Admission

(Grand Central)

The main character of this novel set at Princeton, Portia Nathan, is an admission officer struggling with her role as gatekeeper to the University and with a buried secret from her past. Her professional standards are challenged when she meets a talented but undisciplined high school student. The story explores the college admission process, Nathan’s difficult relationship with her mother, and her breakup with the Princeton English department head who leaves her. Korelitz was a part-time reader for Princeton’s Office of Admission.