I thoroughly enjoyed the scandal, and portrayal of Hollywood fame that Julie Buxbaum created in Admission. The characters showed tremendous growth, and the family dynamics were so fun to see develop over the course of the story. While I enjoyed the story, some it did feel too "ripped from the headlines," and the details seemed to closely connected to the real case of the college admissions scandal. That being said - what a great story that will hopefully be eye opening to a lot of teenagers about their own privilege.

I really loved this book! Usually I'm not a fan of the before/after way of storytelling, but this one really worked for me. This story hooked me from the opening through the end, and I love a page turner!

Admission is a ripped from he headlines story about a high school students who had a celebrity parent that hired a "consultant" to help the student get into a good college.
The book is split between two stories: then and now. These stories alternate by chapter and let the reader see the student's perspective as things were happening and the fallout. I really enjoyed the now chapters but felt the then chapters dragged a little. Towards the end, the then chapters meet up with the beginning's now chapters so it does come full circle.
Students in school would probably enjoy Admission because it gives a realistic view of the process and potential fallout of cheating. It also demonstrates how the student might react to the fallout, being blissfully unaware of what parents were doing behind the scenes.

What a thrilling topic and read. This was smartly written (loved the Then and Now perspectives) and hilarious in parts. I will be sure to read more books by her. The author did such a good job of portraying a girl who was not special by any means except that she had famous parents. I could feel her longing to be something more than her family. She also nailed the high school nothing relationship which is more of a relationship of convenience than anything.

Based on the college admissions scandal of 2019, Admission is split between two time periods: "Then" and "Now". "Then" is everything that happened up to the FBI ringing the doorbell before school one morning to arrest Chloe's mom, a B-list actress, for illegally helping her daughter gain acceptance to a prestigious California university. "Now" is how Chloe's family's lives have fallen apart in that aftermath. While Chloe wasn't clued in to the plan her mom and dad had, Chloe's moral compass was falling apart before, too. She slowly started to realize that things with her SCC application weren't kosher. Yet she never said anything. Does that mean she's guilty, too of trying to cheat the system? Does that make her a villain?

While Admission does a great job of exploring nuance in villains (shout-out to Crime and Punishment as an allegorical device for Chloe), I had a hard time sticking with this story. While I agree that we all try to dupe ourselves out of feeling guilty when we act immorally or unethically, I most identified with Isla, Chloe's younger sister. Maybe because my parents never put extreme pressure on me to do well at school (just the normal amount of pressure, I suppose; and I like(d) school, so learning was never something I despised like some struggling students do) or to go to a prestigious university. Or maybe because my privilege and my parents' money shattered barriers that I didn't even know were in place until I got my liberal arts education. (Ironic, no?) Additionally, this was the first Buxbaum novel I read and didn't listen to the audiobook of. Perhaps my inner voice isn't as enrapturing as the audiobook narrators' voices. lol

In all, I think some students will enjoy Admission because they understand the pressure to do well in school and to go to a good university. And others will be angry at the privilege and the no-fault attitude of Chloe and her parents, just as the fictional society is mad at them in the story.

I am a fan of Julie Buxbaum’s novels for both the young adult and women’s fiction market so I was looking forward to “Admissions.” Could the author take the recent college admissions scandal and turn it into something both character-driven and compelling without being predictable?

Chloe is a high school senior at a very competitive private school where her classmates are focused on getting into the best college. Chloe tries her best, but is not at the top of the class academically and worries about disappointing her parents who have bent over backgrounds with private tutors to allow Chloe to have every extra advantage. Meanwhile, Chloe’s close friend, Shola, is book-smart (and from the other side of the tracks) as is her younger sister, Isla. Whether Chloe actually has a learning disability is not made clear (though she is “tested” and diagnosed with ADHD so she could have “accommodations for SAT testing), but Chloe wonders if there is something wrong with her because she does not adore school the way Shola and Isla do, and instead would rather focus on her burgeoning romance with former guy friend, Levi.

