This lightly fictionalized, timely and very enjoyable version of 2019’s Varsity Blues college admissions scandal takes the point of view of one of the students involved and examines the ideas of privilege and entitlement along with culpability.

So I have skin in this game in several ways. Firstly, I work at a fancy independent high school whose students frequently go to some of the most elite colleges – none were involved with the Varsity Blues scandal though many have the legacy and extremely wealthy cards to play. Also, one of our neighbors was involved and it is to my eternal prurient regret that when I heard a kerfuffle at 6am on March 12, 2019 I didn’t look out the window to see the FBI. And as I write this, my son and I are in Southern California looking at colleges for him. We are a very privileged family and he is a smart kid who goes to a school that gives him lots of advantages though we probably couldn’t donate much more than a picnic table. We even toured USC (which he LOVED of course) and had a bit of a snigger about the water polo trophies.

Anyway back to the book!

Chloe Berlinger is the daughter of sitcom star Joy Fields and is thrilled when she gets into prestigious Southern California College against all the odds. But when the FBI arrest her mother for fraud it emerges that Chloe’s acceptance was based on a false claim that she’s a top pole vaulter and an SAT score that she didn’t achieve on her own.

The narrative is split into what happened leading up to the arrest and the aftermath. Chloe is at top notch Woods Valley private school where her grades are not stellar and she feels dumb compared to her best friend Nigerian American Shola (the author really loads Shola up as the face of the victims of the college scam – she is super smart and comes from a low income family who are depending on financial aid for her to get into college and she is waitlisted by SCC) and her crush Levi. It’s not clear to us (or her) if she’s not smart or maybe just doesn’t work that hard, but, either way, getting into SCC feels amazing until it becomes humiliating.

This novel attempts to answer the two questions which were on everyone’s lips at the time. Firstly, why did the parents do it? Though the answer seems to be simply because they can, for Chloe there’s a bit more to it. Did they think she was stupid? Her parents just say that they wanted the best for her but did they really? The idea of prestige is certainly briefly touched on and I’ve got to tell you how much that looms in many parents’ lives despite assurances of “whatever is the best fit”.

The second question we were all asking at the time is how did the students not know what was going on. Chloe spends a lot of time examining the idea of her culpability – she didn’t know what her parents were doing, but she did have her suspicions and does nothing. She knows she doesn’t have ADHD but allows her new “college counselor” to get this certified to give her extra time on the SAT. And why are her parents making such an enormous charitable donation to this counselor’s pet charity? Chloe concludes in retrospect that she was “aggressively oblivious” as the clues (not to say actual evidence) were there but she chose to willfully ignore them.

There is also some discussion, as there was at the time, of the legal “backdoor” ways that very rich (white) people use their money and privilege to secure college places for their children through large donations, and the unfairness of legacy is also lightly touched on (hey we feel that too! Both my husband and I are British and legacy isn’t a thing there).

There is a lot about Chloe’s privilege using Shola as both a mirror and mouthpiece. Once again Chloe is blithely oblivious of the depths of her privilege and accepts what is handed to her on a plate without much thought. Her microaggressions against Shola are numerous and Shola pushes back more times than you’d hope she’d have to do in real life before realization would set in, though in Chloe’s case, it never really does.

Buxbaum manages to keep Chloe mostly sympathetic and her family is charming but also outrageously privileged. As a contrast to this, offstage, we have Cesar, Chloe’s 1st grade reading buddy whose mother is undocumented. This is something that gives Chloe genuine fulfillment and a place where her parents money has made a difference – it is perhaps a light at the end of a very dark (but comfortably padded) tunnel.

There is of course some delightful and vicarious schadenfreude to be had from this book, but it also gives teen readers some support that if the worst happens, you will survive it and maybe even thrive on your new path. Particularly if your family is well off.

Thanks to Delacorte and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This book was like a long, juicy issue of People magazine! I loved every page of it. The main character, Chloe is so endearing in her awkward teenage way and I both cheered for her or ached for her as she navigated the heavy struggles of adolescence. I also loved the glimpse into the lives of LA's rich and fabulous... this is the perfect fast-paced read to get your mind off of your real life!

Interesting take on this real life situation (it also happens to be the angle that's been most intriguing to me - not necessarily the publicity and how to move on with your life, but how to understand that your parents believe that you need such help getting into college that they'll pay thousands to have someone take care of it). I appreciated the multitudes contained in Chloe's character: she has average teenage worries, concern about her situation and her family, a likable personality, and an acknowledgement of her immense privilege, yet also can often be tone deaf to reality (she perceives her family, with their LA mansion and army of paid help as essentially comfortable or well-off) and sometimes infuriating in her privilege. There's simultaneously real selfishness and real growth there. Both the flashbacks and the current storyline also gave valuable depth to Chloe's relationships, particularly with Isla and Shola.

