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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 3329 |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 09:10 pm |
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I just finished reading Acceptance, by Susan Coll. This is a fiction look at the college journeys of three families and one very harried admissions counselor at a college that has just moved up one spot on the US News rankings through a data calculation error. It is one of the funniest books I have read, and I highly recommend it. Whether you're finished with college applications, or just getting started, you will recognize at least one person you know (perhaps even yourself) as your read, and just crack up! I swear, it is like reading a funnier version of College Confidential. Just be careful to read in private, because you WILL find yourself laughing out loud at certain parts of the book.
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scoop
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| Joined: | Wed Oct 4th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 577 |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 12:45 am |
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| I have it on order and am glad to hear that you liked it.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1218 |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 01:43 am |
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Is it in bookstores? I need to read something funny!
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CalifCarolyn
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| Joined: | Tue Apr 4th, 2006 |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 01:58 am |
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oh I have got to find it, read it, and then pass it on.......and now that I have time for pleasure reading..................................... 
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limner
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| Joined: | Sun Jul 16th, 2006 |
| Location: | Tennessee USA |
| Posts: | 820 |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 01:20 pm |
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| I've barely been able to keep up with my New Yorkers lately, but that sounds like a great read. Okay, off to Amazon . . .
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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 05:46 pm |
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ALL four of you guys will like this book. It just cracked me up because it rings so true. Would make great summer reading, but only if you aren't already sick of college admissions.
My favorite laugh out loud moment: AP Harry, one of the characters in the book, gets panicky because Washington U stops sending him mail. He's sure this is a sign that he won't get into Harvard. Later, you discover that another character in the book has been stealing his college mail from his mailbox, including "40 pieces of mail from Washington University."
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
| Posts: | 1218 |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 09:08 pm |
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I'm trying so hard to be a good mom of a graduating senior. Plenty of invisible duct tape, not getting too worked up about anything that can't be changed now anyway, not going overboard inviting dozens of people to graduation, but I need an outlet! I noticed the author's last name is Coll. Is that short for "college?" I won't forget her last name!
Mail stories aren't too far-fetched. My friend's mailman handed her an admissions packet and said, "Congratulations on your son's acceptance. His friend down the block didn't get in." Even the mailman was into who got into what schools.
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yayamama
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 1st, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 78 |
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Posted: Sun May 13th, 2007 02:56 pm |
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The mailman in our neighborhood knows EVERYTHING. One day I saw him several blocks away and he yelled, "I heard your daughter was in the newspaper. I don't know what paper but congratulations."
Under what scenario someone could have informed my mailman that some kid on his route was in an unnamed paper is beyond me, but it made me slightly terrified.
i am going to get the book Acceptance, because it sounds great!
ps Westrnmom, I think you're doing splendidly well as the parent of a graduating senior.
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Thumper
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 226 |
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Posted: Sun May 13th, 2007 04:31 pm |
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| I'm going to have to get this book...just to see if *I* am like one of the characters in it!! Thanks for the suggestion. I have a bunch of gift cards to Barnes and Noble...I guess I have to make a trip!!!!
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openmind
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| Joined: | Mon May 8th, 2006 |
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| Posts: | 107 |
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Posted: Sun May 13th, 2007 06:19 pm |
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| Funny you should mention this! I think I heard about this book on CC. I put my name on the hold list at the local library and I was called Friday. I read it in one sitting. I live in suburban DC, albeit on the other side of the Potomac, so I felt as if it really hit home.
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entomom
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 362 |
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Posted: Mon May 14th, 2007 04:45 pm |
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I just put it on hold at our library. I saw a positive review of it the other day, in the New Yorker, I think. Should be a good summer read now that the process is over in our household for awhile  . That's a funny story about Washington U, particularly since for some reason they think my D will be attending this fall  . I wonder if they'll keep sending her mail next year, just in case.
