Disclosure: I was a high-schooler who shot for NYU and Columbia, but landed with solid scholarships at the University of Southern California, where my fellow students included Rumor Willis, Katherine Schwarzenegger (both of whom I never saw, but heard about), Troian Bellisario, and Deborah Ann Woll (both of whom were very nice in passing). As a student, I worked 10 hours a week as an assistant to one of the event planners for the university, and I handed happily handed drink tickets and nametags to many celebrity and/or wealthy parents with a smile.

It took me a long time to process Operation Varsity Blues when news broke in 2019. Soon I’ll have spent half my life in higher education, and I respect the complex work admissions offices do balancing accreditations, rankings, money, and talent. When they already had money (both a factor and a means to secure an additional factor of higher-placing talents), did rich parents really still need a “side door” to guarantee college placement?

Chole Berringer, Admission’s main character, is a loose stand-in for Olivia Jade, daughter of Lori Loughlin (though there is a dash of Felicity Huffman’s drama in the Berringer family story; in this alternate world, Felicity Huffman is alluded to and not involved in the scandal). Chloe lets most of her life just happen around her. She has no goals, directions, or even strong opinions in life, and that’s why our plot happens. She lets her parents’ desire for her to attend “California Southern University” sweep her up.

Buxbaum’s plot is crafted in ways that are very generous to her heroine. Her wishy-washy naiveté forgives her from most sins apart from white, rich privilege, though to be fair that sin is explored pretty thoroughly. It smacks of a gymnast doing an easy routine perfectly, but robotically when you wish they would take some technical chances and give it more oomph.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

College admissions bribery scandal - this book screamed "Lori Loughlin" to me. Although I'm not a young adult, I tend to enjoy books made for this audience and this was no exception. Inside the pages I was super excited to find it was dual time line (then and now) which is something I love in a book.

The book follows Chloe, a high school student trying to get into the college of her choice and her semi famous mother who really wants her to achieve all of her dreams. Alas, Chloe is not the best of students. This book navigates the "before" where she has to work really hard for her grades and study for the SAT.. to the "now" where she is caught up in a nationwide college scandal with her family (mainly, her hollywood mom).

I liked this family. I mean, besides breaking laws.... I felt for them. I believe intentions were good. I was glued to the pages wanting to see what would happen in the end. It was a really interesting take on the family, each member was so different.

Well written and easy read. Really enjoyed!

This was an interesting storyline that came out after the college admission scandals in the news. I had high hopes for it but it felt mediocre as a whole. I did enjoy the actual college admission storyline, with the differing levels of knowledge of the event. Hearing about Chloe and her parents' involvement and Isla's knowledge of the event was definitely interesting. The issue I had was mostly the romance storyline. It felt forced and I didn't need it. I found myself spacing out during these sections and it made the book feel like it was dragging. I was disappointed in the ending, though how many of us were disappointed in real life?

The author did a great job using her characters to illustrate that by willfully ignoring our privilege, we are part of the problem. I couldn't emotionally connect to or root for any of the characters and was at times disengaged from the story. To be fair, it would be very challenging to include this type of social commentary while also giving readers characters they would empathize with.

I really enjoyed this one. I felt like with everything that has happened the past few years with the college scandal that this book really got home, and that I could definitely relate to it better and I really enjoyed how it was in the child's perspective. Much different that what we see in the media these days.

The writing is great, characters are good, and overall was a really fun book to read.

I tried to make it through this book about 4 times. I love Julie Buxbaum's writing and have always adored her books. This was a simple case of a book being read at the wrong time for me to enjoy it. The main character struggles with anxiety. In the midst of the pandemic, when so many of us are struggling with anxiety, I found it difficult to pick up and read. I did persevere for a while, and then decided to call it quits on this one. Again, I do not think this is any reflection on the book itself. Just the wrong book for me right now. I will continue to read this author's novels, and may go back to pick this one up at a later date.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for that advanced readers copy.

