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Admission

Julie Buxbaum (Goodreads Author)

3.63 · Rating details · 3,161 ratings · 840 reviews

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 s ...more

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Hardcover, 304 pages

Published December 1st 2020 by Delacorte Press

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Jan 18, 2020 Julie rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Are you supposed to review your own book? I don't know? I'm probably supposed to play it cool, right? But here's the thing: I've never learned how to play it cool. I only know how to play it honest and a little too earnest. So the unvarnished truth: I love this book. (Also true, I might be a bit biased.) I loved writing this book. (This is a hard fact.) And, perhaps most of all, I very much hope you love this book even half as much as I do. Because if you did that would be very, very cool. ...more

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May 17, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it it was amazing

This is my record time of reading: My hands were glued to my e-reader and my mind is already conquered with the family scandal. I was truly book thirsty wild literature animal and I was invested from the beginning.

When I read the plot about: college admissions bribery scandal and B- lister Hollywood celebrity Joy Field’s arresting: I think I’m reading a story about Lori Loughlin’s trial case. There are too many things in the book are similar with the actress’ real life story including being B This is my record time of reading: My hands were glued to my e-reader and my mind is already conquered with the family scandal. I was truly book thirsty wild literature animal and I was invested from the beginning.

When I read the plot about: college admissions bribery scandal and B- lister Hollywood celebrity Joy Field’s arresting: I think I’m reading a story about Lori Loughlin’s trial case. There are too many things in the book are similar with the actress’ real life story including being B minus Hollywood star but after her sitcom’s remaking on Netflix, she got a chance to be B plus lister. And just like Lori Loughlin: Joy gets sacked from Netflix and Hallmark. She has two daughters just like Lori and she pleaded guilty just like Lori did. ( confession: when I first read the book, Laughlin was pleading not guilty but two weeks later I finished the book: she changed her mind as her lawyers advised her which brought out more real life similarities with the book’s character)

I’m not gonna tell you if Joy follow the same path: You gotta read this impressively intense, perfectly developed family drama going between now and then to tell how their life changed and how they face the consequences of the mistakes they’ve made.

First of all: this book is not written to judge a wealthy family who cheat their way to reach their goals and using their white privilege notoriously to get what they never deserve. I’m one of the people who got really mad after reading the stories about the real scandal, 33 parents’ accusation of paying more than $25 million between 2011 and 2018 to William Rick Singer.

As like the real scandal; our heroine Chloe Wynn Berringer’s college application essay was rewritten and her photographs were photoshopped and doctored and of course her score was inflated. So many young people work too hard to reach their dreams to get a proper education at elite colleges with little financial resources and push too hard to get a scholarship including Chloe’s best friend Shola’s story who is coming from immigrated Nigerian middle class family.

The author chose a real provocative and thought-provoking subject. It’s so challenging to tell a story about one of the most unlikable family (when you consider there are so many similarities with the real life characters) but interestingly you find yourself root for the characters of the book and you start to see the events from their perspective.

Chloe is mediocre, privileged girl who still doesn’t find her passion or her goal for her life surrounded by A-grader, high achiever friend Shola, intelligent and ambitious, perfectionist sister Isla and golden boy of the school Levi. When everyone around her shines with their highly impressive achievements and big life purposes, detailed future plans, she starts getting more lost and insecure. And of course she doesn’t want her family to be embarrassed by her lack of competitive skills but even though she’s working harder and do everything to get a better SAT score, she gets more panicked and her score is getting lower at her each try.

When her mother finds a special consultant called himself: “doctor” and arranged some other place in West Hollywood for taking the test, she doesn’t question her motives. She knows her mother is competitive, ambitious and hard-worker women who wants best for her kid. And when the test result came showing 200 points higher than her last one she thought there might be some mistake and she tried to tell several people including school consultant but as she sees her mother’s hopeful face and listening to her friends’ motivational speeches, she stops questioning further. She suspects something fishy going around but it was too late to admit her doubts to someone when FBI bangs their door and handcuffs her mom in front of their neighbors and army of paparazzis.

