[Review] Small Admissions - Amy Poeppel

Summary: Despite her innate ambition and Summa Cum Laude smarts, Kate Pearson has turned into a major slacker. After being unceremoniously dumped by her handsome, French “almost fiancé,” she abandons her grad school plans and instead spends her days lolling on the couch, watching reruns of Sex and the City, and 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.

Miraculously, and 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 or nonsense during the height of the admissions season, or what her colleagues refer to as “the dark time.” As the process revs up, Kate meets smart kids who are unlikable, likeable kids who aren’t very smart, and Park Avenue parents who refuse to take no for an answer.

Meanwhile, Kate’s sister and her closest 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 downstairs 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. (Pub Date: Dec 27, 2016)

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

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.

Rating: 3 out of 5.