Admission could be torn from the headlines regarding the college admissions schedule but that does not take away from this well-written YA novel by Julie Buxbaum. While there are similarities between real life public figures and B-list celebrity Joy, her husband and their daughters Chloe and Isla-they are not carbon copies. Chloe is a likeable teenage girl in Los Angeles who is oblivious to her privilege but in spite of her mom's celebrity status and her parent's wealth she is a pretty normal high school student. Not understanding her parent's fervor for her to attend a specific university she is blindsided when FBI agents raid their home. The book is told in alternating timelines of before and after and the reader walks through the events leading up to the raid and the fall-out. The characters are well-developed and the reader may find themselves sympathizing with Chloe and her sister. Great YA debut by a well-known writer!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I really like Julie Buxbaum’s books, so I was excited to read her new book Admission. While it was not my favorite of her books, I did like the story and it was pretty interesting. It was pretty relevant to what we recently saw in the news about the celebrities and wealthy people that got caught paying their children’s way into college. You kind of got a closer/inside glimpse into what we all read about and seen in the news regarding this same situation that the book is based off of.

I liked the topic that Admission was based off of and it was interesting getting a deeper look into it, but aside from that I had trouble really connecting to any of the characters in the story. Not many of them were likeable to me aside from maybe Isla. I didn’t like that some of the characters weren’t treated very nicely even though they were friends; example being the way that Chloe sometimes treated Shola. Thee was lots of family drama that came along with the college admissions scandal, but one of the things I really like about it was that it brought Chloe and Isla closer together and I ended up liking their sisterly bond in the end. The story did feel like something was missing or like more could have been done with it.

Overall though, while it wasn’t my favorite from Julie, I did like the story and I would still recommend it, because it’s an interesting topic and there’s some important messages as well.

Admission
3.5

3.5 stars Chloe isn’t a greasy student. Her parents are rich celebrities that have access and privileges other people don’t have. This is the college student scandal told from the point of view of the daughter, the beneficiary. She goes to a private academy for either very smart or very connected students. Her friends and her sister do very well in school but she is average. She doesn’t try that hard at school. She is working hard in her SATs but it hasn’t helped. Her parents enlist a coach and suddenly everything is different. She now has a learning disability and has extra time on the test. She questions the coach and her parent about that and they assure her she does have one. She questions what they are doing the whole time but doesn’t stop it. Her best friend doesn’t have the money or connections but has worked very hard and has great grades and plans to go to Harvard but she will need a scholarship. She points out the inequities but Chloe doesn’t fully grasp the concepts. She has a mentee that she reads to. She understands that his mom is illegal and that they live in fear but doesn’t really see how much privilege she has. This story is how her and her family learn how much privilege they have had and how unfair it is to the students that don’t have the wealth or connections or privileges. It’s not a bad book but it’s the characters. They aren’t people you want to root for. Shula and her mentee are they only ones you want to cheer for. I usually love her books and again I don’t hate this it’s just a bit cringy to see people who have everything have to be shown how much more their lives benefit from what they have and who they are when they are living amongst people who should show them daily that they are privileged. Chloe’s best friend Shula and her mentee should be daily reminders. It shouldn’t take a college admission scandal to make them understand that they are wrong and that they benefit greatly from what and who they are.

“To be an ally you need to be a better listener.”
👩🏻‍🎓
Chloe Wynn Berringer’s life is perfect. She’s the daughter of a famous B list actress, lives in LA in a mansion headed to her dream college in the fall, has an awesome BFF & the boyfriend of her dreams...until one morning she opens the door expecting UPS only to find the Feds. Now Chloe’s life shifts from Then to Now after her mother is arrested, along with many others, for college admissions bribery charges. Suddenly Chloe’s perfect life is the stuff of nightmares. What happens when the hyper privileged gets what’s coming to them?
👩🏻‍🎓
I realize that Admission is a work of fiction (it’s even stated in the author’s note), but I couldn’t help comparing Chloe’s story to that of the Hollywood scandal that broke last year. To be honest I was a lot like the people who shut Chloe out in the book. I judged and judged harshly. To be white, wealthy and privileged enough to think you deserve anything in the world was hard to see on the news when so many BIPOC are arrested for lesser crimes and held longer in prisons across the US. However putting a face to this story and being able to see into Chloe’s mind definitely humanized her to me and there were times I felt empathetic towards her particular point of view. Regardless I realize that sometimes not everything is black and white...but there is legal and illegal; moral and immoral. What Chloe’s parents did for her was wrong. End of story. On another note I just have to say thank you to Julie for writing this story and fictionalizing what we all saw play out on TV. It was fascinating to read your take on Chloe and her family. If anyone is ever confused about while privilege make sure to read this book. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Have you heard about what Lori Loughlin did and what happened to her? This is the same scenario. It was okay...

