Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This was a quick read but I never felt fully invested in the characters. I felt bad for Chloe and also angry with her for being so naïve. Her parents sounded like they never really trusted her and gave her a chance. She tried to not be the rich girl cliché but she really was. The jumping back and forth on the timeline seemed to give not enough past info and the current info felt rushed.

This wasn't my favorite of hers but was still an enjoyable read. A fictional take on the college admissions scandal, it has a bit of crossover from Tell Me Three Things (my favorite of Buxbaum's so far). While I love a dual timeline, I much preferred the "now" chapters to the "then", which made the story drag a bit. Overall this was a fun read but not where I would suggest someone start with her work. I can't put my finger on what it was the let me down and am curious to see what others thought, especially in comparison to her backlist.

Buxbaum, Julie. Admission. Delacorte, 2020.

Life is perfect for Chloe Berringer. She’s living her best life as a senior at Wood Valley High School, the best private school in Los Angeles, and she has gotten into a great college. She is going to the prom with Levi Haas, the boy she’s had a crush on since seventh grade. Her best friend, Shola, is super-smart and fun to be around, and she can always depend on her. She isn’t the smartest person at her school, but she gets by.

One day, at 6:30 in the morning, Chloe opens the front door to her home to find the FBI there…and they have guns! Her mother, sit-com television star Joy Fields, is arrested for bribery in a college admissions scandal. Chloe is shocked, but didn’t she have nagging doubts about all the preparations her parents were helping her with to get accepted to college? She wondered why her college essay was rewritten and was about a different topic than she wrote about, but she didn’t question it enough. She wondered how her SAT score could have gone up so much in such a short amount of time, so she thought it must be a mistake, but she didn’t speak up. She wondered how her mother could find a private consultant that seemed so sleazy and never pushed her to try harder. Why didn’t he want her to take her SAT test at the testing center? She wondered all these things and knew her parents, especially her mom, wanted the best for her, but she never questioned them.

Now Chloe’s life is ruined, and her future is in danger. Shola doesn’t want to hang out with her anymore; Levi has dropped her and has found another date for prom. The mother of the young boy she was tutoring in reading no longer wants her to see him. Her dream school has now rescinded their offer of acceptance to her, and if she goes back to her high school, she will face public shaming. Wealth and privilege will not help her now. She discovers her mom was participating in some underhanded dealings to give her a leg up on the competition, in order to secure her acceptance to college. People are mad at her and her mom for using money and privilege to give Chloe this advantage. While Chloe got into college, Shola, who works much harder and is smarter, is waitlisted, just like many other students.

With her mom facing a trial and prison time, Chloe must now work to mend her and her family’s life back together. She must learn not to take people and her privilege for granted and accept responsibility for her part in being complicit and redeem herself.

Admission is based loosely on the true-life scandal “Operation Varsity Blues”, and it hits all the same notes--doctoring an essay and photoshopping a sports photograph, concealing money behind a charity, and changing poor entrance exam scores. False documentation of a learning disability is provided, which gives Chloe extra time on the SAT test. Her mom is arrested and must go to trial, just like in the real college admissions crime.

Ms. Buxbaum provides observations on how entitlement gives the elite the ability to work the education system and give themselves an advantage over others, who are usually more deserving. However, she doesn’t preach; she lets the reader work though the problem with Chloe. When Chloe realizes that her whole college application has been altered, she begins to wonder if her parents didn’t have confidence in her ability to get into college on her own. This lowers her self-esteem, especially when she realizes that she may have been complicit in the crime. Ultimately, Chloe let the masquerade go on because she did not want to disappoint her parents.

Give Admission to seniors preparing for college and those who are interested in the college admission scandal. I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

A book a runs along the lines of the Lori Laughlin college scandal that turned the admissions world upside down. A book of privilege and expectations of what your rich and famous parents (basically mother), will do to get an underachieving daughter into the college of her mother's dreams. Some people just do not think about the consequences of their actions or think "it will not happen to me", but then it does. For Chloe, this was not a dream, but a reality. Her coach got her into school and, for that, her mother got what was coming to her. I think some of the students at our school out enjoy this read. Thank you to Ms. Buxbaum, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Chloe is a rich white girl who has had everything handed to her. She says it herself that she hasn't really faced any challenges in her life that are "interesting" enough to write an essay about for a college admission form. How in the world will a girl with just average grades and a boring life ever get into a good school?

Joy Fields, Chloe's mom and B-list actress, thought she could pave the road to success for Chloe by buying her way into a good college. But she does it without Chloe knowing. Now, Chloe is faced by the FBI with guns pointed at her, and she feels even more like a failure than ever when she learns that her mom had to buy her position at school. How embarrassing it must be for a well-known actress to have a daughter who is just average and not smart enough to get high enough scores on the SATs.