Throughout my reading I mostly liked Isla: one year younger sister of Chloe: the smartest, most mature and practical member of the family even though she is the youngest one and the effects of scandal in her life. Her efforts to bring the family back to face the realities and her harsh but realistic methods to help her sister were well-written. I loved the sisters’ quirky ways of communication and of course I enjoyed the conclusion of the story.

Overall: I had amazing time and I enjoyed the well-developed characterization and intriguing, fast, remarkable pace of the story. I normally give four stars but I’m adding half more and rounding 4.5 to 5 because the brave subject choice and incredible story-telling skills of the author.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for sharing this remarkable ARC with me in exchange my honest review. ...more

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Dec 22, 2020 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2020, young-adult, contemporary

I think that Admission missed out on a lot of opportunities to offer a complex and nuanced - and, ultimately, more interesting, in my opinion - story based on the 2019 Admissions scandal, instead becoming a fairly basic examination of rich girl privilege.

There were a lot of ways the author could have approached Chloe's story. She could have explored the suffocating experience of having your parents micromanage your life, believing in your own capabilities so little that they resort to buying you ...more

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Mar 13, 2020 Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell rated it really liked it

Shelves: les-arcs-de-triomphes, ya-ya-land

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

Like other pretentious people on the internet, one of my favorite things to do is watch TED talks. That was how I found out about Jon Ronson and his many fascinating discussions on internet shaming. The video I watched was called How one tweet can ruin your life , but he also has a book about the subject as well, and it's all about the pile-on effects of internet vigilantism and how a single misstep can result in devastating consequen ...more

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Apr 14, 2020 Christy rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-ya-challenge, 2020-three-stars-or-less

3 stars   

Admission is a story about a high school senior named Chloe. Chloe has a somewhat famous mother, a great dad, and is living her best life in a lot of ways. She finally has the attention of her long time crush, and she has a great best friend. If it wasn’t for the pressure of her college applications, she’d have it made.

Chloe isn’t the best student, and it looks like all of her dream schools are out of reach. Her mom hires an admission coach to help her get into the college of her drea ...more

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Jan 22, 2021 Elyse Walters rated it really liked it

Shelves: family-relationships, audiobook, contemporary-fiction, humor, coming-of-age, women

Audiobook....read by Julia Whelan

I’m a sucker for these ....‘admission’ - type - books....
stories with students, school culture, friends, family, drama.....
PROBLEMS that need examining.....
But THIS STORY...(in reality)....was NO JOKING MATTER....
That said....in the wonderful world of fiction....young adult author, Julie Buxbaum, chose to add a little embellished storytelling-FUN-while lightly hitting readers over the head with just how messed up our values are — how messed up people are — how ...more

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Mar 29, 2020 Berit☀️✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, advanced-reader-copy

A thought provoking story about privilege, complicity, and accepting responsibility. Ripped from the headlines and loosely based on the recent college admission scandal. Julie Buxbaum does a good job of humanizing the story without making excuses. As a Parent who has gone through the college admission process twice in a very competitive California environment, I found the story to be telling, compelling, and relatable. The public schools in California are extremely hard to get into if your chil A thought provoking story about privilege, complicity, and accepting responsibility. Ripped from the headlines and loosely based on the recent college admission scandal. Julie Buxbaum does a good job of humanizing the story without making excuses. As a Parent who has gone through the college admission process twice in a very competitive California environment, I found the story to be telling, compelling, and relatable. The public schools in California are extremely hard to get into if your child has a 4.0 or even a 4.4 it does not mean they are going to be a sure bet to get into any of the top colleges in the UC or CSU system. And the same is true for the private schools. It is a stressful time and as a parent you want to give your child every opportunity, and when the college admission scandal news broke it was not shocking. Unfortunate and definitely not right, but not surprising. The story is told from the perspective of high school senior Chloe. Chloe appears to have everything she wants she got into the school of her dreams, her boyfriend is the boy and she’s been crushing on forever, and she has one heck of a best friend. Then one day The FBI shows up at the crack of dawn and everything changes. It seems as though Chloe‘s mother a B-list star has paid her way into college. Now her mom might go to jail, her boyfriend has broke up with her, and her best friend won’t talk to her. not to mention she is no longer going to that school of her dreams. Sound familiar?

