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tensy's review
4.0
Frighteningly realistic depiction of Ivy league admissions, Princeton to be exact. This book knows its stuff when it comes to details about the admissions process. Korelitz tends to get overly descriptive, but the chapter headings which describe admissions essays are worth the price of the book if you have a kid applying to college. She tends to spend too much time describing the emotional context of the main character and I often had to put the book down or skim those pages. Nonetheless, she writes very well and thus keeps you coming back. As other reviews have mentioned this is a novel of both college admissions and a truth the character has to admit to herself. Frankly, the secret was fairly transparent early on in the book and I got frustrated with the character in how long it took her to realize it. The narrative arc was a bit too long. I would rate this a 3.5, but keep it at a 4 because of the strength of the writing.
margyly's review
3.0
This story about a young admissions officer at Princeton assumes that anyone would give their right arm to go to Princeton and that giving a baby up for adoption destroys your life. Oops, spoiler!
jlosaw's review
3.0
Entertaining in general, but I found the development of the main character lacking and the plot just didn't quite do it for me. I also hate that the male supporting character got the last word in a story that was entirely centered around the female lead.
abbywdan's review
2.0
I was just writing a Facebook status about what a shit mood I'm in, and how I don't want to go do the things I've committed to doing this evening because I haven't left the house all day despite this glorious weather (I did sit on the roof! I took in the weather, don't worry!), and I realized it was just becoming my Goodreads review of Admission, which is the reason I didn't leave the house all day. Here's the Facebook status:
Apparently, I need to be reminded quarterly that I should not spend ALL day reading. It makes me grumpy, lazy, and antisocial. I guess I also need to be reminded that I don't HAVE TO finish EVERY BOOK I start. And now I'm realizing that this is just leading to my Goodreads review of the New England Masturbation Festival known as "Admission," so I'll stop now by saying that I am also VERY HUNGRY, which compounded with the above makes me HANGRY.
I have not moved since I wrote that, so suffice to say I am still HANGRY, and while part of that is the loneliness/depression attendent to reading at home alone all day on the most beautiful of days, the only reason I bothered to do that was because I just kept wanting this book to be better. But it isn't. It's among the more self-indulgent pieces of claptrap I've read of late.
And yes, I know I describe a lot of books as self-indulgent AND/OR claptrap, but bear with me: have you ever felt that a novel really lacked adequate description of things like What Robotic Caller ID Voices Sound Like, or Things On The Train Station Schedule In France, or What Particular Streets in Princeton Look Like, or What Restaurants Can't Be Found Near Dartmouth's Campus Anymore, or Highways of New England, or Why To Shop At Ann Taylor For Work Clothes, or How Heartbreaking It Is That Good, Smart Kids Can't ALL Be Admitted To The Colleges of Their Choice? Me neither. But I'll be damned if Korelitz didn't fill up half novel with them. It's boring, and it's self-indulgent, and above all else it makes the novel unnecessarily long. I spent all day today reading the second half!
Is the story good? Yes. The story is actually great. It's a little obvious, the psychology is pretty bare, but it's a good story. "Stick to your story," goes the Alan Campbell-as-Joe Gillis in my head, in the call-and-response of Broadway lyrics I can never escape, and that's what Korelitz doesn't do. She fluffs about Princeton and New England, and I'm sure reading that is a trip for the graduates of Princeton and Darmouth and even some of the prep schools she name-drops (I got excited for the multiple references to Milton, where my good pal went), but in the end, she does it so much that it isn't worth waiting for the story to get where it's going. I can't say I recommend Admission, but I can say I'm thinking about it.
Apparently, I need to be reminded quarterly that I should not spend ALL day reading. It makes me grumpy, lazy, and antisocial. I guess I also need to be reminded that I don't HAVE TO finish EVERY BOOK I start. And now I'm realizing that this is just leading to my Goodreads review of the New England Masturbation Festival known as "Admission," so I'll stop now by saying that I am also VERY HUNGRY, which compounded with the above makes me HANGRY.
I have not moved since I wrote that, so suffice to say I am still HANGRY, and while part of that is the loneliness/depression attendent to reading at home alone all day on the most beautiful of days, the only reason I bothered to do that was because I just kept wanting this book to be better. But it isn't. It's among the more self-indulgent pieces of claptrap I've read of late.