This story is told in alternating timelines, THEN and NOW. THEN is everything that happened up to the point of Joy Fields being found out about the college admissions scandal, and Chloe, as well as her mom, facing possible prison time. NOW is everything that happens after Chloe opens the door on that fateful day and her world seems to come crashing down around her. What will happen to her? Her mom? Her future? What about the fact that Chloe didn't know any of this was going on? Is that enough to save her and her future?

I have mixed feelings about this story. I typically love everything by Julie Buxbaum, and devour her writing quickly. This one seemed to be a bit more slow-going for me. I don't know if I didn't like the story, didn't like the "rich, privileged white girl gets everything like always" trope, or if it was the characters I didn't really care for. Whatever it was, this story didn't hold me in its grasp like some of her other books. I will admit that the beginning seemed very promising and engaging. I was ready for a wild ride when Chloe opened the door to the FBI. Unfortunately for me, that was where the excitement stopped.

While I do understand this is based off of the admissions scandal of 2019, I just felt like the outcome of all of this was too perfect, and the story leading up to the resolve was too... unbelievable? Unrealistic? I was not and have not followed the real-life admissions scandal because, frankly, it doesn't effect me and I don't care. (Sorry, not sorry.) I have no idea what the outcome was in real life, though I do feel like I maybe heard something about prison time. Anyway, the ending of this book seemed to be what I would imagine it would be for any other rich, privileged person. Use your money and hire the best possible lawyer and get a slap on the wrist. Serve a minimal prison sentence to show the world that something like this won't be tolerated, and move on. YAWN.

I do wish the ending of this story was different. It felt like a cop out to me. There was no real punishment to the criminal actions portrayed in this story and it was a bit infuriating, albeit, predictable. Though, maybe that's just how it is in the criminal justice system.

I say all of this, but at the same time I actually liked this book. Like I said, mixed feelings. I still love Julie Buxbaum's writing style. I love that she can make well developed and realistically-flawed characters that make her stories seem at least a little bit realistic and relatable. I think she wrote a really good story, I just don't think this was something I was completely sold on as a topic.

That being said, read this one for yourself. I would still recommend this book to anyone who loves Buxbaum's writing. I liked this one enough that I still gave it 4 stars. Just because I didn't love this book doesn't mean it was bad, because it really wasn't. I just don't think this one was best suited for me.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chloe isn't the best at school but that isn't a problem for her. She applies to multiple school, does what she can for her SATs. But then her parents decide they want the best for her and fake her scores and activities in order for Chloe to get into college.

It works! She gets in. But then her mom gets caught on a recording saying what she did to get her daughter into school.

This book sounded like it was ripped from the headlines, which we knew how that story turned out, but I enjoyed it.

It was nice reading about the students POV rather than the parents. It was an enjoyable book.

This was a DNF for me. I really wanted to enjoy it but I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters and couldn’t concentrate enough to get through it.

‘Admission’ by Julie Buxbaum is a modern and definitely current read on a topic that has been in the news. When Chloe Berringer is admitted into her college of choice, she is thrilled. Or, she should be, but she just can’t help but feel that something is wrong. Her SAT score went way up, even though she doesn’t think her second test attempt warranted the higher score. She’s meeting with a college counselor that her parents have set up for her, even though her private school discourages getting outside help. She’s overheard her parents on the phone talking about her, but has pushed it aside, hoping that she’s just misunderstanding and misinterpreting what she’s been hearing.

Told in alternative “then” and “now” chapters, the book shows Chloe in the “before,” seeing what’s happening, but not really knowing quite what she’s seeing and hearing. She has a best friend and a guy she likes, and things are going pretty well overall. She’s not the smartest student, but she has high hopes for college. Even though her college admission counselor at school is trying to keep her expectations level, her parents are set on her going to her school of choice.

Chloe’s mother is a well-known TV actress, and her father does pretty well himself. She lives a pretty privileged life, but she knows that she’s not her sister, who has always been the smart one. When things start going well for her in terms of college, she realizes that it all isn’t quite adding up the way it’s supposed to, and she doesn’t know what to do with that information. When she mentions anything to her parents, they tell her not to worry. Her sister, on the other hand, is concerned about how things look, despite not knowing for sure if anything is off about Chloe’s college acceptance.

When the police show up one day to arrest Chloe’s mom for a college admissions scandal, her world is rocked. People blame her. They don’t even wonder how much she knew. They just assume she’s guilty, too, because of course, the trust fund brat must have had a hand in securing her college education and taking it away from someone else, right? ‘Admission’ touches on all of these themes, making readers question their own perceptions of news stories, and the judgments they make about those involved in them, despite not knowing the involved parties personally.

Julie Buxbaum has done a fantastic job encouraging readers to question themselves and their perceptions in this volatile and honest look at a family who seemingly has it all, yet still finds themselves in the crosshairs of a scandal, despite trying to do what they feel is right. It is a provocative and worthwhile read.

I speedread this book. I didn't really enjoy most of the characters and it is obviously a ripped from the headlines story, but I still needed to see where this would end up!

