Review of Admission by Julie Buxbaum

Buxbaum, Julie.  Admission.  Delacorte, 2020.

 

Life is perfect for Chloe Berringer.  She’s living her best life as a senior at Wood Valley High School, the best private school in Los Angeles, and she has gotten into a great college.  She is going to the prom with Levi Haas, the boy she’s had a crush on since seventh grade.  Her best friend, Shola, is super-smart and fun to be around, and she can always depend on her.  She isn’t the smartest person at her school, but she gets by.

 

One day, at 6:30 in the morning, Chloe opens the front door to her home to find the FBI there…and they have guns!  Her mother, sit-com television star Joy Fields, is arrested for bribery in a college admissions scandal.  Chloe is shocked, but didn’t she have nagging doubts about all the preparations her parents were helping her with to get accepted to college?  She wondered why her college essay was rewritten and was about a different topic than she wrote about, but she didn’t question it enough.  She wondered how her SAT score could have gone up so much in such a short amount of time, so she thought it must be a mistake, but she didn’t speak up.  She wondered how her mother could find a private consultant that seemed so sleazy and never pushed her to try harder.  Why didn’t he want her to take her SAT test at the testing center?  She wondered all these things and knew her parents, especially her mom, wanted the best for her, but she never questioned them.

 

Now Chloe’s life is ruined, and her future is in danger.  Shola doesn’t want to hang out with her anymore; Levi has dropped her and has found another date for prom.  The mother of the young boy she was tutoring in reading no longer wants her to see him. Her dream school has now rescinded their offer of acceptance to her, and if she goes back to her high school, she will face public shaming. Wealth and privilege will not help her now.  She discovers her mom was participating in some underhanded dealings to give her a leg up on the competition, in order to secure her acceptance to college.  People are mad at her and her mom for using money and privilege to give Chloe this advantage.  While Chloe got into college, Shola, who works much harder and is smarter, is waitlisted, just like many other students.  

 

With her mom facing a trial and prison time, Chloe must now work to mend her and her family’s life back together.  She must learn not to take people and her privilege for granted and accept responsibility for her part in being complicit and redeem herself.

 

Admission is based loosely on the true-life scandal “Operation Varsity Blues”, and it hits all the same notes--doctoring an essay and photoshopping a sports photograph, concealing money behind a charity, and changing poor entrance exam scores.  False documentation of a learning disability is provided, which gives Chloe extra time on the SAT test.  Her mom is arrested and must go to trial, just like in the real college admissions crime. 

 

Ms. Buxbaum provides observations on how entitlement gives the elite the ability to work the education system and give themselves an advantage over others, who are usually more deserving.  However, she doesn’t preach; she lets the reader work though the problem with Chloe.  When Chloe realizes that her whole college application has been altered, she begins to wonder if her parents didn’t have confidence in her ability to get into college on her own.  This lowers her self-esteem, especially when she realizes that she may have been complicit in the crime.  Ultimately, Chloe let the masquerade go on because she did not want to disappoint her parents.

 

Give Admission to seniors preparing for college and those who are interested in the college admission scandal.  I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis!

 

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

New from Sourcebooks Fire! Review of I'm Not Dying With You Tonight!

Segal, Gilly and Kimberly Jones.  I’m Not Dying With You                  Tonight.  Sourcebooks  Fire,   2019.

Campbell Carlson didn’t really want to work at the football stadium concession stand Friday night.  She only did it because she felt bad for her teacher when no one volunteered.  And then, when the other two people working with her weren’t helping, she regretted it even more.

Lena James only went to the football game to watch a friend, who was the captain of the dance team, perform at halftime.  She wanted to meet up with her boyfriend, Black, after the game, but she was so thirsty.  That’s how she ended up at the concession stand after halftime.

What happens next pushes the two girls—with opposite personalities and experiences—into a terrifying situation.  Uncontrollable fights break out at the football game, escalating into shootings.  Campbell and Lena need to get away from the stadium to a safe place, so they flee to the school’s portable buildings.  Once there, they realize that they are still in danger and decide they must get away from the school completely. 

Lena wants to find Black, believing he will protect her, but her phone is dead.  Although Campbell has a phone, there is no one she can contact; her father has gone to his fishing cabin, and she can’t get in touch with him.  The girls head out and end up in the middle of race riots in Atlanta.  Now they must rely on each other to navigate the dangerous, looting crowd in order to make it to safety.

