This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Let’s face it, we were all more than a little fascinated when news of the big college admissions scandal came out. Unless you were living under a rock, you saw the news and you probably formed some of your own opinions about everyone involved. I’ll confess I did. So, when I saw that Julie Buxbaum was writing a (fictional) account of a girl in a similar situation, I was intrigued!

One of my favorite things about Buxbaum’s book is how she presents Chloe as a complex character, definitely flawed but still someone you find yourself rooting for in some ways. Buxbaum manages to make the reader sympathize with Chloe while never letting her MC off the hook for her complicity in her parents’ schemes. It seems like a realistic portrayal of how someone could get wrapped up in doing something wrong all while convincing themselves that it wasn’t really happening. The book also puts a spotlight on wealth and privilege and how easy it is to fall back on that privilege without actually acknowledging it. Chloe’s world is so small that she actually doesn’t see how obtuse she’s being, and so often she has thoughts or makes comments that are downright offensive, but she really and truly has no clue. It’s a fascinating character study. The addition of characters like Chloe’s sister Isla (who has actually worked hard for her future instead of just feeling like she deserves it by default) and best friend Shola (whose Nigerian immigrant family has lived through actual hardship and doesn’t enjoy the benefits of white privilege or wealth) make the story that much richer because these characters act as foils to Chloe. The book definitely gives you quite a few things to think about!

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley for review purposes. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***

Really enjoyed this fictionalized account of the college admissions scandal. Chloe is a high school senior who has a very famous actress mother. Chloe believes that she got into the college of choice through her own merit but soon realized that her parents paid her way in. Suddenly Chloe's whole world is shattered and she must figure out who she truly is.
This was very entertaining my only problem was the flashback scenes got a little bland after a while.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc.

As an educator who has to help her students through the college admissions process every year, this book really resonated with the stress and struggles my kids are facing. It's especially timely given the recent college bribery scandal by a certain celebrity I grew up watching.

This book will be a definite purchase for our high school library! Thank you so much for allowing me to have access to the digital arc!

I enjoyed this book a lot. I think the subject of privilege can be a hard one to explore in a book without coming across too preachy, but the author pulled it off in my opinion. None of the characters (besides the best friend) were what I would call likable, but that seemed like part of the point to me. I was glad to see it didn't all wrap up perfectly for the MC.

This is a story taken from the news headlines. We hear a different side of the Admission scandal. What if it was your parent who paid someone to cheat for you? What if your parents didn't think you were smart enough to get into college on your own? How would you feel? And then there are your friends. Do they really think you were in on it? Could you have been so oblivious to what was going on that you didn't see what your parents were doing? An honest and heartbreaking look at the child's side of the Admission Scandal story.

This book was a bit slow for me. I ended up skipping most paragraphs just to get to the main points of what happened to the characters.

Admission by Julie Buxbaum immediately caught my attention when I read the description due to the recent high-profile college admissions scandal. I have fairly recently been through college admissions with my girls and find the entire process quite interesting and also difficult to decipher. This book is the fictional story of Chloe Berringer, daughter of a famous movie actress and overall average student with an average college essay and average SAT score. Chloe has accepted the fact that she will end up at a college where she can be accepted and not at a prestigious university. But, her mom and dad do not like this idea one bit so they hire someone to help her get into SCC, Southern California College. Suddenly, Chloe has an accommodation for the SAT (ADHD), is a star pole vaulter, and has a new spiffed up essay. If this all sounds familiar, that is because the story tracks the real-life scandal pretty closely, but this book gives a fictional 'inside' view of the family dynamics before, during, and after the scandal broke. I really liked Chloe's character, she is sweet, kind, and a bit clueless. The reason I am giving it 4 stars, rather than 5, is that I felt that Chloe's best friend, Shola, railed on her in such a mean way after the scandal broke and was not a true friend to Chloe.

When I read the premise of this book I was immediately intrigued and looking forward to getting a perspective from the student – the one whose life was basically ruined by a decision they didn’t make.

I thought the way Bauxbaum wrote Chloe’s reactions and inner monologue was authentic and real. It could have been seen as whiney, but I think given the dire situation she was thrown into that it was all justified. The comparisons between THEN and NOW perfectly showed the juxtaposition between the life Chloe had and the life Chloe was unwantingly served.

