Small Admissions

Kate Pearson has got to snap out of her funk, get over her broken-hearted disappointment, and get on with her life. So say her best friends, her sister, her parents, the lady at the liquor store, and even her downstairs neighbor. Everyone has a suggestion, but it isn't until Kate stumbles into an assistant admissions job at a prestigious New York private school that her balance, self-confidence, and humor return. The title refers to both the small children applying to the school and the small insights into human behavior that enlighten and instruct Kate. Performer Carly Robins has a large cast of characters to represent and does best with the secondary ones. She has a light touch and enthusiastic approach in her overall reading; however, she is less successful in differentiating between Kate and her best friend Chloe, which is unfortunate, given the device of having both of them be the primary voice at different points in the book.