While I had high hopes for this book after the recent college admissions bribery scandal, I felt like it was kind of judgmental from a place of envy instead of facts, which made it hard to side with the main character. The author assumes to know what was in the head of the parents, which I’m sure was partially accurate, but for some reason it felt like overkill. It would have helped to have some additional POV’s or making at least some of the characters feel “normal”.

In the Author’s Note of her novel Admission, Julie Buxbaum noted, “Reading fiction is often an act of empathy—as is writing it.” This statement rang so true to me as I stayed glued to this ripped-from-the-headlines fictionalization of the Hollywood college admissions scandal.

Chloe, a self-professed “normal” girl (whose mom just happens to be a 2000s sitcom star), just wants to kiss her crush, hang out with her bestie, and make it into a decent college; however, while the first two goals seem to be going swimmingly, her abysmal SAT scores stand between her and her dream school. Enter Dr. Wilson, a college admissions guru who works his magic to secure Chloe more favorable testing conditions and ensure that her essays are up to snuff. As legitimate as this may at first seem, it’s not long until Chloe is watching her world crumble around her as her mom is taken into custody for buying a college admission.

There was so much about this book that kept me reading well past my bedtime. First, the characters are relatable (even when I really thought they wouldn’t be), and the situation, while steeped in privilege, seems like a moral dilemma that anyone could face: how far is too far to go for someone you love? How much punishment is enough? There’s a lot of discussion of being willfully ignorant, as Chloe grapples with exactly how much she knew and how much she is to blame, and this resonates not only with the admissions scandal but also with issues of race (especially in her relationship with her best friend Shola) and the socioeconomic divide (through her references to her tutoring buddy Cesar). In fact, the only part of the novel that seemed less than authentic was how Chloe was supposedly “dumb,” since her introspection throughout the novel marked her as wise beyond her years, such as when she remarks, “We were so greedy. I consider the word unfair, how it has never once applied to me. Not even now. Maybe especially not now.”

Admission is a strong purchase for school libraries everywhere and a perfect suggestion for anyone who enjoys realistic fiction. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book blind (mainly being intrigued by the cover, if we’re being honest) and was pleasantly surprised. I had no idea this was going to be a plot line similar to the college admission scandals. It was so interesting to me and a super fast read. I give this one 3.5 stars! Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Admission was the compelling story I did not know I needed to start off my year.

After a college admissions scandal comes to light, Chloe's seemingly perfect life comes crashing down. She must now face the public's demands for punishment and reflect on her own role and privilege. Since Admission is a first-person narrative, I quickly sank into Chloe's perspective. Although fiction, seeing through Chloe's eyes really opened my eyes to the other side of the college admissions scandal that recently shook the U.S. I liked how each character grew in a realistic manner rather than a 'happily ever after' ending. The alternating chapters between "Now" and "Then" were also impactful and kept me on my toes as more information was revealed.

Looking at the increasing pressures that teens face during college applications, this novel also addresses the factors of wealth and privilege and their role in society. I highly recommend picking up this memorable read!

DNF at 20%. Early in this book, Chloe is part of a discussion at school about unlikable characters. The teacher says we don’t read to like them, we read to understand them. Do you agree with this? Do you need to like the characters you read?

I’m not sure my answer is always the same. Ive certainly enjoyed some books with unlikable characters - but other times, like reading Admission - I just can’t bring myself to spend more hours in their company.

I think the premise is interesting - go deeper into the headlines we all read of the college tuition scandals. But turns out I’m okay with just the headlines version. I feel even more annoyed and disgusted hearing more imagined details.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

A gritty and unfiltered YA novel loosely based on the admissions scandal that took place recently with a Hollywood starlet and her two high school aged girls. This is a realistic and completely honest look into what it’s like to be exposed, over privileged, and naive.

Chloe is the child of a Hollywood starlet and therefore has grownup with a silver-spoon in her mouth. Even though Chloe knows what it’s like to have almost everything, she still learns that money can’t buy you a new personality orngood grades. In the wake of her mother’s scandal, Chloe discovers her own culpability and what it’s like to take responsibility for her actions.

