Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz

Maybe it's because we just went through the college admissions process, but I really enjoyed this book. It's the story of Princeton University admissions counselor Portia Nathan who, at 38, is experiencing either some kind of mid-life crisis or post traumatic stress disorder, or a combination of both. Her marriage and career are disintegrating, but yet she's on a mission of self discovery. Written by someone with real life experience in the ivy league admissions field, it would not be a bad idea for future ivy league applicants and their parents to read this novel for an insiders view. It's eye-opening.

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple

Another interesting book. Maria Semple's first novel takes place in L.A. with a cast of characters with so many personality disorders that it's hard to believe she's able to pull it all together so well. It's sort of like a soup that has a list of ingredients that you would never think of using together — and yet, the end result is delicious. It's the story of Violet, her husband, David and her bizarro friend/lover Teddy, David's diabetic sister Sally and her love interest Jeremy and their life in and around 90210.

Testimony by Anita Shreve

I'm almost finished with this book and I can't really say I've enjoyed it that much. It's an easy read, but the topic is pretty depressing. The characters are students, parents and staff at a prep school in Vermont. A sex scandal occurs and decimates many lives. Promising young lives are destroyed by one night of alcohol and poor decision-making. Of course there's some sordid adultery among the adults involved as well, which leads to the students' downfall.