Reviews with content warning for Racism - Admissions: A Memoir of Surviving Boarding School

“White effort never gets to the foundation of the problem itself, because that would require acknowledging that the foundation of whiteness is the problem and that, in turn, might hurt the endowment.”

➽ Admissions was an interesting memoir about Kendra James' time at a prestigious boarding school. I thought that the topic was interesting, so I enjoyed learning more about Taft and how the author struggled as one of the few black students on campus. No matter that she's a legacy, Kendra had many different experiences compared to her white peers that she unpacks here. I liked the discussions of systematic racism, especially in such an elite institution that is supposed to directly feed into the Ivy League!

➽ The actual writing of the memoir left a lot to be desired though. A lot of time is dedicated to rehashing the drama of Kendra's teenage years and the descriptions often felt superficial and repetitive. The commentary could have been stronger there, but I feel like the author focused more on retelling as much of her past instead of giving it meaning by digging deeper into her emotions. It was also a bit disappointing that her memoir only briefly touches upon life after Taft and her adulthood. It would have been more interesting to see her work as an admissions officer and how that intersects with the experiences she had at Taft as a black student!

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cosmicpasta's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

4.0

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_savannahreads_'s review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced

3.75

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lindsayerin's review

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challenging funny reflective fast-paced

4.25

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this_momma_is_booked's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I loved how funny and real Kendra was throughout this book. She was so genuine in her reminiscence of being one of the few Black students in a boarding school, which is definitely not a perspective we see very often at all. I also find it ironic that, despite her experiences, she chose to remain in that world with her career (though I can definitely understand how helpful it is to future Black and minority boarding school students to have someone like Kendra guiding them). I would have liked to see more of the connections between her time at Taft and her adult life - how did those experiences shape who she is today and delve deeper into why she remains a part of this world.

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ashp's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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laurynmc's review

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emotional funny informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

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