Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel

Twenty-something Kate has a meltdown after a bad breakup with Robert (who's French, so think Ro-BEAR). She wallows on the sofa and can't seem to get her life back on track. Her hyper-efficient sister Angela gets her an interview as an admissions officer for a tony middle school in NYC. After one of the unintentionally funniest interviews on record, she is surprised to get the job and begins her journey into the world of obsessive and sometimes downright crazy wealthy parents who WANT THEIR KID to go to Kate's school.

Parts of this book are hilarious. There are several plots going on at once--involving the kids applying to the school and their crazy parents. Involving Kate seeming to get her act together. Involving Kate's friend Chloe (who introduced her to the dastardly Ro-BEAR) and is going out of her way to find Kate a new man (some of those scenes are very funny). And then there's Vickie (call me Victoria)--Kate's "friend" who really has no sympathy for Kate's plight after the breakup and kind of has her eye on Ro-BEAR for herself. Vickie, Vickie, Vickie.

It's a good story about friends and finding your way--in a unique setting. The thing I did find confusing at first was figuring out who was narrating big chunks of the story (in italics). I'll give you a clue: It turned out to be Chloe.