And yes, I know I describe a lot of books as self-indulgent AND/OR claptrap, but bear with me: have you ever felt that a novel really lacked adequate description of things like What Robotic Caller ID Voices Sound Like, or Things On The Train Station Schedule In France, or What Particular Streets in Princeton Look Like, or What Restaurants Can't Be Found Near Dartmouth's Campus Anymore, or Highways of New England, or Why To Shop At Ann Taylor For Work Clothes, or How Heartbreaking It Is That Good, Smart Kids Can't ALL Be Admitted To The Colleges of Their Choice? Me neither. But I'll be damned if Korelitz didn't fill up half novel with them. It's boring, and it's self-indulgent, and above all else it makes the novel unnecessarily long. I spent all day today reading the second half!
Is the story good? Yes. The story is actually great. It's a little obvious, the psychology is pretty bare, but it's a good story. "Stick to your story," goes the Alan Campbell-as-Joe Gillis in my head, in the call-and-response of Broadway lyrics I can never escape, and that's what Korelitz doesn't do. She fluffs about Princeton and New England, and I'm sure reading that is a trip for the graduates of Princeton and Darmouth and even some of the prep schools she name-drops (I got excited for the multiple references to Milton, where my good pal went), but in the end, she does it so much that it isn't worth waiting for the story to get where it's going. I can't say I recommend Admission, but I can say I'm thinking about it.
spauffwrites's review
3.0
Really 3.5 stars and bound to be better and more nuanced than the movie (just based on the previews I've seen). The first half of the book is the strongest - a good story with detailed insights into the college admissions process. It kind of peters out toward the end, but it's not bad. Definitely a good read for any kid or parent who has ever been through the college admissions process.
books1533's review
2.0
This book had an interesting premise, and I was looking for it as soon as I heard about it. But, it took way too long to get into the main plot, and at times it slogged through.... I found myself really having to push myself to finish; liked it well enough to want to see how it ended, but not enough to really be interested. Does that make sense?
As someone really interested in higher education -- and as someone with advanced degrees who thought they would be working in the university system -- I loved the peek into the admission process. However, I grew weary of Portia's (the main character) self-involvement. I get that the admission process is fraught with anxiety, etc. That many kids feel their self-worth is defined by where they go to college. That people hold her responsible if their kid didn't get into the college of their choice. Got it. Portia is not curing cancer here.... she is one of many people involved in the admission process. I found myself disliking her -- and understanding that she was carrying around this heavy weight of her importance to the world because she had nothing, and no one, else.
As someone really interested in higher education -- and as someone with advanced degrees who thought they would be working in the university system -- I loved the peek into the admission process. However, I grew weary of Portia's (the main character) self-involvement. I get that the admission process is fraught with anxiety, etc. That many kids feel their self-worth is defined by where they go to college. That people hold her responsible if their kid didn't get into the college of their choice. Got it. Portia is not curing cancer here.... she is one of many people involved in the admission process. I found myself disliking her -- and understanding that she was carrying around this heavy weight of her importance to the world because she had nothing, and no one, else.
karenmaloney's review
2.0
A lot of verbal diarrhea. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for it, but I really felt like we beat the dead horse, otherwise known as the admissions process, A LOT. I have not seen the movie, but I was really questioning why someone would read this and think it would make a good movie. they must have really beefed up the relationship and interactions between Portia and John...
audimka's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
holly_117's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars I feel like this book should have been 150-200 pages shorter. Parts of this book were really interesting, but other parts really dragged. Portia is not an entirely likeable character - she's paralyzed by the smallest upsets in her life, so when some really huge life changes happen, she totally melts down. This is where the book kind of fell apart for me. There's way too much description of Portia's depression, how she doesn't eat, barely sleeps, doesn't shower or wear clean clothes, etc.
The parts of the book talking about the college admissions process and the other characters were more interesting. It's a fairly fast read even though it's over 600 pages in paperback.
The parts of the book talking about the college admissions process and the other characters were more interesting. It's a fairly fast read even though it's over 600 pages in paperback.