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    Small Admissions: A Novel
    Small Admissions: A Novel
    Small Admissions: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Small Admissions: A Novel

    Written by Amy Poeppel

    Narrated by Carly Robins

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Despite her innate ambition and Summa Cum Laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being dumped by her handsome, French "almost fiance," she abandons her grad school plans and spends her days lolling on the couch, leaving her apartment only when a dog-walking gig demands it. Her friends don't know what to do other than pass tissues and hope for a comeback, while her practical sister, Angela, pushes every remedy she can think of, from trapeze class to therapy to job interviews.
    For reasons no one (least of all Kate) understands, she manages to land a job in the admissions department at the prestigious Hudson Day School. In her new position, Kate learns there's no time for self-pity during the height of the admissions season. Meanwhile, Kate's sister and friends find themselves keeping secrets, hiding boyfriends, dropping bombshells, and fighting each other on how to keep Kate on her feet. On top of it all, her cranky, oddly charming, and irritatingly handsome neighbor is more than he seems.
    Through every dishy, page-turning twist, it seems that one person's happiness leads to another's misfortune, and suddenly everyone, including Kate, is looking for a way to turn rejection on its head, using any means necessary-including the truly unexpected.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateDec 27, 2016
    ISBN9781681683768
    Author

    Amy Poeppel

    Amy Poeppel is the award-winning author of the novels The Sweet Spot, Musical Chairs, Limelight, and Small Admissions. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, and Working Mother. She and her husband have three sons and split their time between New York City, Germany, and Connecticut. She would love to hear from you on Twitter or Instagram: @AmyPoeppel or at AmyPoeppel.com.

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    Reviews for Small Admissions

    4/5

    116 ratings11 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Small Admissions. Amy Poeppel. 2016. Kate loses it when she is dropped by her French boy friend Robert, drops out of grad school, and spends the year on a sofa moping. Thanks to her sister she gets a job in the admissions department of a spiffy private school in NY City. Kate interviews prospective students and their aggressive parents. She gradually realizes that the relationship with Robert was a mistake begins to come into her own as a person. There is not much to this book even though the reviewers found it hilarious. The only laugh-out loud parts were the descriptions of Kate’s parents who are college professors in the social sciences. She really hit the nail on the head, so much so that it almost worth reading the book just for that.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable chick lit about Kate Pearson who re-invents her young life from horrible breakup (French Robert), grad school drop out (bio-anthropology) and a year on the couch to become an admissions director at a private NYC school, Hudson Day School. Very 20-something with all these existential issues, but funny and charming and clever. Multiple points of view (Kate's responsible sister Angela who has deviated from the family academic tradition to pursue high-powered career and family; the flighty Pearson parents who are on sabbatical studying native peoples around the globe, Kate's best friends Chloe (who blames herself for Kate's breakup since French Robert is her cousin) and Vicki (who wants Kate to move on so she can put moves on Robert). Some wacky private school parents and applicants figure in once Kate gets her new life-changing job and the whole thing is a send-up about over-achieving and trying to create the perfect life. EVERYthing gets tied up very neatly by the end, but also makes this a little longer than necessary. Good escape.
    • 5/5
      Small Admissions by Amy PoeppelSource: Overdrive Audio/Public LibraryMy Rating: 5/5 starsThe Bottom Line: Holy Hannah!! Some people are just bat-sh*t crazy and that is especially true when it comes to getting their kids into the best schools! Kate Pearson has NO idea what she’s getting into when she accepts a job in the Admissions office of the prestigious Hudson Day School. To be fair, her new job is a far, far cry better than what she’s been doing over the past year, and her family and friends are thrilled to see her finally moving on with her life. Over the course of the admissions season, Kate not only gets back on her feet, but learns some valuable lessons about life, finds her confidence again, and discovers the value of true friendship. This book takes one on a roller coaster of ride of emotions from the seriously sad, to the utterly unbelievable, to the absolute in ridiculous, to sheer hilarity. I often found myself laughing aloud and, by the end of the read, wishing for a sequel!
    • 5/5
      This was really excellent: I enjoyed everything about it - the humour, the characters, the happy ending. The parts relating to the private school admissions prospects were entertaining, but at least half the pages were devoted to Kate finding her way in the world generally.The best book I have read for ages.
    • 4/5
      Very funny account of a failed graduate student who becomes an admissions officer at a private school.
    • 3/5
      Took me a little longer than usual to get into the story of this book, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Some moments of amusement and also insight, such as the picture below from about 3/4 through the book:"At every meal in Deutschland they ask if you want your water flat or "mit gas." You, my dear, are flat. Kate has gas. We need both kinds. We need loan analysts as well as carbonated people who jazz around. the bubbles may look out of control, but ultimately they know in which direction they're going."
    • 3/5
      A chick lit like I haven't read in a while.

      Kate's best friend and her sister are very worried about her since a terrible breakup. It's not until she finally got a job—must have been some mistake!—that she can finally show signs of recovery. Even if her academia self doesn't seem to agree with assisting admissions to 12-year-olds at a school, the match couldn't be more perfect.

      This was very uplifting and still relatable. The type of story in which everything goes wrong, and the main character can't help herself back up—and even us readers are at a loss of what to do.