Yet, when Chloe does better on the SATs than she thought possible and gets into a high-reach college, she does not realize that her parents, her mom in particular (who is a popular television actress), crossed the line into committing federal crimes. It isn’t until the FBI (with guns blazing) show up on Chloe’s doorstep that she realizes her parents were involved in bribing individuals to take Chloe’s SATs and create the fiction that Chloe was a champion pole vaulter to get their daughter into UCC (which is an obvious reference to USC down to the school colors).

The novel alternates between two timelines (post and pre-scandal). I appreciate the author’s choice as the reader is able to appreciate Chloe becoming aware that something isn't right with her admissions journey before the FBI shows up at her door. Julie Buxbaum does not offer any apologies for Chloe’s parents’ behavior. You feel for Chloe as she wonders why her parents think incapable of getting into college herself as well as deals with the backlash from both her peers and social media.

While this novel is heavy on plot, Julie Buxbaum does take time to develop Chloe’s relationship with various characters such as Shola, her sister, Isla, and Cesar, the younger boy she volunteers with. I actually thought it might have been interesting to have seen a portion of the novel from Isla’s point of view, simply because she was trying to do everything right to get into college and now because of what happened with her sister, her own record was “tainted.” My only complaint, and this is a minor one, is I wish the author has spent more time developing Chloe’s half-brother, Hudson (who suffers a drug-addicted and needs to be constantly bailed out of jail); instead, I wonder if he was merely created only to serve as a contrast to Chloe and Isla. Also, I thought Chloe being self-aware of her “white privilege” could have been subtler—especially in the way Julie Buxbaum constantly emphasizes the differences between Chloe’s life and opportunities versus those of Shola and Cesar.

Overall, while I did not enjoy the novel quite as much as “Hope and Other Punchlines,” it was a good read that managed to skirt the boundary of becoming too preachy. Four out of five stars.

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks also to the publisher and the author.

Chloe Fields is the ordinary daughter of B list actress, Joy Fields. She's had a privileged life where she always wanted to live up to her brainy little sister and her glamorous mother. Her biggest problem is coming up with a challenge she has dealt with for her college application.

When she is face with a set of armed FBI agents who arrest her mom on charges of "college acceptance fraud," the whole family's life is shattered. Their friends abandon them, the media trashes them, and each person in the family is trying to cope with facing the punishment for a crime.

This novel addresses choices people make, why they do it, and how they justify behavior.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. I love Julie Buxbaum’s other books, so I was very excited to read this one. It is a quick read, which I appreciate, but the story was a little too ripped from the headlines for me. It felt like the author just transcribed all of the news stories from the recent college admissions scandal and changed the names. There was nothing new or groundbreaking here. I did love Isla, the little sister character. She was really the only likable, interesting character in the whole book. Overall, I’d say go ahead and read it if you want a quick, fluffy read, but don’t expect any earth-shattering revelations about wealth or privilege.

YES! I am a fan of Julie Buxbaum and will read anything she writes, but I am happy to read this perspective of the college admission scandal from a personal level. Celebrities seem untouchable and totally "other," even though we know they are real people and are "just like us." I enjoyed the story without too much teen angst. I appreciated seeing all the different people that were affected by one mistaken choice. Did Chloe's parents really think she couldn't do it herself? Were they just desperate for the status symbol? How do you move on from something like this?

