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.

A big thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC by Julie Buxbaum. I had read Tell Me Three Things earlier this year and enjoyed it- and was looking forward to reading another book by her. As much as I enjoyed Tell Me Three Things, I think I liked this story more! To tell a story of rich and famous parents doing everything they could (including the illegal) to get their child into college is so timely. Chloe is such an interesting character, as well. While living in a “perfect” world she realizes her shortcomings and relationships suffer In the process. I definitely recommend Admission when you’re in the mood to read a really great YA novel!

admissions is another great read by julie buxbaum. .the story is obviously ripped from the headlines of the past admissions scandal. i was afraid that i would be swayed to feel sympathy for the main character chloe and her family but in the end i still found the idea of cheating through the highly competitive admissions process abhorrent. i enjoyed the read.

Whew. What a ride. What an up-down-around-loopy ride. It was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought I’d get the “this is what happened” and then what came next kinda thing. But, instead, it was very very cool how the story unfolded back and forth through time. I also really dug how it was so close to the real case(s) but different enough as to be interesting to find out more about. I found myself feeling some compassion that I had not been able to muster before, so that was nice. I think this will be a great addition to my library. 🤓💜📚

I love Julie Buxbaum and this book featured all of her traditional character depth, insight, and banter-rich writing. The focus of this book is an admissions scandal -- specifically focused on what it is like to be the teen whose parents thought so little about your ability to succeed in life they decided to cheat on your behalf. It's a well thought out book and gives us great insight ito what it would be like to be judged by the world -- both strangers and your closest friends -- without even having a chance to defend yourself. Masterfully done, though I admit to not enjoying this book as much as her others simply because the topic is not one of my favorites. It is so hard to feel sorry for entitled types but this book does an excellent job of reminding us not to judge without getting all of the facts!

ADMISSION by @juliebuxbaum | Grade: A | No spoilers ahead.
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I absolutely love fictionalized depictions of current events and this takes the college admissions scandal and puts a YA voice to it. The use of one of the kids involved was a brilliant decision by the author and gives unique insight into how they likely felt as their lives blew up in front of them. Even though the narrator is very ignorant and privileged at times, it was still very entertaining to hear the story through her voice. The plot can best be described as a hybrid of both Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin’s cases with some other details added as well. The author handles the subject with enough objectivity that there was no opinion-pushing: just presenting the facts in a more entertaining and enthralling medium than the tabloids that frequently report on the event. I also appreciate that the author took the opportunity to explore why the parents did what they did and give them some humanity (not the pure evil as presented by Twitter and lots of the media). While certainly not a good enough excuse, it gives some context to their highly unethical and immoral actions. My favorite part of the novel was definitely the ending (which I will not spoil) because it offered a way for the children to learn and overcome their situations and now being more empathetic to the actual individuals in these shoes, I hope they can follow a similar route of self-improvement as the protagonist, Chloe Berringer, does. A very special thank you to @netgalley and @randomhousekids for an advanced copy of the novel. While I of course appreciated this opportunity, my review is presented without bias.

This is such a timely and relevant story! Chloe's story is told from now and then point of view, before and after her television star mother is arrested for involvement in a college admission scandal. Julie Buxbaum does a great job of taking something relevant in society and writing about a realistic character. Her perspective on this topic is really interesting and the character she creates in Chloe is intriguing. The reader discovers how much Chloe knew/understood about what was happening through the alternating timeline. Good read! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A I think this might have one of the best of Julies characters yet. Chloe is going thru the college admissions scandal and coming to the realization of all that her privilege has given and what it cannot give her. An honest appraisal of her life, without any cynicism. It is a great read and I love the window on the world that it presents. As Chloe herself says, sometimes we are aggressively oblivious to what is right in front of us. We all need to take time to see the perspectives of those around us.

I've read a few of this authors books and really enjoyed them. That is why I was so excited to see this book and receive a copy of it after requesting it. I have mixed feelings about this book and I think that has to do with all the media coverage about the real life "college admissions scandal".

I think the author captures this family and their perceived entitlement mentality the same as the general public feels these 50+ people involved in the real scandal seem to have. For me the majority of the characters are not likable and seemed so shallow, but I suspect this mirrors the real life scandal also. I like to see more depth in characters and more reasons for their motivations but I suspect the lack of this was intentional by this author.

All that being said I think the author did an o.k. job with the book, but I would rather read books like her other ones as they are more like my reality. I'm not rich by any means so I have a hard time feeling sorry for any of the people in this book and in the real scandal.

The Quick Cut: A ripped from the headlines story that centers around a girl whose parents cheated to increase her SAT story. 
A Real Review: Thank you to Delacorte Press for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
   College. For some, it is a definite. For others, its another four years of education that feels like torture. However, for those who want to get their higher education degree, the pain begins much sooner. You start the process of ensuring you get great grades and take that required SAT or ACT test to prove you are worthy of the spot in their program. If you were struggling, would you cheat to make it there? Or would your parents go behind your back and do it for you? This is the case for Chloe. 
 Chloe has it all: an amazingly smart best friend, a mom who is a B list celebrity, she's dating the boy she's had a crush on for years, and she's going to the college of her dreams. Unfortunately, it all comes crashing down on her when the FBI show up at her front door and arrest her mother. Suddenly all that prestige disappears and what is left is a social pariah that everyone is ripping apart. How did she get here and where did it all go wrong?
 I get it, this is one of those stories where you relate with what is happening because its something we've all heard about. There are very few people who haven't heard about the college admissions scandal that hit multiple celebrities and high class families. When it comes to stories that relate heavily to real life situations, I expect the story to provide some new insight that you would not have seen elsewhere. Considering how much I loved the author's book "Hope and Other Punch Lines", I had high expectations that she would nail bringing a new light to this territory. Instead, what's given is an unlikable lead character in a situation that only highlights her low level of moral strength. 
 Chloe as a lead character is someone who fits the definition of a stereotypical celebrity's child. She goes to a high class school, has raised expectations of her future, and has parents who are more than a little self centered. So when her SAT score continues to stay in the 1200 range, she is devastated on the prospect that she won't get into the college she wants to. However, when her parents hire someone to help and get Chloe a medical accommodation to take the SAT again, this time the score balloons to 1440. Rather than insist something must be wrong (she even questions it!), she takes what her parents give her and say that her work finally paid off. Really? That's all the fight you're going to put up? This is your life. She never learns a lesson or really gets something out of what happens. I get that there are people out there who function like this, but they're not the type of people who should have books written about them. 
 A disappointingly shallow story. 