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HijinksAndSue
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Posted: Thu Jun 7th, 2007 12:10 am |
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Carolyn, thank you SO much for recommending this book!
I've just started it and since I'm not on the road and am slamming several crazy deadlines, I haven't had my usual enforced travel downtime where I virtually inhale a book at one or two sittings ... so I'm only at the beginning of June
But I am LOVING it ... of course thanks to being addicted to this board I am so familiar with many of the apocryphal stories referenced in it ...
But I also live in the area that it's about (not 100 percent sure which school/town she is referring to but I could take a very educated guess, no pun intended ... ... we live one or two towns and a million educational miles up I-270). So there are a lot of local references that truly hit home (especially the one about how all the kids got cel phones in school after the sniper incident).
I plan on buying her previous book "Rockville Pike" on my next trip to Borders ...
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yayamama
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 1st, 2006 |
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Posted: Thu Jun 7th, 2007 11:58 am |
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Once I received Acceptance in the mail (because the local Borders was SOLD OUT), I read it in one sitting! Fantastic. I totally relate to every character in the book, and sadly saw myself in several of the mother characters. Time to dial back AND break out the duct tape.
I just lent the book to my good friend, whose son reminds me of either AP Harry or his best friend Justin. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of it. Then her son's going to read it, although he may be too involved in the process to find it amusing.
Thanks for the rec!
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Thu Jun 7th, 2007 02:51 pm |
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| I think that is what I loved and hated about the book: I could see bits of myself in several of the main characters too. And, who didn't wish that their kid was a bit more like AP Harry? LOL!
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hummingbird
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Posted: Thu Jun 7th, 2007 08:18 pm |
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| I just placed a library hold for it... I am #13!!! Guess it'll be a while before they call me.
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PrimetimeMom
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| Joined: | Mon Mar 6th, 2006 |
| Location: | Los Angeles |
| Posts: | 157 |
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Posted: Mon Jun 11th, 2007 11:01 pm |
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I read the book this past weekend. I LOVED it! I especially liked the characture "Taylor". I enjoyed her metamorphisis and it reminded me of my angst ridden teen years. This has to be one of the more enjoyable books I've read this year. I didn't want it to end.
If anyone is interested in my copy I'd love to pass it on. First person to PM me gets it
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CarolynLawrence
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| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Tue Jun 12th, 2007 02:28 am |
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| Hummingbird, If I can find what I did with my copy, I'd be happy to send it along to you if you want it. Just PM to discuss the particulars.
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hummingbird
Member
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Posted: Tue Jun 12th, 2007 03:53 am |
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| Thanks Carolyn, but PrimetimeMom is sending me her copy - and I will pass it along to someone else when I am finished.
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Wstrdg
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Posted: Tue Jun 12th, 2007 06:17 pm |
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I just finished Admissions, and while it was cute, it seemed too similar to a few other things that I've read recently. Definitely a nice, quick, entertaining break, but not too hard to put down and go to sleep, if you're the type who reads before bed. Each chapter is a nice length: 12 chapters, titled May through April. May begins with an end of junior year college tour, and April concludes with pre-frosh enrollments.
Specifically, the character AP Harry seemed unbelievable. I'd have to choke him. And the name is reminiscent of AP Frank, from Alexandra Robbins supposedly true chronicle of today's top students, The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids. Now that I think of it, Maya, another character from Admissions, also reminds me of one of the overachievers' profiles.
The neurotic mother reminded me, too, of characters from The Cereal Murders, by Diane Mott Davidson. This is another quick read, a send-up of a posh private school where everyone obsesses on class rank and SAT scores. It's older, and a little dated, but also cute.
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CarolynLawrence
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Posted: Tue Jun 12th, 2007 09:52 pm |
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Wstrdg wrote: Specifically, the character AP Harry seemed unbelievable. I'd have to choke him.
I kept thinking that he reminded me of kids I've encountered on various internet discussion boards...
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