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Sebastian Ritscher
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SMALL ADMISSIONS

Amy Poeppel

A shrewd and deliciously funny debut novel about Kate, a young woman unexpectedly thrust into the cutthroat world of New York City private school admissions. In the tradition of The Nanny Diaries and Where’d You Go, Bernadette, this is a fast-paced, gimlet-eyed take on city life, human nature, and falling in love.
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.

Amy Poeppel is a graduate of Wellesley College. She lives with her husband and three sons in New York City, where she worked in the admissions department of a prestigious independent school. She workshopped a theatrical version of Small Admissions at the Actors Studio Playwrights/Directors Unit. She later expanded it into this novel.
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Book

Published 2016-12-27 by Emily Bestler Books / Atria

Book

Published 2016-12-27 by Emily Bestler Books / Atria

Comments

This debut novel might be described as “The Devil Wears Prada” meets “Primates of Park Avenue.” A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the daunting admissions process at an elite Manhattan private school, “Small Admissions” offers a tantalizing if shallow premise.

Set against the backdrop of a prestigious New York City day school, Amy Poeppel’s debut novel is a book about rejection, acceptance and our ability to maneuver between the two.... If Small Admissions has a lesson, it’s that rejection does not have to be absolute. What appears to be an obvious failure may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as both Kate and theseanxious parents come to learn. Read more...

A dishy, LOL delight

Trenchant, funny, and observant...as a prose artist Ms. Poeppel leaves nothing to be desired, except this desire: that she write more and more, and as well as she does in this, her assured debut.

Us Weekly included SMALL ADMISSIONS in the January 9th issue as a Wonderful Winter Read!: Amy Poeppel's charming debut is a lesson in self-acceptance.

A hilarious look at New York's prep school scene… [and] a laugh-out-loud funny look at status and rejection in all its forms, from the classroom to the bedroom. Read more...

Small Admissions is quick-witted and razor-sharp. With a chorus of varied and absurd voices, you'll laugh at everyone involved while secretly fearing that you see yourself in the mix. Amy Poeppel manages to tell a story both poignant and hilarious, hinting that this wry and absorbing debut is the beginning of an exciting career.

This novel is a slow burn but has a firecracker ending

In this absorbing story, Amy Poeppel brings her razor-sharp observations of the postures and pretenses found in our culture, in our cities,and especially in the world of admissions. Amy’s gift for dialogue, shown through the sidesplitting banter between our appealing, young heroine and the parents and children she interviews, will delight readers. Amy Poeppel displays a well of insight, forgiveness and wit that not only marks a talented writer, but the launch of what promises to be a marvelous career.

An excellent debut. Read more...

People Magazine selected Amy Poeppel’s SMALL ADMISSIONSas their Book of the Week in the January 9th issue!: This tale of love and friendship is escapist fun of the highest order: sweet, smart and satisfying down to the last pleasing twist.

In the terms of writing a book that is charming, appealing, and delightful, author Amy Poeppel has hit it out of the ballpark... so genuine and hilariously amusing... After reading Small Admissions, you’ll share my excitement in discovering such a talented new author, and such a charming, charming book. Read more...