Julie Buxbaum has a skill in writing contemporary YA that is incredible. Her books feel real, familiar, and yet exciting in a way that makes you want to turn each page faster. “Admission” is no exception. A book based on the college admission scandal of 2019, giving us a fictionalized view from a teenager caught in one such scandal.

The way Buxbaum uses Chloe’s perspective to tell this story, but also weaves in so much else is astonishing. It’s not just about the scandal, it’s about the build up, her friendships, her relationships, her family dynamic, and all these things that get rocked when the story gets out. It’s also about privilege, and checking yourself, and the idea of guilt and blame and how to balance all these things when something is blamed on you, or on someone you love because of you.

This book analyzes race, class, as well as the idea of “the sins of our fathers” and what one person with so much on them can feel, can hold, and can do. I cannot say enough about this book but everyone needs to get a copy as soon as they can.

Apparently, I've been reading books lately that are loosely based on true events. Some are better than others, and unfortunately Admission was a little bit of a letdown. It's a loose interpretation of the college bribery scandal that hit the news about a year ago.

Chloe is a mediocre student who wants to get into her dream college. She's doing everything she's supposed to while her parents are working behind the scenes to ensure that she gets into college. The book flips between Then - as she's in school and applying, etc. and Now - after her parents were caught and dealing with all the consequences.

What went wrong with this book, I think, is that nothing happens. We're going back and forth with the now and then. However, it's just slow going. It progresses and we follow what's going on and what happens with everything, but it's just completely underwhelming. It's like going to bed on a Monday and waking up on a Tuesday, where nothing changed or any relevant moments.

There was a chance of romance but it was completely pushed to the side and then simply forgotten about in the mist of the scandal. It was actually disappointing that Chloe had no one on her side, with her family on their own side and her sister not really choosing sides. Her best friend and boyfriend pretty much ditched her without even hearing the truth.

A part of me felt like this book would've been better if it was told from Chloe's sister's POV. In some ways, it was more about Isla than anything . . . especially with the ending.

Ultimately, there were many downfalls in Admission. If you know anything about the scandal itself, then this book isn't worth the read. There isn't a whole lot that isn't common knowledge with the true scandal.

I think I misunderstood what this was about when I requested, but none the less I genuinely enjoyed reading it. Thought it was a very intriguing topic and that the writing was well done with amazingly well developed characters. Interested in the whole college admission scandal, but want something fiction which makes it a bit more flamboyant and captivating, this is your book! The author did a great job at making sure to really keep my attention by providing a fast paced, compelling story! Absolutely recommend, especially if you want to see what it might look on the other side of the college admissions scandal!

Will make sure to buzz up on different platforms, as well as use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for this ARC

Admission by Julie Buxbaum is about Chloe Berringer. She has a charmed life, her mother is a television star, she is at an excellent school, and she was accepted into her dream college, SCC (a stand in for USC). That all falls apart when she opens her front door to find the FBI standing on her front porch ready to arrest her mother. It turns out her mother is of a college bribery scandal.

This book is very timely and ripped from the headlines. It casts a sympathetic eye towards the characters, but doesn't excuse them from their actions. I appreciate that Buxbaum gave the perspective of the child who had their life ruined by their parents' actions. Chloe had to question whether her parents thought she was stupid or less than or couldn't make it into college herself. Additionally, the side characters were interesting, particularly Chloe's best friend, Shola and her sister, Isla.

This book will surely be a popular checkout for teens and curious adults.

I really enjoyed this! I was intrigued by the real life college admissions scandals and like how Julie Buxbaum delves into what those scandals must have been like for the teens involved. She deftly explores the culpability of both the teens and their parents and weaves a very believable and balanced story where no one is truly an innocent or a villain. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this book and the concept was engaging. I felt like I fell into the middle of the real life scandal. I did enjoy how the book was told before and during the incident, but I felt like the execution was off because I also felt like the then sections of the story took me out of the scandal and left me wanting to skip those chapters. Overall, I would recommend this book, but I probably won't be picking this book up in physical copy myself.

We all sat on the sidelines and watched, fascinated, as the real life college admission scandal played out in real life. The real life story we watched caught everyone's eye because it featured some beloved, real life, famous faces attached to it. It felt like we were all watching a movie play out right in front of us.

The daughter of beloved sitcom star Joy Fields, Chloe Wynn Berringer, has a lead a very privileged life. She's not the best student at her private school but has her heart set on attending a very selective college in southern California. Chloe is advised to consider other options. Her mother highers a private admissions counselor, while Chloe isn't sure she needs much help, she agrees to it either way. Things soon change and the FBI arrive to arrest her mother and Chloe may face charges as well.

