“I think, I’ll be angry tomorrow. I think, I’ll never forgive her. I think, Maybe tomorrow I’ll gather the courage to ask, What have we done? But thinking is different from feeling, and at this moment there’s no space inside for any of it.”


This book was inspired by the famous college admission scandal.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this but I was extremely curious because I’ve been following the real life case of Lori Laughlin.

The author shows us what it’s like to be white and privileged. But it also gives you a different perspective on the scandal.

I found myself sympathizing with the family, while also dealing with some anger.
It’s a very thought-provoking read.
I definitely enjoyed this book. It’s my first by this author and I love her style of writing. It was a quick and easy read! I highly recommend it especially if you followed the tabloids when it all went down

How far would you go for your kids?


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


Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

Julie Buxbaum, best selling YA novelist is back. Her latest work, Admission, will be released from Delacorte Press on December 1st. I was given an advanced reader copy by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book is pretty familiar. A few years back, in America, the news broke that many children of privilege were admitted into elite colleges and universities because their parents paid for test scores, transcripts and extracurricular activities to be falsified. This meant that, essentially, they were taking a spot from a more deserving student. Everyone remembers this story because it involved a few famous actresses. The outrage, rightfully so, was palpable.

What everyone forgot, during that time of righteous indignation, was that behind the selfish acts of rich, white elites, were children who most likely, had no idea what was going on. Buxbaum asks readers to take a step back from that feeling of rage, and to think about these crimes from the perspective of the children.

The book focuses on Chloe, the daughter of a woman clearly based on "Aunt Becky" herself. She's a B list actress who's made a name for herself doing lots of bad, but beloved TV shows, and Hallmark Christmas movies. The story begins with the FBI knocking on the door, then flips back and forth between the events after the knock. and the months leading up it

Buxbaum's strength as writer comes from giving us a flawed lead. It's clear that Chloe wasn't in on the deception, but it's also clear that she's willfully ignorant. Her heart's often in the right place, but she remains clueless to much of the situation that's going on around her. Shola, her hard working, genius of a best friend, offers readers some of the best counter points to Chloe's ridiculous life of privilege. Shola comes from a working class family. She shares a bedroom with her younger twin siblings, and needs every scholarship dollar she can get. The interactions between the girls is often sweet, but there are moments where Chloe's smallminded, myopic view of things take the reader's breath away.

Buxbaum throws readers just enough humor with Ilsa, the smarter younger sister who seems to be at once above the fray, and the only one who actually knows what's really happening. There are some meta moments as well when we learn that Chloe's mom loses a role to Felicity Huffman. Later, Chloe says she doesn't want to read The Picture of Doran Gray because, she "has no interest in spending 320 pages with a spoiled narcissist." Pretty hysterical.

Conclusion

Buxbaum proves once again that she is a first rate YA novelist. She gives readers insight into characters and makes them want to simultaneously give Chloe a hug, and smack her on the back of the head for being so awful. While readers may not feel more sympathy for Aunt Becky after reading this novel, they may take a beat and think about the kids who were involved, and how their lives were changed forever through no fault of their own.

Parents have a lot of influence in the lives of their children and maybe, just maybe, after reading this, a kid, or parent, will take a minute to realize what kind of examples are being set.

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 to go to a good college. So they hire a special college counselor to help Chloe with improving her test scores, strengthening her applications, etc. And when she gets in to the school of her dreams, she’s excited and relieved.

But the next thing she knows, the FBI is swarming her house and arresting her mother for being part of a massive college admissions bribery scandal. This threatens Chloe and her dad, too, and there’s a chance she could even be prosecuted.

Suddenly everything Chloe has held dear is in ruins. It forces her to confront her privilege, and come to terms with what she actually knew about the whole thing, and what she did about it. But more than that she needs to understand why her parents felt they needed to do this for her. Did they think she’d fail otherwise, and would that be embarrassing for them?

"Under all this lies the terrible quicksand of fear. What if they are right? What if it's true that we are terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad people? If I allow myself to dip my toes into that idea, that I am not actually the hero of my own story but a villain, I quickly find myself neck deep."

Even though this book has a very ripped-from-the-headlines feel I was really hooked on it. It’s crazy to read about the strings that get pulled for families with money, putting others at a disadvantage. None of the characters are particularly sympathetic but this still was an interesting story about how blind we are to our privilege. It also was entertaining to see how “the other half” lives.

NetGalley and Delacorte Press provided me with a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

The book publishes 12/1/2020.

