Is Truth Stranger than Fiction? You Decide

As any parent of a college-bound high school student can attest, truth can sometimes be stranger than fiction. In the process of applying to colleges, many families have experienced enough ups and downs to literally fill the pages of a book. Author Karen Stabiner has used some of those real-life stories as inspiration for her new novel, “Getting In,” which tells the story of five fictional high school seniors making the journey toward college.

 As the The College Insider columnist for The Huffington Post, Stabiner has plenty of material on which to draw. According to a review in the New York Times, the book presents “an unflattering and hyped picture of competition and cruelty among high school students and parents, with threats exchanged over valedictory standings, bribes extended to prospective colleges and lavish gifts presented to admission counselors.” One of the overriding messages in the book is that parents are overly involved in their children’s experiences and need to learn to let go. As for students, they finally learn that growing up is even more important than “getting in.”