What I think this book did successfully was accurately depict a white, teen girl coming face to face with her privilege and what those privileges had gotten her. How those privileges are seen by those who don’t have the same chances in life, and what being forced to confront all of those things can do for a person. I think the author did a great job of taking a popular news story and turning it into a lesson for all. 4.5 stars for me!

Fun riff on the recent college admissions scandals! I enjoyed the YA point of view and found it compulsively readable. Would recommend.

This is the story of Chloe, a really lovely, kind, good kid who has never had to confront her privilege. Until her parents buy her admission to the college of her dreams...and get caught. Journey with her as she confronts her faulty moral compass and her ability to be “aggressively oblivious” in the face of losing everyone she cares about. Chloe faces some hard truths and resets her path in this compulsively readable novel. Like the best, most insightful People Magazine article. Gossipy, but deep. I'm still thinking about this book.

Chloe Wynn Berringer lives a privileged life. She goes to a prestigious school, has everything she could ever want and has two parents who love and support her. When she struggles in school and on college applications, what else would her parents do but help her. But how much help is too much help? Admission is a look into the competitive university process and the toll it has on the students and their parents. Buxbaum lays out all the details of the college scandal but did not add anything else than what was documented though the news outlets. I wanted more from the plot than I had already read in the papers. The story may have followed Chloe and gave some insight into the sheltered privileged life of a rich child but the attempt was shallow and blinded. Chloe came off as a spoiled immature child who blinded herself to what was happening around her. She often over stepped with friends and did not want to take her privileged outlook off to look at the world other see it. Even her journey felt fake and superficial because the character seemed to not have any morals. Little space was given to the secondary characters to grow and have agency to speak and give lessons to Chloe, adding to Chloes vapid view on life.

This story takes a hard look at privilege, but also looks at one family and the consequences of keeping up a lifestyle and image.

As usual with my reviews, I’m going to focus on the characters, and my feelings about them. There may be a few spoilers below.

Chloe’s dad- the story is told from Chloe’s POV, and I know his name was mentioned, but I don’t really remember it. He doesn’t have a huge presence in the story, except really to agree with everything her mom does. Though it is obvious that he cares about his children and wants to protect them.

Levi- Chloe’s boyfriend, rich, privileged, and sees nothing wrong with being so, but everything wrong in what Chloe and her parents have done. Kind of a pretentious jerk in my opinion.

Shola- Chloe’s best friend, not from the privileged set, POC on scholarship to their private school, brilliant and talented. Shola has always been Chloe’s person, but has to make choices to protect herself and her beliefs, even though she still cares about Chloe. I completely understand and support Shola’s position and actions.

Mrs. Oh- the school’s guidance counselor, and the only one who reaches out to Chloe. I really liked her. While she was oblivious of Chloe’s concerns when everything started, she realized that she had failed Chloe and offers support. She doesn’t play down the seriousness of the situation, but she also helps Chloe to know that there is still hope for the future.

Chloe’s mom- again, her name is mentioned multiple times because she is a B-list actress, but I can’t remember it. She and Chloe are super close, but she is caught up in image and only thinks about getting Chloe what she {the mom} thinks Chloe wants. She’s not a bad person, but makes a series of entitled, damaging choices that she has to pay the price for.

Isla- Chloe’s sister, she is the brains of the family and the one who understands just how serious everything is. She stands beside Chloe, even while she is angry at her and their parents. She helps Chloe to deal with everything that is happening, even helping to find Chloe her own lawyer. Isla is the younger sister, who is brilliant, but this scandal could now possibly mar her future as well. But she steps up and becomes Chloe’s person when she needs it most.

Chloe- definitely privileged and kind of oblivious about it, and a lot of things. Chloe has a sense of right and wrong, and something feels off to her, but each time she tries to speak up, she’s talked over and doesn’t press it further. By her own admission she’s kind of lazy, but as everything starts happening, she’s left feeling like her parents think she’s stupid and that she’s not good enough. While she’s slow to put the pieces together, she ultimately does the day before the FBI arrives, but since she didn’t say anything, she feels that she is just as culpable and her parents. Chloe is devastated and pays a very high cost, but she does also learn from the experience and starts to put her privilege to work for others, though nothing will erase the damage done by the scandal.