The Title/Cover Draw:
I love academic fiction. This one seemed perfect in that respect, but also because it was based on real life headlines.
What I liked:
I liked how the story matched the real headlines.
What I didn’t like:
How it jumped between then and now. I felt like the then portions didn’t lend too much to what could be said in the now.
What kept me reading:
I really wanted to know what would happen and it the main characters would be blamed and the end result.
The Characters:
While I felt for the main character, I really wasn’t connected to her or was that sympathetic.
The Ending:
Not exactly what I was expecting.
Consider if you like:
If you were obsessed with the college admissions scandal.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

This book was just ok. The main character grew throughout the story, and I think that she really changed over time. There were several times where she was really naive though, and it was hard to believe it could happen in real life. I think that many of the details were also too close to reality, so I kept picturing a certain celebrity instead of the character described, which colored my view of the characters. Not a book I'd recommend to others, but it wasn't terrible.

I was so excited to read this book because just like most people in the US, I was completely fascinated by the real-life case it was based on. As expected, it was highly readable and at time funny. One aspect that I loved was the protagonist's (Chloe) relationship with her sister and how it changed throughout the course of the novel.

I didn't exactly hate anything about this book, but where it fell flat was the characterization of Chloe. She was one part poor-little-rich-girl one part blank canvas. At times she seemed more like an idea than an actual person. Besides that, there were no real surprises, which maybe I should have expected going in and maybe after the real life college admissions scandal nothing seems that shocking anymore but I guess I want maybe just a little bit of twists and turns to keep the story interesting.

Sometimes when you read a fictional version of something in actual news headlines, it makes you think beyond the sensational headlines. Buxbaum brings to light the people behind the scandals and brings empathy that is refreshing. It is so easy to judge harshly. What I loved most were characters that were not perfect. The characters didn’t make decisions as villains but as people who truly cared for their loved one. They did not think past their own self-centeredness and because of this face major consequences. This is something everyone is guilty of but it is in how you face those consequences that make us grow as humans.

- Posted to Goodreads

A likable story but not as well received as other books that I have read by her. I didn't connect with the characters like I had hoped.

Chloe thought she had a perfect life. She is getting ready to go to college, she finally has a boyfriend and her best friend is always there for her. But this perfect life comes crashing down when she answers the door and the FBI is there to arrest her mother. Her mother is charged as part of a country-wide college admissions scandal and Chloe might end up facing charges too. The public outcry is fierce and Chloe begins to lose everything she thought was hers. Why couldn’t her mom just accept that she wasn’t destined for big things? How much of the scandal was Chloe a part of?

Admission is a stand-alone novel that comes on the heels of a real-life scandal that rocked the United States. Buxbaum takes a topic that we heard about in the news and lets readers delve into the lives of the people who participated in the deception. Although there is no reason to ever cheat, this story does a good job of laying out the thoughts of the participants before, during, and after the events. Admission is a good read that also will leave the reader with points to think about later.

Honestly, I am surprised I have not read a Julie Buxbaum book before. Her books seem to fall into categories of novels I read regularly. While I liked this book, there were little things that bothered me about it. Overall it was quite enjoyable though.

This book follows the life of a high school senior as her life is torn apart with the arrest and investigation into her parents for bribing and scamming her college application and admission into the college of her choice.

I was hesitant to read this book because it mirrors some real life scandals going on in the world and those are still fresh in people’s minds, so I wasn’t sure this was going to read well. Julie Buxbaum has a great writing style though and makes the characters interesting. My biggest issue with this story was just the way the main character Chloe was made to be so ditzy. I do not in any way think she is not smart. I feel like everyone is smart in their own way and some people just struggle with school and testing. Chloe is really written to seem oblivious to almost everything and kind of ditzy. I suppose this could be to make you understand why her friends are so mad at her, but I found it more frustrating and slightly annoying.

Even with that said, I quite enjoyed the book towards the end. I liked the emotions that Buxbaum drew out towards the end. I think the last few chapters were beautifully written and real. It’s almost like I understood them more.

Overall, this book is enjoyable and tells a great story of growth and family and learning to overcome some incredibly hard obstacles. I loved the little lessons we learned with Chloe along the way. Check it out and you will enjoy it.

I know we've all see the college admissions scandal on the news, but most of us didn't give it a lot of thought. I know I didn't . This book is an interesting, fictional look at the other side of that and a family involved. While it was hard to like anyone that got caught up in this, I really just wanted to hug poor Chloe. 3.5 stars and I recommend for anyone that wondered why someone would do all this to get their kid in college.

