RaveThe New York Times Book Review...wise and addictive ... The Gifted School is the juiciest book I’ve read in ages. It’s a testament to Holsinger’s storytelling prowess that a novel revolving largely around something called the Cognitive Proficiency test (or the CogPro, as everyone refers to it) manages to be both a suspenseful, laugh-out-loud page-turner and an incisive inspection of privilege, race and class. By the time the characters get swept up in the second round of the admissions process...the lying, jealousy and backstabbing reach staggering heights ... Holsinger doesn’t shy away from the moral questions implicit in defining what it means to be gifted without acknowledging that not all children start from a level playing field ... A novel’s success or failure lies in a series of small choices on the part of its author. At nearly every turn, Holsinger makes smart ones — right up to the book’s stunning final lines.