Told in alternating timelines between past and present you get the opportunity to learn about chloe and discover how she got to where she is today, and she must learn to accept what has happened to her and what her new fate is now.

This was a quick read that I highly suggest and does an excellent job of giving examples of what the isolation may feel like surrounding poor decision making.

Told through an alternating "Then" and "Now" narrative, <i>Admission</i> is the story of Chloe Berringer, an average high school student dealing with the average stresses and pressures of senior year, including but not limited to taking the SAT and applying for college. Oh yeah, and her mom's a famous actress. Can you see where this is going?

The author's fascination with the real college admissions scandal certainly shines through. The clever timeline narrative provides a parallelism to the story that would be lost if it were told straight from beginning to end. The "Then" and "Now" timeline allows for the juxtaposition of two Chloes: one who is naive to yet slightly suspicious of this particular method of taking the SAT and applying for college, and one for whom the seemingly perfect exterior of her mother has now cracked, for better or for worse. This narrative tool also allows for more empathy, particularly toward those who were impacted by this fictional scandal. Though I'm still not sure how much empathy I have toward those impacted by the <i>real</i> scandal.

This book did not grip me like I thought that it would. The only character that I really liked was the younger sister and that was because I felt bad for her. This makes everything in the headlines look like a complete joke and publicity ploy.

Oh yes she did, she went there!! And I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what will happen next)!!
Buxbaum has written a page turning story about young Chloe, headed to the college of her dreams in the fall, or so she thinks! Her mother, a B list actress, might just have messed up her chances of that & may just have ruined her life in the process! Don’t want to give this one away by saying too much but I loved this story!

As a Director of Admissions at a university, I couldn't help but request Admission by Julie Buxbaum. It's a play on the Varsity Blues scandal from 2019- where rich parents fudged test scores and offered universities money to help their undeserving children gain admission. This was a light fictionalized account of the college admission scandal. I thought it passed the time just fine. but I would have liked a little more depth. It is interesting to think about how the children feel about what their parents did- I have to believe that's hard on their self-esteem! I couldn't help but picture Aunt Becky as the mother in this story, and I'd recommend this for readers who are particularly interested in college admissions or like to read about rich people getting their due.

When the college admission scandal played out in real life we were all fascinated. The real story was so over the top and because it had some famous faces attached to it it felt like the plot of movie or novel already. Julie Buxbaum took the sensational headlines and gave us the what-if behind the scenes story. News fan-fiction. I mean that in the best way possible!
I really enjoyed how the story kept flashing back to before the scandal broke. We are able to empathize more with the characters as we slowly uncover their motivation and discover just how fine the line is between privileged celebrity and criminal.
One area that I wish we got more from was the best friend, Shola. I would have loved to know her point of view as she is the real 'victim' of this story. First generation college student, financial aide, BIPOC, and she's actually smart! Did this just confirm what she already suspected? How did this effect how she saw her new college peers?
Overall this was a great read. Equal parts gossipy fun and reflection on white privilege.

Daughter of beloved sitcom star Joy Fields, Chloe Wynn Berringer has lead a privileged life. At best an average student at prestigious private school Wood Valley, Chloe (and her parents) has her heart set on attending a selective southern California college. Her counselor advises Chloe to consider other options that aren't such a reach, but to keep up appearances Chloe's mom hires a private admissions counselor that guarantees his work. Chloe isn't totally sure she needs that much help, but she's nervous, so she gladly obliges with his sometimes seemingly outlandish requests. Told in reverse Chloe's story begins with a knock on her door. The FBI is there to arrest her mother for her involvement in a college admissions scandal, and Chloe may face charges too. Shocked, Chloe thinks back to the beginning (these days she has plenty of time to think), filling readers in on how she got to this point. The public outrage and her best friend's reaction leave Chloe feeling completely alone. Her little sister, who is not the same average student, gives Chloe some advice which helps her accept all that has happened and her life for what it now is. 

THOUGHTS: This quick read will have appeal to many high school students who may be on their own college admissions paths. Though tied to the admissions scandal, the isolation that Chloe experiences mirrors the way many teens may feel after suffering consequences of poor decision making. It is difficult to ignore the parallels to the 2019 national college admissions scandal, but high school readers, especially fans of Buxbaum will enjoy this newest novel. Highly recommended.

If you have followed the headlines with the wealthy giving their children a leg-up with admission to selective universities, you will recognize this story. The book was okay but for me I just felt like I was rereading what I already knew and didn't feel there was a lot of original material. Fine for a quick read.