The story bounces back-and-forth in time, before the scandal and after. Chloe was a likable character who I really felt for. She really got sucked up into her parents dreams and did not want to disappoint them. In the book she was really kept in the dark about what was going on. She did realize things weren’t really adding up, like how did she do so well on the SAT when she was certain she bombed it? And my heart broke for her when she felt as though it was all her fault because her parents thought that she was too “dumb“ to get into college. This was something these parents clearly did not think about. The person I felt the most for in the story was Isla, Chloe‘s younger sister. Isla was smart and studious and was definitely going to get into college on her own merit, but the scandal will forever impact her as well. I liked how the story unfolded, I was definitely disappointed in some characters, frustrated with others, but very impressed with some as well. Chloe did a lot of self reflecting and had a lot of growth throughout the story. I am confident that she will rise from this and come out of it a better person. I would love to see a follow up and see where Chloe and Isla are in a few years.

This book in emojis 🏫 ✏️ 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧

*** Big thank you to Random House for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. *** ...more

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Nov 29, 2020 Larry H rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

Julie Buxbaum's new YA novel, Admission , is a fictional look at the recent college admissions scandal.

Chloe doesn’t love school. She enjoys spending time with her friends and all the perks of going to an exclusive private school, but schoolwork doesn’t come easy to her, and her grades and SAT scores reflect that. She doesn’t know what she wants out of life or if she even wants to go to college.

Her mother is a B-list television actress and her dad is a wealthy businessman, and they want Chloe ...more

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Mar 29, 2020 Ari rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads, netgalley-arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Blog | Instagram | Twitter

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

The side door was the only way in for people like me:
not smart enough to get in on their own,
not quite gilded enough to buy their way in legally.

Unapologetically honest. That is the best description for Admission, and the facts that Julie Buxbaum has given us: those with money want to buy their way toward the bigger and the better, and more often than not, they accomplish it. I ...more

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Mar 28, 2020 Stephanie rated it it was ok

I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard about the big College Admission Scandal. Many wealthy parents, including a couple celebrities, used a “consultant” to cheat their kids into prestigious colleges. Admission is an account of a fictional family facing the fall out. However, if you’re hoping for more emotional insight than you’ve seen on the news – or that Lifetime Channel movie – then you’re going to be a little d I received a copy of this title via NetGalley. It does not impact my review.

Unless you live under a rock, you’ve heard about the big College Admission Scandal. Many wealthy parents, including a couple celebrities, used a “consultant” to cheat their kids into prestigious colleges. Admission is an account of a fictional family facing the fall out. However, if you’re hoping for more emotional insight than you’ve seen on the news – or that Lifetime Channel movie – then you’re going to be a little disappointed.

The crimes of Chloe’s parents are taken directly out of the headlines and seems to be a combination of both Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, though I definitely felt more of a tilt towards Loughlin. The story read a lot like the Lifetime movie of the scandal, except the movie was a little more interesting. The slow pace and unlikable characters made the book a chore to get through. There is even a part early on where Chloe is in English class discussing a book and is reminded that readers don’t need to like characters in literature, which feels like a cop out for not making the characters of this book more developed or empathetic.

