All Loves Excelling — Josiah Bunting

Not since A Separate Peace has the world of prep school and tortured adolescence been portrayed with the sensitivity and authenticity that distinguish this novel by a former headmaster of the prestigious Lawrence-ville School, near Princeton. All loves Excelling is a story of the fierce competition for admission to select colleges, of the equally fierce ambition of parents and school authorities -- and how they combine to wreak havoc on one teenager and her family.