Ariel Horn Levenson is an American novelist and teacher. She is known for turning her job-finding difficulties as a new college graduate into a humorous novel: ''Help Wanted, Desperately.''

Biography

Horn grew up in the Short Hills section of

Millburn, New Jersey Millburn is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 20,149, reflecting an increase of 384 (+1.9%) from t ...

, where she attended

Millburn High School Millburn High School is a four-year public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Millburn (including its Short Hills neighborhood), in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school ...

. She is a graduate of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, where she was a columnist for the

Daily Pennsylvanian ''The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc.'' is the independent student media organization of the University of Pennsylvania. The DP, Inc. publishes The Daily Pennsylvanian newspaper, 34th Street Magazine, and Under the Button, as well as five newslette ...

. She studied for a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in English at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. Horn has taught English at the

Dalton School The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in ...

on Manhattan's

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

, at the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy, and at a public charter school in upper Manhattan. Horn's sister,

Dara Horn Dara Horn (born 1977) is a Jewish American novelist, essayist, and professor of literature. She has written five novels and in 2021, released a nonfiction essay collection titled ''People Love Dead Jews'', which was a finalist for the 2021 Kirku ...

is also a novelist. Horn has been a resident of

Livingston, New Jersey Livingston is a township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 29,366, reflecting an increase of 1,975 (+7.2%) from the ...

''Help Wanted, Desperately''

In the spring of 2002 Horn was in her senior year at the

and was being interviewed for an entry-level job with a New York management consulting firm. ''Help Wanted, Desperately,'' follows a thinly fictionalized version of Horn, Alexa Hoffman, through "a roller coaster ride of job interviews" as a college senior. Her plan is to avoid going home to

Short Hills, New Jersey Short Hills is an unincorporated community located within Millburn Township, in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a popular commuter town for residents who work in New York City. As of the 2020 United States Census, the CDP's pop ...

after graduation at any cost. Her Plan B if all else fails is to go teach English on the Pacific island of

Majuro Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...

. The novel "hilariously chronicle(s)" a series of job interviews that include earthworm breeder, Broadway actress, and deodorant sniffer. The novel was published by Harper Collins in 2004. ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'' wrote that Horn used her "own job-interviewing experiences for comic effect."

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horn, Ariel Living people 21st-century American novelists The Daily Pennsylvanian people Millburn High School alumni New York University alumni People from Livingston, New Jersey People from Millburn, New Jersey American women novelists 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)