The chapters alternate between Now and Then, with the Now chapters starting with the FBI showing up and the Then chapters starting with Chloe struggling to study for the SATs. I have to say I found the Now chapters much more interesting. Most of the Then chapters felt a little like filler that basically just highlighted all the ways that Chloe was unaware of her rich, white privilege. There are snippets of Chloe ignoring the weird things her parents were doing – telling her she has ADHD to get accommodations on the SAT, going through her phone to find a picture where she has a good tan that someone might be able to confuse for some Argentinian heritage, etc. The past chapters also chronicled her relationship with her best friend and friend-turned-boyfriend, who were both pretty underdeveloped caricatures.

I think the story would have benefited by adding some other POVs. Or even making at least one of the characters a little more calculating. Here everyone knows what they’re doing isn’t on the up and up exactly, but they also don’t think it’s really that bad. The whole point of the story seems to be to cast a light on how privileged people don’t fully grasp their privilege and it’s effect on others. All explained to us by a privileged white lady…

Overall, I found Admission pretty disappointing. The main character was whiny and unrelatable, there wasn’t really anything in the story that you haven’t already read in the news, and the overall moral of the story about wealthy, white privilege came across as kind of trite. Also, the cute romance I expect from a Buxbaum book was almost completely missing here. The one bright spot in the book was Chloe’s sister, Isla, who was the only character who didn’t feel like a complete cliche, even if she was a little unrealistic.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 2 Stars ...more

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Feb 03, 2020 PinkAmy loves books, cats and naps rated it it was amazing

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of ADMISSION by Julie Buxbaum in exchange for my honest review.***

5 HUMUNGOUS STARS achieved without any felonious cheating or bribery

What if you were an average high school senior among the elite? What if your younger sister, best friend and your not-so-secret crush were brainiacs who barely had to study? What if you knew you weren’t good enough?

Chloe believes her low self-esteem is warranted. After her actress mom is arrested for f ***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of ADMISSION by Julie Buxbaum in exchange for my honest review.***

5 HUMUNGOUS STARS achieved without any felonious cheating or bribery

What if you were an average high school senior among the elite? What if your younger sister, best friend and your not-so-secret crush were brainiacs who barely had to study? What if you knew you weren’t good enough?

Chloe believes her low self-esteem is warranted. After her actress mom is arrested for fixing her SAT results and college admission, now the world knows too. Chloe blames herself for her mom needing to go to such extreme and illegal measures. If she were smarter, her mom wouldn’t have felt the need.

Julie Buxbaum’s ripped-from-the-headlines fictional story ADMISSION, aside from being compulsively readable, gave me an entirely different perspective on the real life scandal playing out in the news. Initially, I saw the true story as one of privilege and entitlement, spoiled kids who never had to work for anything. ADMISSION is not that story.

Chloe’s privileged life is not her fault. While not the best student, she’s not a slacker. She loves her volunteer work because unlike school, reading to kids comes easier to her and she excels. Loving school isn’t difficult when learning comes easy with the added perks of constant external validation. Those kudos are not Chloe’s experience.

Her mom may seem like the villain, for cheating on Chloe’s behalf, especially when we see poor minority mothers sentenced to years in prison for enrolling their children in better public school districts by falsifying residency. Beneath both of these crimes, love of children motivated poor decision making.

Before reading ADMISSION, I judged Felicity Huffman harshly. I didn’t consider a wide variety of possible reasons. I didn’t know one of her daughters had a learning difference, which affected her standardized test taking and grades. I didn’t know Felicity’s daughter’s level of suffering from her mother’s lack of faith in her, self-blame and the possible lifelong damage to their relationship. Federal prosecutors better ask jurors if they’ve read ADMISSION during voir dire or else acquittal will be guaranteed at trial.

Through complex characters and beautiful storytelling Buxbaum caused me to open my mind, google and develop empathy and a broader perspective. I never felt as if Buxbaum was lesson teaching or spoon feeding me opinions. I was fully immersed in Chloe’s journey, experiencing her feelings and going through her trials and triumphs.

Buxbaum’s books get better and better. She’s a must-preorder writer for me.

My strongest recommendations for ADMISSION.

