but-not-quite epic story of personal growth and realization were not blended well, in my opinion. Overall, eh.