The only thing that matters to these kids and their parents is acceptance in the college that they have chosen. Robbins' investigation shows that they will go to nearly any lengths to assure that success.  They drive themselves to illness and emotional breakdowns and even resort to cheating in some cases, by selling their projects to each other.  Some of the students come to the conclusion that no matter how much they achieve, it will never be enough to satisfy their parents or themselves.  These teen portraits provide us with an overview of what goes on with the kids who are at the top of their class, the ones who have been in advance-placement classes and pushed by everyone to out-do themselves 

Robbins critiques the system, and gives her opinion of what's wrong with education in America today.

She takes on college rankings, parental pressure, and the meaninglessness of standardized testing. 

Our educational system has many ills, and the pressure the top ranking students suffer is considerable, but is it, as Robbins contends, a national crisis?

Her suggestions on how to alleviate teens' stress when they feel that they are too far behind their peers and will never succeed make sense, and should be required reading for parents of these overachievers. 

Because I have an overachieving granddaughter, this engrossing book held my interest and helped me to understand  the parents' point of view...it also prompted me to offer some suggestions to them.  (Nosey, interfering grandma that I am....)

This book would make an excellent gift to anyone, parent or teen, who is considering applying to a name-brand university.