ETA: the audiobook is wonderful too ...more

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Dec 20, 2020 Ink&Paper rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2020-releases

Money makes you weak because it tricks you into thinking you’re strong

Sometimes authors surprise you. I had labeled Julie Buxbaum as someone who wrote cute YA contemporaries, but with her new release, that mindset has been totally eerased from my mind. Admission is definitely not a cute YA novel, it delves into topics that need to be adressed
Chloe Berringer often complains that her life lacks colour, there are no adventures in her life and nothing out of the ordinary. But when the FBI knocks on her door in the morning, her wish for something new in life quickly diminishes. When the headlines in popular news channels proclaim the crimes that her mother committed, all she wants to do is lay low. But wherever she turns, she’s greeted with “JOY FIELD, SITCOM STAR, ARRESTED ON MULTIPLE FRAUD CHARGES IN COUNTRYWIDE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL.”

Chloe’s college application was rewritten, her scores were inflated and her ethnicity changed, just so that she could get into whichever school she needs. The important thing that needs to be understood is that a white author has penned this novel, and it is not about the privileges that whites have over others, instead it focuses on how all those privileges make you blind and force you to do things that are immoral.

Chloe is portrayed as someone who had ADHD in her applications and given extra time on her SATs. Even though she knows that all her conducts are wrong, she decides to play the silent spectator. Guilt and shame are gnawing her heart out and she is also faced with the realization that her best friend Shola who is black had to work so hard to ensure a spot in college, while Chloe had an upper hand.

This novel can be really upsetting if you are not reading it the way it should be read. Yes it is about people with financial privileges bribing to make their way in, but it has deeper meanings. (I’m not spelling them out, because it is evident in the novel when you read it and reflect upon it. It is about how parents think they are doing the right thing for their children, but in reality they aren’t.

Bribery, scandal, lies, white superiority, money and muscle power form the heart of this novel, ripped from the headlines of the Varsity Blues Scandal of 2019

(I know this is a short review and DEFINITELY not my best work, it's just that I have a lot of work to do, and had to type this up in a jiffy. Please try to understand...)

...more

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May 25, 2020 Alaina rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-arcs, fiction, young-adult, 2020-ng, contemporary

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Admission was an interesting book. I wont lie to you at one point I was a bit bored with everything. Especially when it came to the little flashbacks because this point.. all of Chloe's "friends" ghosted the shit out of her or left her completely alone. So yeah, I didn't really care about her crush and how things were kind of going her way.. when they really weren't.

Other than that, Chloe was an okay character. Not the brig ...more

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Nov 23, 2020 Jen Ryland added it

I love Julie Buxbaum's books - they are entertaining but also have great characterization and emotion. I think she could take pretty much any situation and find the humanity in it.

Did this book make me feel uncomfortable in the way that I think it should have? I'm still not sure.

Admission is a book about the college admissions scandal that broke in the spring of 2019. The story that the book tells feels ripped from the headlines down to the tiniest details. Chloe's (the main character's) mom wa I love Julie Buxbaum's books - they are entertaining but also have great characterization and emotion. I think she could take pretty much any situation and find the humanity in it.

Did this book make me feel uncomfortable in the way that I think it should have? I'm still not sure.

Admission is a book about the college admissions scandal that broke in the spring of 2019. The story that the book tells feels ripped from the headlines down to the tiniest details. Chloe's (the main character's) mom was a Felicity Huffman/Lori Loughlin amalgam and the book's storyline seemed to be drawn from those two cases. If you followed those stories (and I did!) I think you'll find this one very familiar.

Admission begins with the FBI coming to arrest Chloe's mother, which got things off to a dramatic start. But then the book started using a now/then (before the arrest and after) timeline I struggled with. Watching "then" Chloe worry about her college applications and her dating life when you knew what else she was up to felt a bit weird. I'm not sure the "then" chapters added much to the story except to emphasize how happy Chloe was before she and her parents got caught.

