About the Book

Originally published in hardcover in 2015 by Doubleday.

Book Synopsis

From the bestselling author of Vacationland comes a novel that perfectly captures the mania of the college admissions process as a seemingly perfect family comes undone by a few desperate measures, a long-buried secret--and a teenage girl's application to Harvard.

"A fun, fast-paced, completely engrossing tale of a California family trying to get their eldest daughter into Harvard.... Brilliant and enjoyable on every level." --Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of 28 Summers

The Hawthorne family has it all: great jobs, a beautiful house in one of the most affluent areas of northern California, and three charming kids with perfectly straight teeth. Then comes eldest daughter Angela's senior year of high school.

Suddenly, everyone is floundering. As Angela writes and rewrites her application for Harvard--her father's alma mater--and struggles to maintain her position as valedictorian, Nora Hawthorne's career hits a rough patch, taking her away from a newly distracted husband and uncharacteristically anxious younger daughters. And as the secrets everyone has been keeping will come to light, it sets the family on a final collision course that will force them to reevaluate, with humor and heart, the value of achievement.

Review Quotes

"A fun, fast-paced, completely engrossing tale of a California family trying to get their eldest daughter into Harvard. Let me rave: this book is brilliant and enjoyable on every level." --Elin Hilderbrand, author of The Rumor

"The Admissions proves that no cookie-cutter family is as perfect as they seem. . . . Incredible." --Good Housekeeping

"Meg Mitchell Moore is a tremendously talented storyteller. Brimming with humor and warmth, The Admissions introduces readers to a family so insightfully drawn and deliciously flawed that it will remain with you long after you reach the final page.... I loved it!" --Meg Donohue, author of All the Summer Girls

"The Admissions is a smart, hilarious, compelling novel about college applications, suburban scandals, and risky secrets. I couldn't stop reading about the Hawthornes--a picture perfect family who will 'keep up with the Joneses' until they burst." --Jennifer Close, New York Times bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses

"There's plenty of drama--and a surprising amount of comedy--in the convergence of events that exposes all of the family secrets. But while Moore lets her characters unravel, she doesn't leave them in pieces." --Shelf Awareness

"Terrific. . . . [Moore's] background as a journalist lends a crisp deftness to her delightful writing style, and engages the reader immediately." --The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)

"Stellar. . . . A page turner as well as an insightful character study." --Publishers Weekly

"Moore presents her characters in all their flawed glory and lovable short-sighted determination, spinning out the story of one family's collapse and rebirth with energy and wit. Part thought-provoking commentary, part zany satire on the definition of success and the choices some are willing to make to achieve it, this is a book that is sure to earn a good deal of attention." --RT Book Reviews

"When a high school senior is vying for Harvard, her whole family sizzles in the pressure cooker and schadenfreude (good SAT word) runs amuck. . . . Achingly real and delightfully cheeky." --Sally Koslow, author of The Widow Waltz

"A wonderfully complex and relatable portrait of a family and the secrets they keep to protect each other and themselves. When the truth threatens, you'll turn pages faster than ever." --Charity Shumway, author of Ten Girls to Watch

"An engaging, droll and spot-on study of what happens when aspirations become obsessions, when integrity and good sense bend to the allure of preferred outcomes." --David McCullough Jr., internationally bestselling author of You Are Not Special

"With her razor sharp wit and stirringly keen insights, Meg Mitchell Moore digs deep into the zeitgeist of a modern family desperate to keep their heads above water. . . . An undeniably addictive read." --Emily Liebert, author of When We Fall

About the Author

MEG MITCHELL MOORE is the author of the novels The Arrivals and So Far Away. She worked for several years as a journalist for a variety of publications. She lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her husband and three daughters.