I really felt for Chloe. Yeah, she was blinded by her privilege and looked at the world from that vantage point, but she was also a 17-year-old kid doing what her parents wanted her to do, not realizing the full extend of how wrong it was. Her parents were adults and knew full well what was happening, and Chloe does take some of the blame, but she was also human, and lost, and almost completely alone in trying to deal with the aftermath. I’m proud of the growth she achieved through the course of the book, and she is moving on the right track, though still has a long way to go.

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book through Net Galley and the publishers {Delacorte Press, Random House} in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I think this was published at a very opportune time. I haven't followed the scandal real closely so I don't know how similar the events are. I enjoyed the book, but found it disconcerting that Chloe could be so blind to her privilege when her best friend was constantly fighting an uphill battle to get the same privileges.

I really enjoyed Admission. It was nice to see some character growth that truly felt genuine. I appreciated that the characters learned their lessons without the book feeling preachy. I’m also impressed that a story with an obvious endpoint still managed to feel unpredictable.

I was fascinated by the Lori Loughlin-Felicity Huffman college scandal, which was the basis of Julie Buxbaum's new novel, Admission. Chloe is the privileged daughter of a B-list actress and flits through life as if it's a party. This all comes crashing down the day she opens the door to find police there to arrest her mother. Told in both the past and present, Chloe remembers how she got into a prestigious school while also dealing with the ramifications of the fraud her parents committed. Although it was slow to start, I really appreciate how Buxbaum shows this wasn't a "victimless" crime and doesn't sugarcoat it. Definitely a must read for anyone who followed the real story!

DNF @ 10%, so no rating.

I'm bored. I'm bored, and I'm tired of reading books about how terrible people who are wealthy are, if I'm being honest. This book ticks off so many social justice boxes it could fill a UHaul, so if that's your thing, this is the book for you. I find it redundant.

Admission is a tricky book. How do you tackle a challenging contemporary issue that is incredibly divisive, yet make the protagonist likeable and relatable? Buxbaum has done it. Chloe is a character for whom reades can't help but feel empathy, but in the same breath, find themselves frustrated with. In part, her ignorance with regards to school and academics is entirely believable - there are so many high school students who don't start thinking about grades until they start thinking about college applications. Chloe is also a child of privilege - she has grown up in a wealthy household with very few challenges in her way. Ultimately, when she finds out that her parents were involved in this scandal, she questions their motives. Did they not think that she could get in on her own? Is she not smart enough to pass the SAT without accommodations? It is in these moments that we see a teenager who is filled with doubt about her present and the future and it was in these moments that I was most drawn to Admission.

While the story can be difficult - how could a teenager not suspect anything when her parents ask for a photo for her application? - I think at the heart of it, it is about the lies that we are willing to tell ourselves in order to get where we feel we need to be. This book caused me to think a lot and wonder how many of my students have found themselves in similar situations. The book does wrap things up, so there is definitely closure, but it also leaves some things unanswered allowing readers to ponder some pretty important questions.

As an added bonus, I loved how Buxbaum included little Easter eggs - gems from past books that are seamlessly incorporated into the story and will only be noticed by true fans. I encourage readers to dive in, but look for the little nuggets from past books to fully appreciate Buxbaum's work.

Honestly just felt as though the girl involved in the real life scandal wrote a book attempting to defend herself. There was little effort to make you feel sympathetic towards the spoiled rich girl who notices wrongs but doesn't stop them. I would have enjoyed the book more if there was an effort from the main character to stop what was happening around her. It was hard to feel bad though especially when she repeatedly makes comments about money or race around her so called best friend who is both racially and socioeconomically different from her. How many years does it take for you to understand why comments like these hurt your friend?! stupidity. Also. Not even sure why the boyfriend aspect became a thing. There was no need in the story for a relationship to develop, no time for a romance and in the end it was like poof its done. Don't feel like the character understood just how horrible the things she participated in were or that she got any real consequence except getting her acceptance to college taken away.