Acceptance

Although it got off to a clunky start, I loved this book...it brought me back to the college admissions process (14 or 15 years ago, eek!) which, oddly enough, I thoroughly enjoyed at the time. It makes a great subject for a satire, especially with the growing competitiveness and insanity of the application process. At first, the characters seemed like types (a problem I also had with Tom Perrotta's The Abstinence Teacher, a similar book in style and subject matter), then they became more developed and rounded, and I thought the blurb on the back of the book -- "A satire with heart" -- was true.

Characters included Olivia Sheraton (an ice-queen admissions officer who melts a little bit by the end), AP Harry (the miraculously obsessive show more student bent on getting into Harvard), Maya (the genial and attractive Indian swimmer, probably the most well-adjusted of them all), and Taylor (The Bell Jar-loving, vaguely Goth mail hoarder). show less

As a college counselor, I felt I had to read this book, but it also grabbed me in as well with its quick style and familiar characters. The novel was based in a Maryland suburb, and it could have been set in Northern Virginia -- a DC suburb I used to live and teach in. The different storylines of the 3 main characters -- all high school students going through the college application process -- were engaging because they were written as real characters with real hopes and flaws. But as the novel continued, the surrounding cast of characters developed into every horror admission story caricature. It was still entertaining, and the ending is fulfilling. So, while I fear that the novel perpetuates stereotypes that will make my job harder, I show more did enjoy it as a fun, quick read.

It links to our class theme, Utopias and Dystopias, because college has become so defined as a utopia -- something that must be achieved at all costs or your life will be a permanent dystopia. We see these students struggle with this pressure. I hope that through my own work as college counselor, I can bring perpsective to this unreasonable view of the whole college search process. And this is why everyone should read Loren Pope's _Colleges that Change Lives_ as the perfect antidote to the stress. There are wonderful schools out there, schools that offer in many ways better educations than "name schools" -- our society needs to learn this. show less

The book itself was fine, a not-so-veiled jab at the wealthier suburbs in Montgomery County, Md. and the college admissions obsession therein. I am curious as to whether the writer read Overachievers (Alexandra Robbins' non-fiction look at Walt Whitman HS in Montgomery County) because some of the similarities are WAY too similar. For example, Robbins talks about AP Frank, a student who has set records for taking AP classes at Whitman and is being pushed towards Harvard. One of Coll's main characters, AP Harry, has set similar records and also years for Harvard. Robbins describes a character whose immigrant mother ultimately physically beats him for not "excelling enough" to the point where he moves in with friends. A minor character show more does the same thing.

A quibble--The kids in Acceptance seemed almost too wholesome to me. Before all of you angels who never got in trouble in high school pipe up saying "But I never . . .," it strikes me as wholly unrealistic that these kids, growing up in the environs they did, would be so innocent and naive, like something out of Pleasantville. The one character who has "major issues" rings false. I think the issue is you never see a side of the kids other than their school obsessions, and anyone who has been through the admissions process knows that life doesn't stop when you're applying for college (Robbins did a great job pointing this out, actually), but that it's one more thing to balance. show less

I guess this was funny... in a completely stressful way. I thought it was interesting to see the college admission process through so many points of view and it made me realize that 1) I'm really glad not to be in high school anymore; 2) while I was worried about where to go to college, there were other people worrying on my behalf; and 3) the cycle continues when you have kids of your own.

This book started out like gang busters. I was completely sucked in and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. But somewhere around the halfway mark it just slowed down and petered out. I don't really understand why it happened - given the way that it is written is naturally geared towards a crescendo as the acceptance letters near - but nevertheless it just went limp for me.

It was a fine read - I wouldn't go out of my way to read it though.

Although college is many, many years behind me, when I came across an old review of this book I was enchanted with the character AP Harry. I immediately went to my kindle and purchased Admission (oops). I was several chapters in (and completely engrossed) before the I realized AP Harry would not be making an appearance.

Frankly, Admission with its focus on Yale admission officer Portia is the better book. Acceptance is engrossing in many ways, but ultimately fails because it focuses on far too many characters.

You have the afore mentioned AP Harry and his concerned mother Grace. Emotional trainwreck Taylor and her pushy mother Nina. Sweet and confused Maya with her unrealistic parents. And Olivia a college admissions officer at Yates a show more college that all three students briefly visit, but only two apply to (and only one really even cared about).

The inclusion of Olivia and the unrealistic straights the university suddenly finds itself in (sued by a native american tribe and suddenly without litigation insurance due to a vacation by a senile lawyer) detracted seriously from the novel.

I'm also am not a fan of "cutting" as the new teenage angst and whenever I see it am reminded of painfully bad fanfiction. I loved however the whole mail thing, more so because my own mail service is unreliable at best. show less

Reviewed by Mrs. Foley
Follows the lives of three high school juniors--Taylor, Maya, and Harry--as they apply to a number of colleges and cope with the pressures of their teachers and parents, and an admissions advisor, Olivia, who struggles to sift through applications after her university was accidentally placed ona list of the top fifty schools in the country. - from library catalog record

I read this for our facutly book club meeting. Our theme was humor and although I would call this satirical, I hesitate to say it is humorous (at least by most people's definition). I did enjoy reading it eventually...it took awhile for me to get interested. Anyone dealing with students who are trying to get into the "Ivies" for college or students show more who overstress about college acceptance might want to read it. Then again...maybe not!

Review from School Library Journal:
This book follows a handful of high school students throughout the year leading up to their graduation. It is a harrowing and hilarious story told from the points of view of the teens and their families as they navigate the maze leading to the holy grail of acceptance by a major university. Coll celebrates and skewers the people and the politics waged on both sides of the application process as the students pick their dream colleges and these institutions either pick them back or toss them onto the scrap heap of second- and third-tier safety schools. The characters evolve through their trials and learn about themselves and one another and accept the loss of one dream while embracing another. They include Harry, a scarily normal overachiever; Maya, the talented but seemingly least gifted of a wealthy Indian family; and Taylor, a girl teetering on the verge of self-abuse or self-discovery. These are teens who come from fairly affluent families and schools. They are treated with respect and love by the author, and readers will return the favor. YAs interested in the college selection process will find this book illuminating as they see in it their own fears acted out and resolved. It reads a bit like a Stephen King novel minus the horrific ending. show less