The narrative and details did often seem a little too close to reality/ripped from the headlines (the "woot woot" email, the sitcom star turned Hallmark movie mom, the unsubtle Felicity Huffman reference), and the pro/con arguments included are basically a rehash of Twitter back and forths, even the revelation that "normal" ways to boost your chances of getting into college (e.g. extra tutoring, private schools and extra lessons, time to devote to volunteer projects, ability to pay tuition without financial aid) are evidence of an overall problematic system. I did wonder if the story went a little far in making Chloe's mother as sympathetic as she was toward the end, and I wish that there had been more acknowledgment that the outcome of the court case was comparatively (and even non comparatively) light. However, I found the ending overall to have a nice balance between lasting consequences and hope.

This is an appropriate story of today’s world as we hear about the college admissions scandal in real life. I have watched the news stories but never really thought about what the actual students might be feeling or going through. This book was so interesting that I couldn’t put it down.

I think this book would be great to use in a high school class as either an individual book assignment or even a whole class assignment. Discussion topics could include honesty, integrity, college admissions, friendships, sibling rivalry, family dynamics, ethical behavior, and resilience. I think this book would allow students to discuss their own fears or anxieties about the end of their own school career and what the future holds for them.

I really enjoyed this fast relevant read.. Basically the story of Lori Loughlin and her family in the college admissions scandal with a few changes. This book delves into the how privilege impacts college admissions and how racial and financial inequality further impact the playing field from both sides.. The system isn't fair and never has been and just how far parents with means are willing to go to get what they feel their children deserve is food for thought. Just where should the line be drawn on this slippery slope?

I was interested in the premise of this book and found some of the characters surprisingly likable. Although fiction, it really made me think about the students who were affected by the recent scandal. It was a quick, entertaining read but also raised legitimate questions about being privileged vs being worthy. I would recommend this book to others, and I’d read more by this author in the future! Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this was a little too mocking of the situation with Lori Laughlin in our current events, I didn't feel like rehashing it.

I could not resist a book inspired by the recent college admission scandal. ADMISSION managed to be both a quick and entertaining read while also raising a lot of salient points about privilege and culpability. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and felt that the depiction of the family life of a lower-tier celebrity was very believable.

I was extremely lucky to receive a digital ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

It's probably not a good thing when you go into a book expecting to hate the main character, but hear me out first. As you can probably figure out from the cover down below, this book handles the recent American college admissions scandal, where a lot of rich people bribed their way into getting their kids into good colleges (in a different way than the "legitimate" way, which involves buying new buildings for these colleges *eye roll*). Some famous people were involved in this scandal, including Lori Loughlin from "Full House" and Hallmark movies fame, and the movie of the protagonist of this book is obviously based on.

Anyway, what I meant was that I was ready to hate protagonist Chloe because she's a very privileged girl who gets swept up in the scandal after her mother is arrested for being involved in the whole scheme. Chloe is clueless - and that's a good way to describe her in general. I think I could have enjoyed her story more if I actually liked her, but I didn't. I would've been a lot more interested in seeing how her younger sister, Isla, felt, even though she wasn't the one whose college acceptance was bought. Chloe is extremely privileged, and she does learn about that fact from her less privileged best friend, but it meant that it could be boring being stuck in her head.

This book had two timelines, before and after her mother was arrested and the scandal broke, and I obviously cared more about seeing how the scandal played out. The past timeline might have set things up, but there was a lot of Chloe being super-oblivious (and it becomes a minor plot point), being in love with a dude I didn't care about, and generally stressing out about college. She was also so down on herself, which might have been super-relatable, but made for bad reading. I didn't want to listen to Chloe whining about how she was an idiot when she was clearly an average-level student, which meant she was unconsciously putting down plenty of other regular students in the process just because she wasn't a genius and had a 1600 SAT score.

The current timeline was a lot more interesting, but no thanks to Chloe. She spent a lot of time moping around, and again, while it made sense and was relatable, it was annoying to read. It was the scandal stuff and how her whole family was dealing with it that kept my interest.

Before the book begins, there's a disclaimer that this is a work of fiction and not based on real people and yada, yada, yada, but it's obviously based on very real people, albeit with a twist. That's what interested in, and if I could have gotten more of that, this might have been a favorite.

That being said, I did give it 3.5 stars, because I did enjoy and want to read it. I'd be interested to read more ripped-from-the-headlines books from Buxbaum, but I hope the protagonists don't irritate me quite so much.

A disappointing read. Last year's college admissions scandal motivated this author to fictionalize an account of an accused family's experiences. There were some valid points made about wealthy people feeling entitled and using their money to shortcut the system. Other than that, I didn't feel much emotional pull. Having so recently gone through the media frenzy related to the actual events, this felt like a quickly put together lifetime movie version.

Admission is a contemporary story that is as realistic as it gets. If you knew your child wasn't going to be able to accomplish her hopes and dreams for her future, and you had the means to assist--where would you draw the line?

How far is too far?

Bending the truth on applications about extracurricular activities?
Hiring someone to write your child's essay?
Establishing an IEP for a made-up learning disability, allowing extra time for tests?
Claiming a different race/ethnicity?

What about the inequality that already separates the wealthy from other applicants? Private schools, personal tutors, legacy contacts, life experiences--students lacking for nothing (most especially basic needs)--all going into the same pile as students who are completing alone reaching for their dreams.