Chloe lives a great life. She lives in Beverly Hills, goes to a private school, has a great best friend and is interested in a nice boy. Her mother is a well known actress and her father is a venture capitalist. They, being the loving parents the are, want the best for her.
Life changes one day while Chloe is getting ready for school. When she answers the doorbell expecting her makeup to have arrived, she is instead greeted by the FBI pointing guns at her. Apparently her mother cheated to get Chloe into college.
This book details what happened leading up to that point and what happened after.
Opinion: I loved, loved, loved this book! Can I say it again? I loved it. Chloe is a good person but Ms. Buxbaum has her struggle with the signs she should have seen. The story is written in alternating chapters between “then” and “now.” Knowing what happens in the “now”, it is evident that Chloe should have seen it in the “then.”
As her life completely falls apart, Chloe gets stronger. She wobbles for a bit but with the help of her sister, she survives and thrives.
I think this book addresses the issues of white privilege and rich elitism well. Multiple times throughout the book it talks about how mommy and daddy could have just bought it. With white privilege, it’s done in the reverse where Chloe without knowledge applied to college as a Latina. This killed her relationship with her African American best friend.
By the end of the book, Chloe is more down to earth and has a more realistic view of the world. The character growth of Chloe is what makes this book so great.

I really enjoyed this book and was surprised to find myself sympathizing with the characters. While this is a work of fiction it is obviously related to the college admissions scandal that hit the rich and famous within the last year or so. In the real life cases I was disgusted by the privilege and the audacity the parents had to do what they did and I assumed that the kids were in on it. After reading this I felt like I had seen other sides to the situation and that while I still don't condone what was done it isn't as black and white as I had thought. And it had never occurred to me that the students involved either had no idea what was going on or that maybe they did question things but just figured they'd let their parents handle it and tried not to think too closely about it. It also made me think again about how messed up our school systems are and how the odds are stacked against so many people from the start; when people who already have a head start in life cheat in order to gain even more advantages it's so infuriating.

I liked Chloe and her family: her own insecurities about her brains and place in the world, her younger sister Isla who is so smart and who was affected just as much by all that happened, and her parents who weren't just caricatures of spoiled rich people (even though they were spoiled in many ways).

I will recommend this to my high school patrons and anyone else who enjoys stories based on headline events.

I really enjoyed this book. It's very topical and I also really enjoyed the persepctive this book gave on the situation. For all of you afraid this is going to excuse these actions, it doesn't. The main character is very aware that it's wrong what her parents did and it discusses all the ways (besides just legal) that this is wrong. I also liked that this book had two time lines. That wasn't something I was expecting going in this novel but I really liked picking up on little clues in the past time line that hint towards what was happening in the present time line. This book mainly has a focus on family and that's just something I really like in books. I also really like how the dynamics between the family changed as new things were unraveled and the book progressed. When I got closer to the end I was getting kind of nervous about how it would wrap up but I actually quite liked where it ended up. I could have done with maybe a little bit more but I still think it wrapped up great.

Wonderfully written, gut wrenchingly real novel about a family struggling in the wake of a college admission scandal. When hs senior Chloe realizes she is not likely to make it into college, her parents go to full panic mode. Hiring people to help Chloe with her college essay, her applications, and her SAT, Chloe’s mega rich parents may bend a few rules for college bragging rites. The absolute disastrous fall out touches everyone, from Chloe’s parents siblings to her best friend and her boyfriend, and especially Chloe herself. Overcoming the obstacles and being better than before is all the family can hope for. It will take all of them working as a team to survive. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this eARC. Special hugs to Julie Buxbaum for never letting her readers down.

A timely novel, absolutely ripped from the headlines! I enjoyed this take on the recent school admission scandal. It was entertaining and made me think, and while I do not agree with what Chloe's parents in the novel (and all the parents in reality) did, I really felt for Chloe. It was interesting to explore how one of the students in the situation may have felt, questioning her own role in the crimes of her parents. Though it was YA fiction, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to any reader teenage and older that I know.

It’s a timely premise but it failed to grab my attention. Maybe it was from the disconnect I felt with the characters but it just didn’t connect with me like I wanted it to. I loved her other books but this fell flat for me.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review!

I have read and loved all of Julie Buxbaum's YA novels and her latest, ADMISSION, is no exception. It is a thought provoking fictionalization based on the recent college admissions scandal. It is timely and relevant while still being compulsively readable.

