Admissions

Price: $17.95

Item #00039 Admissions. Eric Sasson.

Place Published: Braddock, PA
Publisher: Braddock Avenue Books
Date Published: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 9780998966762

Synopsis:

In New York City, college isn’t just paid for—it’s bought. Admissions draws back the veil of privilege on New York’s affluent applicants and the families that will do anything to secure their futures. The right high school, the right SAT tutor…everything counts. On top of that, there’s the application itself. Describe yourself in one thousand words.

Uptown. If Gabrielle Levy had to describe her daughter Arianna in one thousand words, her first words would be “brilliant” and “unstoppable”—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Gabrielle will do anything to make sure her daughter’s future is wrapped up with a bow, preferably in Princeton colors. She’s even hired one of New York’s top SAT tutors, Randall Miller. When she learns that another top student at prestigious Valhalla High might be applying to Princeton as well, she knows there’s trouble. In her mind, Mandela Robertson has one uncontestable edge over Arianna: race. Diversity, rather. To secure her daughter’s place at Princeton, Gabrielle formulates a plan that will change her daughter’s life—and her own—in ways she never dreamed.

Downtown. SAT tutor extraordinaire Randall Miller isn’t feeling so extraordinary. His job at the tutoring company is bringing him down, his novel won’t write itself, and The One isn’t anywhere in sight. At least he has a steady client at Valhalla, Arianna Levy. When another Valhalla student, Legion Cartwright, falls into Randall’s lap, he can’t believe his luck. But Legion needs more than SAT prep—his father let him play the stock market with his college tuition and he lost everything. After meeting Randall—and seeing the way he looks at him—he knows this tutor might be the solution to all his problems if he plays things right. As Randall finds himself falling for Legion, his novel finally starts to take shape around their impossible relationship. When Legion raises the stakes, demanding the ultimate sacrifice, Randall can’t refuse. If nothing else, he needs to know how his novel ends.

In an astonishing, challenging debut, Eric Sasson fashions a kaleidoscopic narrative of refracted perspectives that converge into a portrait of a flawed system and those it would break or mold.

Praise for Admissions

Eric Sasson's Admissons is one of those rare books that--with
precision, wit, and insight—explains us to us. With neither
condescension nor sentimentality, Sasson gives his imperfectly human
characters due process; the result is a thrilling, eminently
fascinating and fresh read.
--Darin Strauss, author of Half a Life: A Memoir

Admissions is that rare first novel that sings. Compulsively readable
and laugh out loud funny, Admissions's whip-smart wit, big heart and
unforgettable characters makes it one of the best debuts I've read in
years. I can't wait to shout about this outstanding novel from the
rooftops, and press copies into the hands of readers.
--Julia Fierro, author of The Gypsy Moth Summer

In his debut novel, Admissions, Eric Sasson takes on the world of
wealthy New Yorkers with a wild sense of humor, a sharp eye and true
compassion for his complicated characters.
--Ellen Sussman, New York Times bestselling author of French Lessons and
A Wedding in Provence.

Written in candid yet elegant prose, this sizzling debut novel grants
the reader entree into an Upper West Side world of scandal and
privilege. Sasson pulls off the most difficult fictional trick: he
puts his readers squarely inside the hearts of people behaving badly,
telling their stories in their own language while creating empathy for
each. A page turner from start to finish!
--Sian Griffiths, author of Borrowed Horses

Author bio

Eric Sasson's short story collection Margins of Tolerance (Livingston Press, 2012) was the runner-up for the Tartt First Fiction Award. His stories have been nominated for the Robert Olen Butler prize, the Pushcart prize, and one is in The Best Gay Stories 2013. For three years, he wrote “Ctrl-Alt,” a column on LGBT culture for the Wall Street Journal, and he is a frequent contributor to Vice, The New Republic and GOOD magazine, among others. His articles have been featured on “Meet the Press” and “Morning Joe Scarborough,” and in 2017, he was part of the team that was awarded the National Magazine award for Personal Service. He was born and bred in Brooklyn, where he still resides.

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