Academic Pressure

The novel explores the negative effects that academic pressure can have on small children, and questions the decisions of the parents who put such harsh demands on their offspring. While many of the parents want their children to get into Crystal Academy in order to make themselves feel superior to the other parents they know, the emotional toll is placed on the children rather than the parents.

The novel begins with Emma Zellar taking the CogPro test, a standardized test that her parents are intent on her passing so that she can get into an elite public school for the exceptionally gifted. Emma Zellar is not particularly gifted, but she has been told by her parents that she is gifted. And so, when she is asked to perform well on the standardized test, she tries her best, but is incredibly frustrated when she is unable...