I made it through, but this book was just so flat for me, it was a definite struggle. I think my main issue is that this should have been character driven, but Chloe was completely flat. She never came to life for me. The story wasn’t just ripped from the headlines, it was only the headlines. So it really needed that oomph from the characters to stand out. Not a winner for me. 2.5 Stars

I remember exactly where I was the day the news broke about the college bribery scandal. It was all anyone at work could talk about that day, and though I was far removed from my college days, I remember the anger and disappointment I felt remembering how grueling the college application process was back in my day, and I’m sure it’s just become even more competitive. It was a scandal that really highlighted a truth I think many “knew” as an unspoken rule but now had tangible evidence for: the deck is stacked for the wealthy, the admissions process is not blind, and privilege is often another bullet point on a resume.

I was super intrigued when I found out there was going to be a YA book written based on the scandal- I was REALLY interested to see how the characters involved were going to be portrayed. Would they be likeable? Unlikable? Unreliable narrators? How close to the actual scandal would the plot align? What kind of note would the story end on? Once I dove into Admission it was hard to stop reading because it was so engrossing to see both the lead up and the fall out of the scandal.

Buxbaum structures the story in two alternating timelines, “Then” and “Now,” following 17 year old Chloe who is an average to lackluster student. In alternating chapters, we see Chloe actively dealing with the fallout of the scandal and seeing how she ended up involved in the first place, including all of the warning signs and little moments of unease that she brushed off. The story takes the stance that Chloe didn’t actively KNOW what was happening, but stuck her head in the sand quite a bit, and while she’s definitely not likeable (I mean, it’s hard to feel empathy for someone in this situation), I thought the narrative did a good job in posing some important questions that I think readers will have to grapple with: How much authority to children have to challenge their parents? What would a child in that situation be expected to do if they tried to stop their parents but they refused? Where is the line of culpability between student and parent?

Chloe herself is apathetic about a lot of things- she doesn’t really care about school work, she doesn’t really care about which college she goes to, she often takes the easy way out, and she’s definitely not ambitious or driven. Yet you get the sense that she’s mostly OK with these elements of herself and while not actively involved in the crime her parents are committing, her passive behavior in going along with their plans to meet their expectations brings about its own unique kind of disappointment in the reader. There are glimpses of humanity within Chloe- she deeply cares about her best friend who is not rich and is working her behind off to get into Harvard, she’s passionate about her volunteer work where she mentors a young boy and helps him with his reading, and she’s deeply ashamed of her parents actions and really would have been fine going to one of her safety schools. Yet her positive attributes are so often overshadowed by, quite frankly, her own obliviousness to her privilege, and while she doesn’t actively flaunt it her lack of awareness about it is a problem in and of itself.

One of my favorite elements of the story was the focus on Chloe’s little sister, Isla. So often when big celebrity scandals erupt it’s easy to get caught up in the drama and villanize those involved without giving a thought to those family members who truly were not culpable. It was heartbreaking to see Isla, a driven, hardworking student who’s spent her entire academic career passionately excelling and aiming toward an Ivy League college, caught in the fallout of the scandal, her own merit based accomplishments undoubtedly undermined and layered with suspicion after her parent’s actions for her sister. I thought Isla’s story provided and interesting, alternative POV into the scandal and showed how its fallout didn’t just impact the guilty but the innocent as well.

Overall: Admission was a compulsively readable, fictionalized take on the recent college admissions scandals that explores different levels of being complicit in the situation. It’s my second book by Buxbaum and I’ll definitely be reading more by her (I especially loved the easter egg from Hope and Other Punch Lines– Chloe’s dad has a Baby Hope photo in his office).

Chloe Wynn Berringer has always had it easy. Mom's a B-list celeb, the Berringers live well and Chloe and her little sister Isla attend Wood Valley, a private high school where Chloe loves hanging out with her best friend Shola and her crush/friend Levi.

But Chloe struggles with school, and is afraid that she won't get into college, let alone the colleges of her parents' dreams. So when she keeps doing poorly on the SAT, her parents bring in a "college consultant" to help her. Chloe reluctantly goes along . . . and then one day, the FBI shows up at her doorstep to arrest her mother as part of a huge college admissions scandal, which now Chloe is a part of.

Julie Buxbaum brings the recent college admissions scandal to her fictional character, told in alternating "then" and "now" chapters that take the reader through the whole process, including Chloe's distrust and questioning of the "process." When she gets into her school of choice, but better student Shola gets wait-listed, Chloe is even more confused.

The way the author shows Chloe's tumble to "rock bottom" gives some sympathy to the character, and the growth where she finally realizes that maybe she did deserve the scorn the world treated her to as "spoiled, entitled rich kid" is moving. A good book all around.

I was fascinated when the college admissions scandal broke. It was out right cheating. What I did not hear about was the kids. What did it mean to them? How did they feel? Did they know? This book does a great job showing that side. Speculating on one kid and what it may have been like for them. Interesting viewpoint.