When I first heard about this book that was inspired by the college scandal, I thought it sounded interesting, and like something new. I'm not sure what I was expecting from it, but it turned out to really not work for me.

The first thing I didn't like was the back and forth format between Then (before the scandal broke) and Now. The Now storyline had all the interesting bits and the Then portions just felt unnecessary and shoehorned in to make us feel more sympathetic to the main character. But the characters of her best friend and her boyfriend just ended up being underdeveloped, and you know what happens with them in the Now, so their storylines in the past were not compelling at all.

The other reason this book didn't work for me was that I think the author was trying to make the main character at least a little bit sympathetic or at least understandable, but that failed for me. The more I got to know her throughout the book, the more I didn't like her, and really didn't care what happened to her in the end. Then when we get to the end of the book (no spoilers), the conclusion felt very unsatisfactory.

Overall, I have really liked Julie Buxbaum's other fluffy YA books, but this one didn't mesh well with the subject matter and the tone that she was trying to use.

I'm afraid this book just wasn't for me. I didn't find it interesting, I didn't like the way it was written, and the characters did not move me. It was interesting subject matter but not well executed.

A very interesting take on the college admissions scandal. Chloe is not that great at school, but she ended up getting into the one school her parents really wanted her to go to. All this gets thrown into turmoil the second she opens the front door one morning and the FBI, not UPS, is on the other side and has a warrant for her mother's arrest. And thus begins Chloe's awakening to what really happened during her college application process.

At first, I thought Chloe was overly naïve, but as she continued to tell her story, you see that that naivete stems from the fact that she did not fully realize the privilege she has. I appreciate that she shows growth in her views of the world and her place in it. Overall, an entertaining read that showed some insight into a scandal from a viewpoint most of us didn't hear from.

*Received a ARC in exchange for an honest review*
I'm not a huge contemporary fan but this has book had a touch of mystery which was what pulled me in. Plus the fact that it was based on the college scandals made it sound even better! It posed the question of what it means to be complicit and....the MC seems like an airhead. Sorry, but she does. Right off the bat, she explains how her parents are always treating her like she doesn't know what she's doing. And when they talk to someone that's supposed to help with her college applications and they argue about what to put on said applications without asking the MC's input was a clear giveaway that something was up. Yet the MC just ignored all that, instead she was more obsessed with her crush. But that at least made sense because what teenager wasn't like that? Their blooming love story was cuter and more entertaining than the actual story. It has a before and after chapters and in the after chapters the MC recognized all the warning signs but said she ignored them....and I'm not sure what to make of her.

If you're fascinated by the Varsity Blues scandal that made news recently then this is a book for you.

Admission inspects privilege and also being held accountable for decisions made.

I found myself feeling sympathetic for the family when I didn't imagine I could.

This was a very thought-provoking story that really hit close with real-life events.

Julie Buxbaum has written so pretty enjoyable novels, so I expected to enjoy this one more than I did. It’s possible that I knew too much of the real story to enjoy or feel sympathetic towards the fictional characters. Whatever the case, it was pretty underwhelming. It’s not the writing. I’m certain the characters are meant to be unlikeable, but I think they should end up redeemed. I could empathize with Dexter more than I could this teenage life of entitled mediocrity. If I had to read from the perspective of a mother who would go to any lengths to give her children a better life or the sister who knows the value of hard work, I think the story would have resonated. As is, I could not, would not recommend it to people like me middle aged, upper middle class, moms from the South.

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I also tried reading this book multiple times. I read that first chapter at least three times, but I couldn't get into it. It just wasn't for me. That's why I waited so long to write a review. I hate to be negative. about someone's hard work.

Now that I’m home, I can catch up on all of my ARC’s from @netgalley 📖!
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Admission is a fictional take on the real life college admission scandal that involved Aunt Becky and Felicity Huffman, but the characters in the book are more likeable 😝. Fun and quick read, exactly what I needed to get my mind off these weird times we’re living in. This comes out in May, so it would be a perfect book to keep in your beach tote.

A timely contemporary that will interest and engage students. Students interested in the latest college admission scandal will enjoy this. Julie Buxbaum does a great job of humanizing her characters even as they make the wrong decisions while still exploring the illegality and wrongness of the college admission scandal. Very readable.

This book reminded me of a Law & Order show since the subject matter was "ripped from the headlines" (college admissions scandal). Chloe, a 17 year old high school student, narrates the behind-the-scenes look of the scandal that unfolded in alternating "then" and "now" chapters. Julie Buxbaum did a great job of exploring white privilege.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read an early copy.

I was hooked in with this book from the first chapter. I love a good “rich people behaving badly” story. The real-life college admission scandal of 2019 had been dialed in. I expected more fluff to this. But what I found instead was more substance than I had expected. I appreciated the relationship between the main character and her best friend and how choices affected that relationship.