Admission by Julie Buxbaum

Title: Admission

Author: Julie Buxbaum
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: December 1, 2020
Pages: 304
Source/format: e-ARC//Publisher
Rating: ☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes an of-the-moment novel that peeks inside the private lives of the hypercompetitive and the hyperprivileged and takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country.

It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer. She's headed off to the college of her dreams. She's going to prom with the boy she's had a crush on since middle school. Her best friend always has her back, and her mom, a B-list Hollywood celebrity, may finally be on her way to the B+ list. It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--at least, it was, until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal. Chloe, too, might be facing charges, and even time behind bars. The public is furious, the press is rabid, and the US attorney is out for blood.

As she loses everything she's long taken for granted, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat for her? What did she know, and when did she know it? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean to be complicit?

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Chloe Berringer is your average student who is trying to obtain a high SAT score in order to get into a good college. She attends Wood Valley and is super stressed out about the SATs. Chloe's best friend, Shola, has amazing SAT scores and high GPA, which causes Chloe to freak out a bit whether Chloe will succeed in life since she struggles academically. 

Admission flips back and forth between the present (now) and past (then) of what is happening now when Chloe's mother is arrested and charged for being apart of an admissions scandal and the past of what events lead to the scandal. Readers see what it's like for being the teenager whose mother is involved in such a scandal.  Dealing with the pressure of being a teenager is already hard enough. Now Chloe must endure cyberbullying and doxing as Chloe tries to navigate her life after her mother is arrested.

What hurts even more is Levi, Chloe's boyfriend, doesn't want to talk to her anymore after learning about the scandal. She tries to tell him it's not what he thinks but he blocks her via text. Chloe is devastated so many people hate her. Even Shola refuses to return Chloe's texts. Chloe feels alone and even her lawyer tells her not to talk to anyone. This isolation affects her immensely.

Julie Buxbaum's novel touches upon college admissions bribery scandals that have happening lately involving celebrities. I love how she included text messages involving Shola/Chloe, Levi/Chloe and the encrypted chat Chloe has with other teenagers involved with the admissions scandal. This makes the story plot realistic and current. 

Admission includes huge theme about what privilege means including socio-economical privilege and racial privilege. Shola tries to show Chloe what it is like not to be super rich and not to be white. Things are not handed to people on a silver platter. Shola talks about FAFSA and Chloe had know clue what Shola was talking about. Shola tells Chloe that she doesn't have any private tutors or private consultations for appointments. She even tells Chloe how her younger siblings didn't get into Wood Valley and how she didn't get into Southern California College, a college Chloe gains an acceptance letter to. Shola tries to describe what it is like in her shoes when she mentions to Chloe, "Welcome to the real world, Chlo." But instead, Chloe says, "Maybe you guys should move to a better school district." What a slap in the face! 

I found Chloe to be a bland in personality. She is always putting herself down and whining about everything. There is nothing interesting about her. Chloe is insensitive and is stuck in this super privileged bubble that she doesn't see the struggles of others. She is super naive. I don't understand how she didn't think it was strange to take a SAT test at another site who doesn't ID SAT test takers, to give her college application login to a random person or to overhear a "donation" for 250k. Chloe didn't even question these random requests. I would love to get to know Shola better in a short story or a companion novel. Reading Shola's journey to success would be a great read and it would be inspiration for many teenagers.

Overall, Admission is a novel for readers who want to read a fictionalized version of the college admissions scandals. I highly suggest readers to pick up Tell Me Three Things, also by Buxbaum, and is also set at Wood Valley. 

What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

Title: What to Say Next
Author: Julie Buxbaum
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: July 11, 2017
Pages: 272
Source/format: ARC from Emma of Missprint as part of the ARC adoption feature

Rating: ☆☆☆☆ 

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes a charming and poignant story about two struggling teenagers who find an unexpected connection just when they need it most. For fans of Sophie Kinsella, Jennifer Niven, and Rainbow Rowell.

Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.

KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.

DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?

M Y  T H O U G H T S

David Drucker was surprised that Kit Lowell sat next to him during lunch. Although they are complete opposites of one another, they are able to start a meaningful friendship. Julie Buxbaum is able to tell a genuine story about a guy who is on the spectrum and a biracial girl who just lost her father in a car accident. Although there is a loss in the story and Kit is overwhelmed with grief, she finds solace in David.

What to Say Next is told in first person dual narrative. Julie Buxbaum is able to tell a story through the eyes of David and Kit and what obstacles they have to overcome everyday. She describes what David has to go through as the "weird" kid with the super popular sister. Kit, on the other hand, is going through tough times after she lost her dad but she also is having a hard time reconnecting with her current friends. Buxbaum also touches upon what it means to be biracial in an almost all white community and how families interact when races collide through Kit.

I love how David has his quirky moments and how he jots down things in his notebook. Although many people see David as different, he doesn't pay much mind to others. He marches to the rhythm of his own drum and finds ways to occupy his time. Kit finds out that she is a changed person after the death of her father and is trying to find herself. What to Say Next reminds readers that every cloud has a silver lining. Although there are obstacles and tough times in life, there is always something positive that can some out of it.

What to Say Next is a light read that will remind readers that there is always light in darkness and that opposites can be friends and sometimes even something more. Contemporary lovers will enjoy this novel. There is even a dash of mystery for the curious and a slight twist at the end.

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Title: Tell Me Three Things
Author: Julie Buxbaum
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Publication date: April 5, 2016
Pages: 336
Source/format: ARC from publisher

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

What if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met? 

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved? 

M Y  T H O U G H T S

Jessie Holmes is starting her junior year of high school after moving to Los Angeles from Chicago. Her mom has passed and her dad eloped with a woman who has a son also in the same grade as Jessie. Seven days after starting Wood Valley High School, someone with the name Somebody Nobody e-mails Jessie. From that day on, Somebody Nobody has become a good friend. However, who is this mystery person? Who is SN?

Julie Buxbaum writes an honest story. Jessie doesn't fit in with the rich kids at the elite private school she attends. No one is there for Jessie except her new friends Adrianna (Dri) and Agnes. Even SN tries to help her navigate the Wood Valley High School. But who is SN? Caleb, Liam, Ethan or some other guy that knows her?

Buxbaum showcases healthy female relationships. Jessie's best friend from Chicago, Scarlett, still keeps in touch and they have a strong friendship despite the distance between them. Dri and Agnes are always there for Jessie. Buxbaum tackles a variety of tough topics such as transferring schools, making new friends, bullying, safe sex, parents remarrying and even touches upon socioeconomic upbringings.

The adults in the novel are in their own world and do not even consider that Jessie is going through a tough time. All they claim is that they are trying to understand. However, as the novel progresses, Jessie and her dad finally have a conversation at the end of novel which I thought was important for both of them to express their feelings of the transition. Mrs. Pollack, Jessie's English teacher, also has a conversation about fitting in which I think is crucial.

I love the formatting of Tell Me Three Things. Buxbaum includes Jessie writing in first person. Readers also get to read the text exchanges between Jessie and Scarlett as well as the e-mails and IMs she sends and receives from Somebody Nobody. The way Buxbaum weaves in a subtle mystery within a contemporary is brilliant. It works so well in the novel.

If you are looking for a cute, heartfelt contemporary in the vein of The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord, definitely pick up Tell Me Three Things. This novel is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year so far.