Review: Admission, Julie Buxbaum

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Admission by Julie Buxbaum
on December 1, 2020
Genres: young adult, contemporary
Format: ARC
Source: Penguin Random House INTL, NetGalley
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From the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things comes an of-the-moment novel that peeks inside the private lives of the hypercompetitive and the hyperprivileged and takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country.
It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer. She's headed off to the college of her dreams. She's going to prom with the boy she's had a crush on since middle school. Her best friend always has her back, and her mom, a B-list Hollywood celebrity, may finally be on her way to the B+ list. It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--at least, it was, until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal. Chloe, too, might be facing charges, and even time behind bars. The public is furious, the press is rabid, and the US attorney is out for blood.
As she loses everything she's long taken for granted, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat for her? What did she know, and when did she know it? And perhaps most importantly, what does it mean to be complicit?

I received this book for free from Penguin Random House INTL, NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS:

mentions of addiction and drugs, overdose, mention of cancer, online bullying.

☂️ DIVERSITY: Nigerian-American side character, half-Indian half-white side character.

There are no spoilers in this review.

I ENJOYED…

☂️

• I was so curious and eager to read Admission : a story about a college bribery scandal with a Hollywood celebrity seemed exactly the kind of story I’d love and I was right. If this seems familiar to you, it may be: this was inspired by a real life scandal with real life Hollywood celebrities (like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman).
• I was hooked right from the first page into this family scandal and drama. The author’s compelling voice and her main character, clueless and a little bit of an egoistic mess at first, let’s face it, won me over and I was so compelled to read on to see what would happen next.
• It’s kind of funny, really: Admission doesn’t have a very likeable family, yet you’re still carried away by it all. They’re rich and incredibly privileged and it really shows.
• I found the main character, Chloe, clueless, very selfish and wanted to slap some sense into her more than once. Yet I was compelled to read on and me tell you: I’m so glad I did. Chloe’s growth through the story was lovely to follow.
• Another character I really fell for in this story was Isla, Chloe’s younger sister. She’s down to earth and kind of the ‘taking matters into your own hands’ kind of person and I appreciated her so much. I just wanted MORE of her. I loved seeing her and Chloe’s relationship grow through the story and seeing them protect and care for each other so much despite their differences made me so happy.
• Admission examines privilege and self-entitlement in a brilliant way, without sugarcoating things or making amends for the family’s wrong doings or giving us a happy ending when it’s clearly not earned or deserved, either.

I HAD A HARD TIME WITH…

☂️

• I’m kind of really sad and a little annoyed about how some of the side characters were explored and used in the story. I feel like they weren’t as three-dimensional as they could have been and, I don’t know, I wanted more from them.
• Chloe, the main character, isn’t the most likeable character and… it was okay, I kind of expected her not to be, but still. Sometimes, her cluelessness annoyed me a little bit while reading.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re into young adult contemporaries exploring family dramas and scandals, you should love Admission. Despite its little flaws, this book was still highly entertaining and fast-paced and I had a lot of fun reading it.

FINAL RATING : 4 drops!

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Did you read Admission or do you want to? Do you have some recommendations of books with family drama front and center? Let me know in comments!

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