Admission will appeal to anyone who has seen recent headlines about celebrities and admission application/testing fraud as well as the parents, teachers, and teens who have already played and those who will be a player in the biased college admissions' high stakes game.

This story isn't only about cheating, but also the pressure parents put on their students. It is about the influence of all forms of media on how we behave and think. It is about picking up the pieces of a shattered self-image and realigning them into a truth you can own.

First off, I was very excited to read this book after hearing about it. The storyline was very timely with the whole college cheating scandal. I guess I was hoping for a little more depth. I felt like I was just watching the news or reading an article in the paper. The characters were one note. I wanted Chloe to fight for her friends, she gave them up to easily. It was like she really didn’t care about her connections. It just felt a little to soap opera. The actress mother, the Beverly Hills family, the super rich private school, the half brother drug addicted, and the so called dumb California girl. I wanted more and this story didn’t give it. 😢

A "fictional" take on the Aunt Becky scandal.
What would you do if your parents paid to get you into college? Would you still have your friends?
These books usually aren't my thing. Im more of a fantasy world person but this.was pretty.good.

Thank you to the publisher of Admission by Julie Buxbaum for an early e-copy for review. I've read several books from Julie Buxbaum so it was no surprise that I enjoyed this one. This book sucked me in quick and I read it over 2 days. I found it really close in story to the the Lori Loughlin case and wondered if that was intentional. It was interesting to see Julie write from the eyes of a teen and how it is credible that a teen wouldn't really notice what was going on. I definitely recommend this book and look forward to her next novel!

Based on the college-admissions scandals of 2019, this novel follows the implosion of one family after a mom who can't bear to see her daughter attend a non-top-tier school uses an admissions consultant who cheats on the SAT and falsifies an application to get the student into her dream school. There's a lot of back-and-forth in time, as the author explores who knew what and when. All told from the perspective of the high-school student whose senior year - and family - were wrecked by these actions, this is a well-done take on a real-life news story. (Netgalley review)

This book is about a fictionalized character, Chole Wynn Berringer and her family, who finds out her famous parents are part of the college admissions scandal and that her dream of getting into a great university has been all a lie. This book takes a hard look at some very important questions such as why did her parents choose to cheat rather than let her succeed on her own? How much did Chole know and when did she know it? and finally, when does it turn from parents wanting to give everything to their children to looking out for and maintaining a certain image no matter the cost?
This book had my attention from the book summery but also the timing of this book. I believe the author took her time to develop a very thought provoking book about what it means to gage success for the wealth and privilege within our society. I loved the way the author developed the story using pre and post scandal chapters, in order help the build up for the ending to come together for a very satisfying ending. I thought the voice the author gave Chole was very appropriate and fit the characteristics she showed throughout the story. The author developed all the characters with depth and relatability to all readers. The pacing of the story was, overall, good, but seemed to drag at times. I felt sad for Chole to lose not only her best friend, but also her long time crush Levi. I would recommend this book to those readers that would like to gain some deeper insights into the college admissions scandal. I also am looking forward to more books by this author in the future.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was a fun and engaging read that went quickly. The author tells the story by alternating between "then" and "now" allowing the reader to see how the main character's privilege cast a shadow over the factors leading up to the scandal. The topic of a college admissions scandal is very timely, but it was interesting to read from the perspective of the accused. The plot includes commentary on race, class, and privilege with comparisons between the lifestyle and experience of the main character with other secondary characters. Highly recommend to both teens and adults alike.

Another repeat author for me as this is the author to Tell Me Three Things, which might be one of my favorite books of all time. So, I was over the moon excited to see that she had a new book out. Plus, the story of a college admissions scandal was one that is a timely subject after the recent one with Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman central to those cases. So, I was more than willing to check out Admissions to see if it lived up to the hype of Tell Me Three Things, as well as the admission’s scandals. Well, while this one isn’t nearly as heartwarming as Tell Me Three Things (I mean that book honestly is in a league of its own), Admission went back and forth from pre-scandal to after the scandal to help lead character Chloe accept and ultimately move forward from said scandal. While again this book wasn’t nearly as heart-felt as my previous read from Buxbaum, it most certainly was worthy read and do recommend it.

I was so interested to read this book when I heard about it because I was totally immersed with the college admissions scandal in real life! Julie Buxbaum does a great job of writing this book from the perspective of the senior in high school whose famous mother gets caught up in a college admissions scandal. Chloe, the daughter, did not know much about what was going on until her whole life started falling apart in front of her. The story flips from THEN and NOW through the eyes of Chloe, who I completely loved and wanted the best for!

This book has good conversations about privilege, money, fame, and how that all ties together when it comes to parents wanting the best for their children. If you were at all interested in the real college admissions scandal, I highly recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before it hits the shelves! 4/5 stars.

I was so impressed by this book! I was very interested in the real life case that happened, so I was curious as to how this book would handle those different topics. I was shocked by some of the similarities between Lori Laughlin and the mom, but it made the reading experience 10x more enjoyable!

One style of writing I really love is when chapters are split between THEN and NOW. I loved how this book handled it all, and it really wrapped up full circle, with the last chapter being how the first chapter starts. It was such a fun reading experience!