Friday 12 February 2021

Review: Admission by Julie Buxbaum

 Lie. Cheat. Bribe. How far would you go to get into your dream school? How far would your parents go? Inspired by the recent college admissions scandal, this ripped-from-the-headlines YA novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Tell Me Three Things sees one teenage girl's privileged world shatter when her family's lies are exposed.

It's good to be Chloe Wynn Berringer--she has it all--money, privilege, and a ticket to the college of her dreams. Or at least she did until the FBI came knocking on her front door, guns at the ready, and her future went up in smoke. Now her B list celebrity mother is under arrest in a massive college admissions bribery scandal, and Chloe might be the next one facing charges. The public is furious, the headlines are brutal, and the US attorney is out for blood.

As everything she's taken for granted starts to slip away, Chloe must reckon not only with the truth of what happened, but also with the examination of her own guilt. How much did she really know-or guess? Why did her parents think the only way for her to succeed was to cheat? And what does it really mean to be complicit?

Bestselling author Julie Buxbaum takes on the college admissions bribery scandal that rocked the country in this timely tale of the hyper elite and the hyper competitive, and the lengths they go to stay at the top.



Review: Oh wow Julie Buxbaum has done it agin. Her first couple of novels were wonderfully romantic, the tension in those books was just achingly beautiful but her last novel dealt with 9/11 and now we have the college admission scandals, this writer is just genius and she does these topics such justice. 

I feel like I didn't know an awful lot about the admission scandals and what went on withe them, most of my facts come from weekend update on the real life admission scandals but the way it is explained and the way it plays out in this novel is wonderfully true to life. The books is structured such that the scandal breaks right at the beginning of the book and then we switch back and forth between then and now so we get to see how it was before and what the consequences are now. I loved that because it meant that I listened to this in one big chunk because at the end of every chapter I would be brought back to present time or what things were like when it was all being conceived-brilliant!

Chloe is a great character to spend the book with because in many ways she is very average and so easy to relate to. She definitely has a more privileged up bringing and hasn't wanted for a lot in her life so we can envy her a little for that but they are a pretty average family. Her mom is also a minor celebrity and so we have that kind of juicy side to her family life to enjoy. What I loved so much about this family though was Chloe's sister, she is the real star in all of this. No spoilers here but if you are thinking of picking this one up, definitely pay attention to Chloe's sister, she deserves more credit and was wonderfully written. 

Although this book does contain a lot of drama, it isn't a book that is scandal and drama all of the time; there is a whole lot of heart and humour in this novel. There is a very quick and sly Felicity Huffman reference in this book without actually mentioning her by name but if you know, you know and that is what make Julie Buxbaum such a favourite writer of mine. I really loved this book, the audio was great and I highly recommend!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US


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