The college admissions scandal didn’t interest me that much when it happened. This book was a fun way to educate myself about the situation. Although this book is a work of fiction, the author made sure to add elements from the true story.

Mainly, I just felt sad for Chloe and her family while reading this novel. Her parents loved her and just wanted what was best for her. I hope that’s why Lori Loughlin did it. I love her acting and I don’t want to think that she only did it because she wanted to look good by having smart daughters.

Despite the series topic, this book was super fun. It went back and forth between the past and present, so you get to see Chloe’s fun life and the not-so-fun aftermath. Despite the scandal, she had a good family and loving parents.

My favorite parts were probably the references to Buxbaum’s other novels. Oville, Jessie, Ethan, Liam, and Baby Hope all get mentioned in Admission!!! Plus, Chloe goes to Wood Valley just like Jessie.

I hope this review was helpful and makes you want to read the book!!!

Admission by Julie Buxbaum is a really light and easy read. The main character Chloe is very likable and at times she is frustrating others she is heartbreaking. Chloe's parents pay her way into college. Once the world finds out Chloe and her family are shunned by the the world. Soon life has gotten really real. Will she go to jail? Will her mom? Dad? Will her boyfriend and best friend ever forgive her? Will life ever be normal again? and what does normal look like? Read Admission By Julie Buxbaum and find out.

This story is taken straight from the headlines about the 2019 college admission scandals. Chloe is an average student who struggles with her SAT scores and college prospects. Her best friend (a Nigerian American who studies and works hard) and her boyfriend (more of a privileged golden boy) both have their sights set on Harvard. Chloe definitely doesn't have what it takes to get into Southern California College, which her TV actress mother wants her to attend. The book begins with Chloe's mother being arrested at gunpoint. Through flashbacks we find out how the cheating took place and what Chloe knew and didn't know. The story sticks closely to the truth as it was reported in the papers, but adds a sister who is aware of the injustice and a best friend who is directly hurt by the cheating. I found it to be an engaging story and an intriguing glimpse into how the "one percent" justify their own privilege. I think there are middle schoolers who will be very intrigued by this book. Publication was delayed--this book will be published in December 2020. ARC provided by netgalley. Recommended for grade 7-up.

First of all, as a huge fan of all things Julie Buxbaum, ADMISSION did not disappoint. It had all the very authentically adolescent details that make her one of my favorite YA authors. It also is very of the moment, being about privilege and the realization of it. It's about coming awake to find you aren't at all the person you'd hoped to be. Her characters sink so low throughout the story it would be hard to root for them, except that Buxbaum has made them so very human, and we can all relate to that.

I would recommend this as a study in privilege for any high school classroom. It will definitely open the door to some real talk. What it lacks in the juicy romance I loved in TELL ME THREE THINGS, ADMISSION makes up for with truth and hard looks at tough topics. I'll keep reading anything Buxbaum delivers.

2 stars feels pretty harsh, but once again, Goodreads and Netgalley don't allow half stars.
I was really excited to read this, especially after the scandal involving Lori Loughlin. But even though the plot was interesting enough, it just didn't hold my attention. The main character, Chloe, is extremely unlikable, and don't feel she's very relatable. If I'm being honest, most of the characters were unlikable... except Shola. Shola was great.

3.5 stars

Wow.

This book was not at all what I expected.

When I first started reading this, Chloe, the main character, annoyed the crap out of me. Honestly, by the end of the book, I didn't feel like she had changed very much.

One of her biggest character flaws is that she isn't smart, which prompts her parents to pay someone to get her into college. Honestly, though, I felt it wasn't that Chloe was stupid, she just didn't care. She only ever daydreamed about this guy that she liked (who is the worst, by the way. Seriously, what does she see in that guy?) and avoided doing homework or studying ever.

And she had a multitude of private tutors!! And she was taking Mandarin Chinese classes!! Guys, I know multiple people who speak Mandarin Chinese. Let me put this simply: people who are dumb cannot just "learn" to speak Mandarin. It's a hard language.

Basically, I have no sympathy for Chloe.

However, one thing this book did really well is confront the realities of rich, white privilege in our society. I think with everything going on in the world right now, it exposed some harsh truths.

This is not a happily ever after type book. People screw up, and they face repercussions. It was more realistic that way.

Sometimes the plot was slow (mostly the flashback chapters), but it was intriguing enough to keep me interested.

Now, I need to get back to my studying sessions. ;)

Thank you to Netgalley, who provided me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest book review.