The story is structured with an alternating pre and post scandal timeline. This format worked well in unraveling what it means to be complicit. It doesn't sugar coat the consequences or fallout. At the same time the story implores you to resist reducing Chloe to a catch all meme and see her as a person. While I don't have much empathy, Buxbaum was able to humanize the characters- even the parents. It was beautifully balanced with heft and humor.

As a parent of teenagers, I appreciated that the story was told from the students perspective. I loved watching Chloe's self-awareness evolve. In particular, her realizations of privilege and not making excuses for her role in the scandal.

I'll be gently pressing this into the hands of my teenagers. I love when a book can entertain and inform without being heavy handed.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review. I've read Buxbaum's other YA books and was thrilled for the opportunity to read this book early. In light of the college cheating scandal that was brought to light, bringing down 2 well known actresses, the author has written a very compelling story from the perspective of the daughter of a B actress who gets arrested for bribing her daughter's way into college. It's a lot easier to sympathize with the daughter than the parents.

Chloe Berringer has all the privileges of being a daughter of a well known B actress in L.A., private school, a best friend who is real with her and a crush turned boyfriend. She questions things that seem suspicious to her, but because she loves her parents so much and doesn't want to disappoint them she stays quiet and questions whether things seem odd or just...different for her. She is quite naive about the college application process, despite her best friend being a scholarship student who worked her tail off to get into the college of her choice. We look at the before and after of when her mom is arrested, a traumatic event her parents could have prepared for for, but chose not to out of denial. Chloe is quite depressed and even having suicidal ideations but keeps saying she deserves to be treated badly because of what she should have known or questioned. The mom is defiant about the rules at first and trying to put off a guilty plea. I'd like to think the real life kids affected by the scandal found a way to support each other because of their parents crimes. Very impeccably written.

This was a compulsively readable book. Through the first few days of the social-distancing pandemic, I had a the stomach flu. I was scared and miserable, and still I couldn't put the book down. I think I would have preferred third person or maybe multiple POV as some of the realizations Chloe had seemed VERY mature and insightful for a seventeen year old of average intelligence, but it was still a very enjoyable read about a complicated subject.

I love Julie Buxbaum's books and this one might be my new favorite. I felt like I was watching a movie the whole time I was reading and could not put it down. I learned a lot about our responsibilities to make sure things happening around us are ethical. The character development had me feeling like I was growing up with them.

Inspired by the college admission scandal the swept our country in 2019, “Admission” is a “fictional” story about Chloe, a high school senior who is about to head off to her dream school, Southern California College. The daughter of a B-list celebrity, Chloe Berringer has always led a privileged life. Her perfect world is rocked when the FBI unexpectedly shows up at her door to arrest her mother, Joy Fields. Chloe discovers her college acceptance was illegitimate, due to illegal action by her mother, and now she is in the middle of this nightmare.

The novel is written in a dual timeline, which I always enjoy, alternating between “then” and “now”, or before and after Chloe’s mother’s arrest. The “fictional” family is a mirror of Lori Loughlin’s family, with the daughter attending the same college, and a mother who often films in Vancouver (the filming location of “When Calls the Heart”) and stars in Hallmark Christmas movies. These “coincidences” were fine with me, because the story is an intriguing and interesting look inside the lives of rich families, and what they believe money can buy. Despite Chloe’s obvious privileged, entitled, and charmed life, her mother is the main culprit at fault, and the author does not make Chloe out to be despicable. Chloe is not an entirely likable character, but she does demonstrate growth throughout the story.

The one person that you really sympathize for is her younger sister, Isla. Isla has worked hard and done the right thing her entire life, and you feel for her immensely when her life gets turned upside down due to the scandal. Despite being thrown into this life-shattering situation, Isla is the strongest and most mature member of her family. Isla is the true heroine of the novel, and you are constantly rooting for her throughout the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this inside look at a very timely matter, and would recommend this book to other readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.