Chloe clearly DID know that her college admissions results weren't fairly earned and that what she and her family were doing was wrong. But she - and they - did it anyway. Watching her suffer the personal consequences of her actions, I wasn't sure how this book was trying to make me to feel. Glad that her life was being ruined? Empathetic that her life was being ruined? Outraged at the way entitled celebrities gamed the system? Guilty that the book made me feel empathetic toward her (I honestly didn't feel that empathetic, except that she was young, and just an accomplice in a scheme of her parents'.)

Reading Admission also made me realize how much has changed in the world between March 2019 (when the scandal broke) and December 2020. In some ways worrying about college admissions felt like a weird relic from a past life.

I guess I'm glad that, in 2020, these are no longer the characters who deserve our empathy and a platform.

Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review! ...more

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Feb 28, 2020 Mary rated it it was amazing

Five GLORIOUS stars. I loved this so much! Julie Buxbaum is a YA Queen, and her latest installment did not disappoint. She dove into the story of the college admissions scandal and somehow made it a coming-of-age family drama that sucked me in from the first page and didn’t let go until I had flown through the whole thing. The alternating timelines between pre- and post-scandal was a really nice plot device that kept the story moving, and really gave her the opportunity to show our characters’ g ...more

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Mar 18, 2020 Kari Ann Sweeney rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, ya

I have read and loved all of Julie Buxbaum's YA novels and her latest, ADMISSION, is no exception. It is a thought provoking fictionalization based on the recent college admissions scandal. It is timely and relevant while still being compulsively readable.

The story is structured with an alternating pre and post scandal timeline. This format worked well in unraveling what it means to be complicit. It doesn't sugar coat the consequences or fallout. At the same time the story implores you to resis I have read and loved all of Julie Buxbaum's YA novels and her latest, ADMISSION, is no exception. It is a thought provoking fictionalization based on the recent college admissions scandal. It is timely and relevant while still being compulsively readable.

The story is structured with an alternating pre and post scandal timeline. This format worked well in unraveling what it means to be complicit. It doesn't sugar coat the consequences or fallout. At the same time the story implores you to resist reducing Chloe to a catch all meme and see her as a person. While I don't have much empathy, Buxbaum was able to humanize the characters- even the parents. It was beautifully balanced with heft and humor.

As a parent of teenagers, I appreciated that the story was told from the students perspective. I loved watching Chloe's self-awareness evolve. In particular, her realizations of privilege and not making excuses for her role in the scandal.

I'll be gently pressing this into the hands of my teenagers. I love when a book can entertain and inform without being heavy handed.

Merged review:

I have read and loved all of Julie Buxbaum's YA novels and her latest, ADMISSION, is no exception. It is a thought provoking fictionalization based on the recent college admissions scandal. It is timely and relevant while still being compulsively readable.

The story is structured with an alternating pre and post scandal timeline. This format worked well in unraveling what it means to be complicit. It doesn't sugar coat the consequences or fallout. At the same time the story implores you to resist reducing Chloe to a catch all meme and see her as a person. While I don't have much empathy, Buxbaum was able to humanize the characters- even the parents. It was beautifully balanced with heft and humor.

As a parent of teenagers, I appreciated that the story was told from the students perspective. I loved watching Chloe's self-awareness evolve. In particular, her realizations of privilege and not making excuses for her role in the scandal.

I'll be gently pressing this into the hands of my teenagers. I love when a book can entertain and inform without being heavy handed. ...more

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Jan 28, 2021 Jen Calonita rated it it was amazing

I read Julie Buxbaum's latest in one sitting. I was so taken with Chloe's story I couldn't put this book down! It navigates from Chloe's mom's arrest to the past when Chloe is doing her college applications. I promise you'll be taken with this ripped from the headlines story that touches on privilege, class and the struggle to be true to yourself. ...more

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Jan 16, 2021 TL rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to TL by: Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell

Shelves: fault-of-nenia

*Overdrive app *

Finished 3/4 of this during a crazy work day 😳 🙃. Parts of it were like watching a train wreck and it was hard to tear myself away.