      I mainly enjoyed the characters. They seem too many in the beginning but as you warm up to the book, you really can't wait for their dialogues. These were the story's forte. Also, the way their stories crossed one another time and again was quite amusing.

      The author attempted a different approach, rotating points of view of Kate's, her friends' and her sister's, using that to introduce the side stories. In my opinion, however, this wasn't that well executed; it took me too long to get into the story as each character would pop up here and there. Too much happening and too little seeming to matter. I felt too distanced from Kate to care because of that. Still, with time, I could finally enjoy it as a whole.

      While I feel the author could have made an excellent job of being the next Cabot or Kinsella, and it's been a while since I though anyone had it in her, this book fell short. The reading had great moments and I ended it with a good feeling that this was somehow memorable. On the other had, the beginning was too slow—as I mentioned, I felt too distant from the main character to care—and even in the middle the book still had ups and downs, as well as too many unnecessary scenes just for the wit. Truthfully, the ending was also too long, to a point I forgot I still hadn't finished it.

      Good, feel-good book but needs edition. Nevertheless, I look forward to this author's next works. As it can only get better, I certainly want to read them.

      Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.
    • 5/5
      OMygoodness, what a wonderful debut novel for Amy Poeppel! I tried to make this book last because I knew I would miss every character after I was done. Quirky, funny, and a good catch of human emotions.We have to pay attention to how we should treat our dear friends and family.She shows us how it takes a village, and that they all teach us to get through life as individuals when we need to be. I hope Amy has many more reads in store for us just as entertaining as this one!
    • 5/5
      I absolutely LOVED this book. Small Admissons is so clever and at times side-splittingly hysterical. As I read it and even now several weeks later, I remain amazed that this is Amy Poeppel’s debut novel. The book is that good. While I obviously loved every bit of the book, my two favorite things about it were the characters and the format. Kate, her co-workers and those she encounters on the job, and her friends and family are well-developed and highly entertaining. Having just survived the private school application process myself, I really enjoyed reading about the various parents applying to the school where Kate works, particularly the more over the top families. The format Poeppel chose works very well for her plot; in addition to the standard storytelling method, the book unfolds in memos, emails, and other correspondence which really added to the story. I highly recommend this novel and cannot wait for her next book!
    • 5/5
      Small Admissions is a story that weaves in and out of the cutthroat world of private school admissions in NYC (which is fascinating), but the true heart of this tale are the four women who are connected by blood, friendship and one bad boy (ex) boyfriend. Amy Poeppel has an incredible wit and she brings each character to life in a picture-perfect way. I found myself chuckling and cheering all the way through the book.And I'm one of those people who says, "ciao," which, when I got to that part, made me burst out laughing in a public place, garnering many looks from the people around me! In my defense, I do speak Italian. ;pSmall Admissions is a fun and funny read which I greatly enjoyed.
    • 3/5
      Kate Pearson is going through a rough time. She's been dumped by Robert, her incredibly handsome French boyfriend, and she turned down a spot in her grad school program, so instead of living a dream life in Paris, she's living on the couch, barely able to wash her own hair. Her friend Chloe feels responsible (Robert is her cousin, after all), her friend Vicki is just annoyed (Vicki has no patience for wallowing), and Kate's older sister Angela just wants to fix everything. She connects Kate to a lead for an interview at the admissions department at the Hudson Day School. Surprising everyone, Kate gets the job, and suddenly has to get her life together. There's no time for self-pity during admissions season, after all. Indeed, Kate finds herself drawn to her job, her new colleagues, and the various children she meets while at work. And while Kate's working non-stop, her friends are busy falling in love, feeling guilty about their role in Kate's earlier breakdown regarding Robert, and generally making a mess of things. Will Kate make her own mess at the new admissions gig as well, or is this the fresh chance she needed?

      I am torn somewhat on my thoughts for this book. It starts off quite witty and drew me in immediately. It's told from a multitude of perspectives, including Kate's friends (Chloe and Vicki), her sister (Angela) and Kate, and Kate's new boss, Henry. It's also interspersed with tales of several children trying to get into private school, along with the perspectives of their parents. There's definitely some nuance and depth there, but sometimes it's A LOT. A lot of characters, a lot of jumping of back and forth. I won't lie: Kate's friends certainly annoyed me at times. The side show with them can be humorous, but often just irritating. I found myself wanting more Kate.

      The problem with all the jumping around is that I didn't really get to know the characters as much as I wanted, which was a shame, because they were fascinating. Kate, Chloe, Angela, Henry -- they were intriguing and, when featured, seemed real, even if Angela was driving us crazy meddling into Kate's life, as was Chloe with her never-ending guilt over her supposed role in Kate's breakdown. Poeppel has done an excellent job of creating real, flawed characters, and I just wish they all received a little more face-time. The snippets from the kids (and parents) applying for school are great, too, but it's hard not to see them sometimes as a detraction from our main characters, especially a side plot with two fervent (and delusional) parents.

      Still, don't think I didn't enjoy the book, because I did. There are some wise and wonderful moments and some instances where I found myself laughing out loud. Kate is endearing, and you cannot help but rooting for her character. This book is redeemed by her and her journey. She is an inspiration. Because of her and my various feelings for this novel, my final rating falls at 3.75 stars.

      I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 12/27/2016.