Admissions

My wife's book group read Admissions and she raved about it. With a little one applying to private school here in Atlanta, it came highly recommened by her. What a enjoyable read. Normally I'm a Michael Connelly, James Hall kinda reader, but Lieberman's book was funny, good characters, and a boffo finale.

Most people don't find my reviews that helpful. I use the opportunity to write a review as a substitute for a good book club. Forgive me. As a mother of a child who is now at what may very well be The Downtown School, I can swear to you that this witty and delicious book captures the essence - or should I say the absolute corruption - of the admissions process. The book's genius is in the details. The vivid descriptions of how the characters look, act and dress will keep most readers in stitches. (I won't spoil anything by giving anything away!) As my mother used to counsel me, "Don't get mad, get even!". Ms. Leiberman cetainly got even, and the rest of us can enjoy the ride.

I thought Admissions was an incredibly funny, witty and incredibly well-written book. It bubbles over with New York jokes yet has a pertinent and poignant side to it. Anyone who's been through the "I must get my child (or grandchild or friend of a child's family) into a good elite provate school will find this book compelling. It made me laugh out loud and kept me in suspense. Does our heroine, Zoe, get into the "right" school? A totallay good read!

As your typical (neurotic) Upper Eastside parent, Admissions is already the rage among the parents of my daughter's eighth grade classmates. Everybody is talking admissions! Two years ago my son went through the New York private school entry process and I felt like I had descended into Dante's 7th ring of hell. Lieberman doesn't miss a single beat here, or leave anyone unscathed with a viciously funny turn of the screw. She nails how I felt every single day until our acceptance letters arrived in February. The behind the scenes plotting, the helplessness, the mood swings, the hilarious craziness of the entire process make the truth almost stranger than the fiction!!! Admissions is the "Guide to the Elite Private Schools the Elite Private Schools Don't Want You to Know About". The question among my friends is what is the Fancy Girls School? (Brearly? Spence? Chapin?) What about The Progressive School (the funniest portrayal of any school visit I've ever experienced-- outside of our own personal one at Trevor Day, but that's a whole other story!!!!) This is going to keep people guessing all year... Ironically, for such a New York book, it really isn't such a NY story. My friends in Washington, Tampa, Chicago, Houston, and especially LA all have their own variations on this same theme (only the names and places have changed to protect the innocent).... though by brilliantly choosing to broadly paint the academic institutions by generic category (The Very Brainy Girls School...The Safety School... The Bucolic Campus School), Lieberman creates a world that relatable to everybody. Even those parents who are considering public school-- because face it, if my daughter gets into Stuyvesant or Hunter this year, she'll be going in a nanosecond.

..... then you'd have Admissions. A hysterical, satire that is a cross between Bonfire of the Vanities and The Nanny Diaries. Lieberman draws a hilarious picture of the seamy underbelly of the admissions circus. Her characters are believable, the situations are relatable, and entire scenes make you laugh out loud. I had to live through this nightmare last year when my daughter was applying to Pre-K, and Admssions doesn't miss a beat. It's just like my life, only a whole lot funnier. Admissions gets an A+ from this mom!!!!!!!!!!