Julie Whelan knocked it out of the park with narration. Each voice was distinct and never pulled you out of the story when voices switched. It all flowed smoothly.

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Nov 13, 2020 Allison rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf

dnf page 125 (~40%)
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I really wanted to like this one! I am a huge fan of college admissions in general, and I found the USC admissions scandal to be really interesting. I thought that this book would offer a unique spin on that, but I don't think it was for me. Please note that I only read about 40% of this book, so my opinions do not reflect the rest of it. However, I do feel as if I did read enough to develop an opinion about the beginning and overall trajectory of the novel.

The entire firs dnf page 125 (~40%)
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I really wanted to like this one! I am a huge fan of college admissions in general, and I found the USC admissions scandal to be really interesting. I thought that this book would offer a unique spin on that, but I don't think it was for me. Please note that I only read about 40% of this book, so my opinions do not reflect the rest of it. However, I do feel as if I did read enough to develop an opinion about the beginning and overall trajectory of the novel.

The entire first 125 pages, nearly echoes the entire real-life admissions scandal, so it was a little boring to hear a story so similar to what I was already familiar with. The entire plot is about the MC's parents being charged for artificially raising her SAT score & by getting her into a college by bribing a coach, which is *extremely* similar to the real thing that happened with Loughlin and USC. I was just hoping for a twist on that story in some way, rather than a near direct copy of it.

I wasn't particularly a fan of the characters either. I suppose I only read the first 100 pages, so they definitely could have changed for the better. I felt that the main character, Chloe, was too shallow and underdeveloped. She felt too cliche, fitting the "average oblivious rich-kid who likes to party and doesn't know anything outside of her own little bubble" stereotype. Additionally, Chloe was a little too naive for my own tastes, and I felt that too much of the story focused on her getting dragged along by her parents while not understanding a single thing about what was happening.

The main love interest and romance wasn't my favorite either. I will give him the benefit of the doubt, since I don't think I've read enough to make any judgements, but it still doesn't take away from the fact that I didn't like him either. Like Chloe, he felt a little too shallow and boring.

Overall, I had high hopes for this book, but it fell flat. While it might be the right book for others, it unfortunately wasn't for me.

---
Note that I did receive this book from the publisher for free, in exchange for a photo on my bookstagram, instagram.com/universewithinpages. I was not asked to read or write a review for this book, and all opinions are my own. ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Kirsti rated it really liked it

Shelves: addiction, cake-eaters, things-blow-up, anger, bewilderment, apostate-literature, things-burn-down, breakups, los-angeles, courtroom-drama

This was a fun one. I love reading about scandals, especially when they involve rich people being stupid. So when I found out that a well-regarded YA author had written a fictionalized version of the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal, I decided to give it a try.

Buxbaum has taken many elements from the Lori Laughlin part of the scandal: the mom is a beloved B-list actress, and the older daughter loves makeup and parties and isn't that interested in school. But she has woven in details fro ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Danielle (Life of a Literary Nerd) rated it it was ok

Shelves: contemporary, standalones, arcs, cover-envy

Its gonna be a no from me.

I had a tough time getting into this story. I thought that Chloe was naive to the point of frustration so it made it hard for me to feel sorry for her even though nothing happening was entirely her fault. But her entitled parents and wishy-washy friends left a sea of unlikeable characters and no one for me to latch onto. The story was okay and fun in 'ripped-from-the-headlines' sort of way, but I fear that I'm liking each of Julie Buxbaum's books less and less. ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 Kristen (kraysbookclub) rated it really liked it

A fun, Hollywood YA escape that travels down the road of the college admissions scandal. A dirty glimpse into the world of the rich and elite.

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Dec 14, 2020 Roxanne rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020, read-audiobook

I was really hesitant to pick this up. Why would I want to read a story about white privilege and entitlement inspired by the college admissions scandal? Am I supposed to feel sorry for them? Yeah, cry me a fucking river.