My rating: 2 out of 5

This book was amazing. It was so timely and realistic. We all know the story of the real college admissions scandal so it was easy to relate and be pulled into the story instantly. It was like reading the Lifetime movie The College Admission Scandal. I enjoyed the two time periods then and now. The main character Chloe along with her mother showed good character development throughout the story. I liked how it had a little air of mystery in the story as well.

I have really enjoyed all of Buxbaum’s books that’s I’ve read so far (I think there’s only one I haven’t picked up yet.) So, I was super excited when NetGalley emailed me saying I was approved for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I was really intrigued to see how the author was going to portray her own version of the college admissions scandal. First off, as an overall, I thought she did an incredible job making the reader feel things for these characters (whether those were positive or negative things, they were feelings either way.)
Chloe, our main character, was really complicated. We follow her story as the chapters flip back and forth between the before and the after of the scandal. I really liked her at first. I felt really bad for her. She’s a girl that grew up with privilege, but not entitlement. She knew she probably wouldn’t get into the colleges her parents want, but she was willing to make the effort they were asking to placate them. But as we learn her past leading up to her mother's arrest we learn what she actually knew about the things her parents were doing. This made me like her less. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it because of spoilers, but the more the reader learns of her story the less likable she becomes. Though I think she really grew before the end of the book. I think she learned from the mistakes that she made and will continue to grow from them.
I think this book had some really important and thoughtful conversation about privilege and the different kinds of privilege, some that come with the color of your skin and some that come with having money. I’d like to see some own voices reviews to see their thoughts on these conversations, but I thought they were well done.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was gripping and interesting. I felt like I flew through the story and devoured it. Despite not always liking what I was reading, I was pulled into the story. Oh, I also totally loved the mentions of Hope and Other Punchlines & Tell Me Three Things, they were super cute.

I'm obsessed with the College Admissions scandal. Who isn't? It's celebrity gossip that unites us all. But this book takes a look at who the scandal affects, the children of the wealthy. Chloe gets a lot of uneasy feelings about her college admissions process that her B-list mother actress and wealthy father are doing for her. She knows she isn't SCC material, and she's honestly okay with it. School isn't her thing, she isn't really sure what is. But her parents are determined to have her admitted to a prestigious school, no matter the cost. After the FBI arrive at her door to arrest her mother, Chloe discovers the truth, her SAT scores were faked, and her application claimed she was half latino, and that she was a champion pole vaulter. Her best friend avoids her, her boyfriend breaks up with her, and the press hounds her family day and night. Chloe knows she's privileged, and seems much more woke than the real celebrity children, but its refreshing to see. It's what we want from these kids.

To the author's credit, I didn't expect this book to be tolerable. As someone who has a disability, needed extra time on the SAT, and comes from a poor area, this book made my blood boil. This book, through its fiction, laid out the privilege, expectation, and multilayered nature of the WHY. When you understand the why of the situation, you can see its causes and avoid moral repetition. This is entertaining fiction with a cause.

Chloe as a character is equal parts empathetic and infuriated. She is both a metaphor and an average girl surrounded by skill and perfection. Her faults are as equal to her humanity, and this carries the reader through the story. Not to mention the question of her own fault in the situation.

The writing and relationships are alluring, and I read this book incredibly quickly. Please, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This book was certainly interesting and it is very well-written. I personally could have lived without the “then” because I only cared about the “now” but I understand it’s importance to understanding the story as a whole.

Julie Buxbaum (Tell Me Three Things) tackles the inevitable topic of the college admission scandal in her newest YA novel, Admission. Chloe Berringer lives in LA with her perfect B-list actress mother, father and sister, Isla. Chloe is desperately trying to navigate the admission process that seems to be coming much easier to her friends--including her bestie, Shola. Teen readers will definitely empathize with Chloe’s struggles (SATs, college essay, etc.) and her desperation to get into a “good” school. Told in a flash back-and-forth format (Now and Then), we slowly learn what happened as Chloe and her family live through not only the public embarrassment but the legal ramifications. Buxbaum’s telling an important story about wealth, privilege and responsibility that comes across a bit clunky and forced, but will resonate well with the target audience.

This is a timely story inspired by the college admissions scandal. Buxbaum effectively creates suspense as Chloe's narration alternates between Then and Now. Really well done, enjoyable, and thought provoking!

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

A personalized look at the college admission scandal told from the POV of a privileged daughter who benefitted. A searing look at the problem with CCR in today’s world.

I found this book to be an interesting read considering the recent college admission scandals in the media. As a society we are quick to judge and we don't often get to see what all parties involved go through during the process. This title gives us insight into what the actual students could have experienced during the such scandal.

I absolutely loved this book. It was an intriguing look into the college admissions scandal from the perspective of a privileged student who was caught up in it. I enjoyed how nothing was black and white, and the farther into the book we got, the less innocent Chloe appeared. The book handled topics of privilege, race, and class with eloquence and tact.