While I found this book to be extremely well written, I had a hard time getting through this wordy and sometimes long-winded look inside the life of an overly privileged white teenager. Buxbaum takes a glaringly hard look at white privilege and responsibility. I think for me, I just had a hard time getting through the serious subject matter when all I want is light and fluffy right now. Overall, this is a thought-provoking and perfectly executed book, but a complete one-eighty from what I’m used to reading from this author.

I enjoyed this fictionalized version of the Varisty Blues/Lori Loughlin scandal. It was an interesting take on the scandal - Chloe doesn’t know what is happening EXACTLY until her mom is arrested or did she? The book is told in flashback with sections titled “Now” and “Then”. It was a quick listen, and I finished it in an afternoon.

Using the recent college admissions scandal, Buxbaum has written a fictional account of this experience from the teen's POV.
Chloe answers the door early one morning expecting her latest order from Sephora, but is instead met by FBI agents who have arrived to arrest her famous actress mother. The reason? Her mother paid to have Chloe's SAT test scores inflated and to have her admitted to a college using false information that she was a pole vaulter. How much did Chloe know or realize about this situation? Did she really believe that she did all this on her own? Buxbaum uses the situation to look inside the scandal at how this situation might have occurred.
First, at the most I felt apathy for Chloe and her family. It was so far removed from my own life and experiences that I did not build any empathy for Chloe or her situation. Do I feel angry at people who use their money and influence to buck the system? Yes. Definitely.
Second, the only character I liked was Chloe's younger sister, Isla. She seemed the most realistic of the group.
I LOVED Tell Me Three Things by Buxbaum and was really looking forward to this book, but it just did not hit the mark for me.

Em “Admission” vamos entrar no universo do terror da maioria dos adolescentes que desejam — ou são obrigados — ter um futuro em uma universidade. Esse é um tema recorrente em livros, séries e filmes, mas Julie Buxbaum se inspirou em um escândalo real para escrever essa história que além de muito séria, você consegue entender e se sentir na pele dos personagens com extrema honestidade.

O processo para ser aceito em uma universidade americana é cansativo, longo e mais que isso: de quebrar o coração de muitos. Você precisa ter notas boas no SAT (estilo nosso vestibular), ter uma grade curricular com todas boas durante todo o seu ensino médio, fazer parte de diversas atividades extracurriculares — desde clubes do próprio colégio a outras atividades fora dele. É importante você mostrar que se importa com algo. Não se resume apenas em suas notas ou em quanto dinheiro você tem. Não é só passar em uma prova. É ser visto por uma instituição e para isso, você tem que ter no mínimo todos os requisitos que já citei.

Chloe é uma menina que vive em um mundo de privilégios, mas tem suas dificuldades. Elas são óbvias para todos aos seu redor, incluindo seus pais. E o que dinheiro pode comprar? Além de aulas particulares, Coach para ajudar a você trilhar o caminho certo e entender em quais universidades você tem real chance de entrar — ou como melhorar para entrar na que deseja. Tem muita coisa que dinheiro pode pagar, mas enquanto os pais de Chloe se esforçam para que ela melhore diante de suas dificuldades, ela ainda é uma adolescente que sofre com toda essa pressão. Em especial por ver que a sua irmã mais nova é tranquilamente mais competente em lidar con tudo isso e que obviamente terá mais sucesso que ela sem tanto dano emocional.

Os pais são retratado com honestidade até quando eles não são tão honestos assim. Mas será que Chloe é totalmente inocente quando a polícia bate na sua porta?

Uma história sobre pressão, perfeição, aparências, privilégios — e até onde você realmente deve ir com eles achando que não deve ter consequências — e família. Família de uma forma crua, que erra, que acerta, mas que no final é honesta, em especial entre si. Certas atitudes não são justificáveis, mas você consegue entender as motivações por trás da bomba que estoura logo no primeiro capítulo. Uma excelente leitura!

Ps: se você sofre de ansiedade, talvez essa leitura seja legal para você intercalar com outra. Existem muitas cenas que demonstram ansiedade e pensamentos catastróficos ao longo do livro.