But I loved the last book I read by Julie Buxbaum so I took a chance and put my trust in the author. And she didn’t let me down. This absolutely IS a story of white privilege and entitlement. But it’s also a story about family, insecurity, mistakes, consequences and being a par ...more

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Jan 28, 2021 RoRo rated it did not like it

Unfortunately, I only gave this book 1 star. 1.5 maybe. I almost DNFed it a few times but I am lucky I didn't. The only part I absolutely enjoyed was the Epilogue and Shola (the main character's BFF.)
The main problem I had with this was that it was going from the Past to the Present back to the past and again to the present multiple times (like chapters.) It got very confusing sometimes who the main character was talking about and when it was happening. The main character acted like a spoilt bra ...more

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Jan 07, 2021 izzy rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: on-blog

I’ve decided that it was ultimately irresponsible of me to finish this book, and for the author to write it, and the publisher to publish it, etc.

the author: there are better things to write about than a redemption arc for some poor little rich girl.

publishers: there are better things to publish and give a platform to than a redemption arc for some poor little rich girl. like, for instance, marginalized authors and stories. or practically anything else.

myself: there are better things to read ...more

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Jan 13, 2021 Meg rated it liked it

Shelves: ya

Something Weird Is Going On: Who Did Aunt Becky Bribe? By Felicity Huffman. With Dwight Schrute.

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Dec 07, 2020 Fizah(Books tales by me) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-read

Actual Rating 2.5

“People forget that about novels. It’s not our job to like our main character. It’s our job to try to understand them. Let’s be honest, most people are deeply unlikeable.”

It was one of my anticipated book of the year. I mean look at the cover and synopsis.

Chloe is a high school senior and daughter of a B list Hollywood celebrity. Her best friend is struggling financially so she is looking for a school which will give her full scholarship, and she really deserves it. Chloe’s othe ...more

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Dec 09, 2020 Renee (itsbooktalk) rated it it was amazing

Admission was the perfect book to jumpstart my reading and when I saw @justjuliawhelan was the narrator it was a no brainer to decide to listen to this one. ⁣
⁣
This is a fictional account of the college admission scandal involving Lori Loughlin and others and the family at the center of this story will definitely remind you of the Loughlin’s. I was immediately pulled into the drama of Chloe Wynn Beringer, the teenage daughter caught up in the whirlwind scandal when her parents are accused of frau ...more

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Mar 19, 2020 Krysti rated it liked it

This book gives great insight into the ways privilege impacts the education system and how it further perpetuates racial and financial inequality in our country. I enjoyed the reflection on the college admissions scandal and the way the author tackled some very important social issues head-on.

While Buxbaum does a great job using her characters to illustrate that by willfully ignoring our privilege, we are part of the problem, I could not emotionally connect or root for any of them. I found mysel ...more

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May 25, 2020 Grey rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, high-school-or-college, 4-stars

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This one was interesting for me, being as though I've just recently gone through the college admissions process with my own daughter. Ms. Buxbaum obviously received inspiration from the recent admissions scandal that rocked the USA, and flipped it in a YA fiction that probably has more than a little basis in fact.

I don't normally do YA, I'm a pretty big fan of romance and this was definitely a different read for me. ...more

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About Julie Buxbaum

Julie Buxbaum

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Julie Buxbaum is the New York Times best selling author of Tell Me Three Things, her young adult debut, What to Say Next, Hope and Other Punchlines, and Admission (pubs 5/5/20). She’s also the author of two critically acclaimed novels for adults: The Opposite of Love and After You. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages. Julie’s writing has appeared in various publications, includ ...more

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Quotes from Admission

“I wonder if that’s one definition of growing up—replacing your parents’ voices in your head with your own. I wonder if I’ll one day get there.” — 2 likes

“An important part of growing up is letting yourself see the world around you as it truly is, even if you don't like what you see or your own complicity in it.” — 1 likes

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