I received Admission from LibraryThing's Early Review program and was excited about reading it based on some very good reviews I'd read on other blogs. Once it arrived, though, it fell to the same unfortunate fate as so many books and languished on my shelf for way too long. Once I picked it up I got into the story quickly, and wished I'd started it sooner.

I never gave much thought to the college admission procedure, but I loved reading about it. The process is complex and wonderfully interesting. The admission officers have a tough, but very rewarding job, and I found the behind the scenes information fascinating.

Portia has her history with an old boyfriend hanging over her head, and this is hinted at throughout the book. The situation isn't revealed until about 3/4 of the way through the book, and I found it to be a little unneeded. At this point in the book I was already invested in the characters and happy with where the story was going without this 'twist'.

Overall, Admission is a fascinating story, if a little wordy. For me, the book could have been shorted considerably and not lost any of its appeal. The same arguments about which students should get into Princeton popped up multiple times, and I could have done without the third or fourth rehashing of this issue. But, even with the length, I would still recommend Admission. ( )

Interesting story set against the issue of admission to a Ivy League university. Liked the main character. Worth reading. Will be on my best book of 2009.

I've seen a number of other reviewers suggest that Admission is overly long, but I would have to disagree. I purchased this for my Kindle so had no real idea how long it was until I added here (although with 8000+ locations I certainly knew it wasn't short). I finished it in less than a day.

The novel is about the life of a Princeton admission officer. The first half is primarily about admissions and what that entails, and the second half about Portia's life.

For my part I found the first part to be most interesting. I particularly enjoyed the sample essays that began each chapter ( )

Portia is a still young woman who works in the Admissions office for Princeton. After spending the first part of her career working with students on the West Coast, this is her first admissions season at home in the Northeast. Portia has a long term live-in boyfriend and an extremely distant relationship with her “crunchy-granola” feminist mother. It quickly becomes clear that her life has no direction. She isn’t moving forward in her relationship or in her career, and this may all be related to unresolved issues she has from her college years and her childhood. It isn’t until she is forced to look at her life through a chance encounter and an unnerving revelation from her boyfriend, Portia would have stayed exactly where she was. Now that she's forced to come to terms with the past and the present, she needs to decide what is most important to her.

I was very excited to read this book after listening to the author's Blog Talk Radio interview and because I was reading it along with Laura from I'm Booking It. We used Twitter to hold a mini book club meeting. I wish it had been a better novel. I stopped really caring if things worked out alright for Portia at just over half way mark. It was a long novel and Portia's continual analysis of the minutia of her life drove me crazy. I skimmed the rest of the book. I would have stopped reading it if it weren't for the discussion with Laura. It was a "meh" read for her as well, but for different reasons. Laura wanted more about the admissions process while I wanted out of Portia's head and into her life. Laura was much quicker on the draw than I was to write her review. It says it better than I can. The first sentence of Laura's review says it all:

"My biggest problem with this novel is that I kept wishing it was a different book." ( )

Admission is an extraordinarily well researched book about the frenzied sequence of events prerequisite to that sacred letter of acceptance from THE College of one’s choice. This book was quite the education in starting infants on the right track to commander not only the best college, but also providing access to acceptable associations to deliver entrée into the preeminent circles of life.

Portia Nathan, an admission representative for Princeton travels throughout the Northeast to ferret out the best of the current crop of high school students upon whom to bestow the promise of a ticket to Princeton. A paper trail of SAT’s, extracurricular achievements, letters of recommendation, and parental subterfuge cram each student’s folder. Apprehensively, the indispensable essay dominates the paper pile, and the weighted folder awaits the first reader’s assessment. The process continues as the folder passes to the second reader, and on to the selection committee for discussion and final determination.

Lest we lapse into a coma, Korelitz is kind enough to include sub-plots, which reveal the undercurrents within Portia’s seemingly stable life, which crumbles under the weight of a portentous secret. While I was not surprised at the daily strictures today’s high school students endure, not only at school, but also at home, I am grateful such mechanics were not the standard during my college application days. ( )