While Admission seems a lot like Lori Loughlin's college admission scandal, the one thing I loved about Julie Buxbaum's take on this reality was that she focused on the daughters and how their mother's decision affected them. Like I don't have much compassion for Lori Loughlin, I didn't have much compassion for the mother here either. Rich, pretentious, privileged characters annoy me and there were many times I said out loud, "Really? Chloe had no clue either?" The younger daughter was the hero of the story - saving her sister and standing up to her parents. Thank you to NetGalley for this quick engaging read.

I was super excited to get my hands on this one! First, because I'm a huge fan of Julie Buxbaum, and second, I've worked in college admissions for the last fifteen years. I work at a mid-sized public university--so it's no where near as selective as schools listed in this book, but this book was very accurate to how selective Ivy League schools are. I always get excited when books talk about the college admissions process. This one was extra entertaining since Buxbaum got her idea for this book from the college admissions scandal. This book was originally supposed to be released in the spring, but the publication date got delayed due to the pandemic.

I really enjoyed this book! Early on in the book, I was at first a bit irritated with Chloe--poor little rich girl and all that--but Buxbaum really did a fantastic job of addressing the fact that Chloe was privileged--particularly as the book went on. The book alternated time frames between Then and Now--Then being the start of her senior year and Now being when the FBI knocked on her front door and beyond. The story was engaging and keep me interested. Buxbaum did a great job of showing the stress that the college admissions process can cause for students (and their parents, clearly lol). I loved the supporting characters too--especially Shola. I think Shola was my favorite. Overall, this was a fun, entertaining read, and I gave it four stars!

Note: If you are beginning the college search process, or are a parent helping a student through the college search process: YOU DO NOT NEED TO PAY SOMEONE TO HELP YOU. Yes, independent college counselors like this exist that want to charge you money. But people like me who work in college admissions are MORE THAN HAPPY to help you connect to resources FOR FREE. This is what we do. If you want help, cont act the admission counselor at the college or university you're interested in, or even email me. And while we're on the topic, NEVER pay someone to give you Financial Aid advice, either. There are Financial Aid counselors that do that, and filing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is just that--FREE. OK, soap box rant over!

I think this story is perfect to read due to the timing of the admission scandals. It made the book relatable to high schoolers and their families. The mother wanted the best for her high school daughter, while her daughter was trying to get through her senior year of high school. Even though you know that the parents may have broken laws, it makes you reflect on how far you would go for the people that you love.

When the college admissions scandal broke I was glued to the news like a lot of others. I couldn’t believe what was happening and wanted to know more. So when I heard about Admission and how it was inspired by the scandal I was really interested and excited to see a fictionalized version of it. And although I enjoyed it, a lot of the time I felt like I was reading the news and there was just a little too much going on in the long run.

Admission is about Chloe, the daughter of a B-List celebrity, who is thrilled when her dream of going to SCC comes true. She never expected to get in after she bombed the SATs and was told she needed to lower her college expectations. But when her mother hires her a private college coach and her SAT scores go up 240 points Chloe thinks things are looking up. That is until the FBI shows up. Now her mother is facing a possible prison sentence and Chloe has to face what she really knew about what was going on and if that makes her just as guilty as her parents. Told in past and present chapters Admission is about what it means to be rich and to have privilege and how far does “I didn’t know” really take someone.

First what I really liked about Admission was Chloe. She wasn’t a bad person. She wanted to go to college and was trying to things the right way. Or at least conniving herself she was doing it the right way. She would have been fine if she didn’t get into SCC and she knew that, but her parents wanted it for her as much as she wanted it so she didn’t fight as hard as she should have when things seemed sketchy. I also liked that she was willing to listen when people would tell her she needed to see the kind of privilege she has. She was willing to learn from her experiences and she was willing to take her consequences from her actions. I really like that. I also loved her sister, Isla. She was the highlight of the secondary characters and I kind of want a book just about her. My problem with Admission was there were side stories that I didn’t think got the attention they deserved. They seemed to be added to bring more awareness to these problems that people face everyday, but they also seemed like side thoughts that didn’t have enough attention. They deserved more then they got so that took away from some of the book.

All in all Admission was an interesting read. It left me with a lot of feelings and information to unpack. It was entertaining and got me thinking about how some of those kids felt after the scandal broke. Was it perfect? No. But it was definitely worth the read.

This is not Julie Buxbaum's best book but it is definitely a fast read that was entertaining. The admission scandal is so fresh in the news that it is difficult to separate the real story from the novel. Chloe has the potential to be a good character but she never felt formed enough to be the main character. Also, the plot, while realistic based on what actually happened, felt a little overblown. The book is entertaining but it didn't live up to Buxbaum's other books.