This novel is written in alternating chapters in the voices of Lena and Campbell.  Lena is the sassy, black girl who knows all about style and has lived in Atlanta all her life.  Campbell is the quiet, white girl who is new in town and to McPherson High School.  The girls’ personalities drove the plot to its climax, and I loved the way both grew and changed along the way, in only a span of about six to eight hours.  The authors really made each girl see through the other’s eyes by the end of the novel.  The girls also learn that stereotypes are not always what they seem.

There are some laugh-out-loud hilarious moments and some surprising twists that keep the plot going.  The fighting and looting scenes are extremely realistic; this makes readers feel they are really there living the action with the characters.  I do wish that there were a glossary of slang terms included in the book.  I had to keep Googling many of Lena’s words and phrases.

I’m Not Dying With You Tonight is a quick, exciting read that will keep readers turning the pages.  I recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

**Note:  The review copy was received from teenreads.com in exchange for an honest review.

Roe, Robin.  A List of Cages.  Disney-Hyperion, 2017.

Adam Blake, a senior in high school, is the happiest, most energetic, albeit clumsy, student at his high school.  Although he has ADHD, he has learned to compensate and has excelled in his classes and is one of the school’s most popular students.  One of his classes involves being a student aide to Dr. Whitlock, the school psychologist, and he is bored most of the time during this period.  One day, she asks Adam to locate a freshman named Julian, who, consequently, lived with Adam and his mom for a while after both of his parents were killed in a tragic car accident.  After several years, Julian’s uncle took custody of him, and the Blakes were not allowed to see him.

Adam is thrilled to see Julian again and is happy that he actually remembers him.  However, Julian has become extremely shy and withdrawn and is slow to open up to Adam.  We learn through Julian’s eyes that he also has undiagnosed dyslexia and is scorned by many teachers for his poor grades and scholastic performance. 

Adam begins spending a lot of time with Julian, and he is accepted into Adam’s group of senior friends.  Adam notices that Julian’s clothes are old and do not fit him well, and that Julian often misses school due to illness.  Adam eventually figures out that Julian is keeping secrets from both him and Dr. Whitlock.  What Adam and his friends ultimately discover about Julian could put all their lives at risk!

This debut novel by Robin Roe is an emotional roller coaster of a ride.  I am a sucker for teenage male protagonists, and she has created some very special ones.  The novel is character-driven, told in first-person through the eyes of Adam and Julian.  All the characters, including the supporting group, are exceptionally well developed.  Adam is just a great guy and well liked by students and teachers.  Julian has had a lot of trauma in his life since losing his parents but is still disdained by his teachers and his impatient, evil uncle.  All of Adam’s friends have distinct personalities.  I did not like Charlie, Adam’s best bud, at first, but he grew so much during the story that I actually ended up loving him.  He is like a giant, lovable teddy bear and fiercely loyal to his friends!

The dialogue and setting are authentic, the characters are wonderful, and the villain is hateful.  I could not believe the abuse that Julian has to endure from his uncle, who does not even care for him one bit.  The scenes where Julian is locked in a trunk emotionally drained me.  It was no surprise to find out that Robin Roe is an adolescent counselor, since she portrays the characters so realistically and compassionately.

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This novel has it all—family, friendship, great characters, a little romance, drama, and a happy ending, despite cruelty.  It is a real page-turner, and I highly recommend it for high school and public libraries.  I give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

          Kuehn, Stephanie.  Charm and Strange.  Electric    Monkey/Egmont, 2013.

My review of Charm and Strange is going to take a different format from the reviews I usually write.  It is not very often that I come across a book that I really do not know how to review.  What makes this review even harder is that I cannot say much about the plot without giving up spoilers.

This debut novel is written through a series of events—“Matter” in the present and “Anti-Matter” in the past---through the eyes of Winston Drew Winters, aka Win and Drew.  In the present, sixteen-year-old Win is a boarding school student in a remote part of New England.  He won’t let anyone get close to him for fear of what he might do to others.

In the past, Drew is a young boy who excels at tennis and looks up to his older brother, Keith.  He fears his overbearing, drunken father and often has unexplained blackouts.  Drew has terrible motion sickness and bouts of uncontrollable, violent anger.

The summer Drew, Keith, and Siobhan, their younger sister, visit their cousins and grandparents leads to a family tragedy and more mental problems for Drew.  It is also the reason he ends up at boarding school fighting demons in his mind and fearing what will eventually become of him.

Charm and Strange seems to start out as a paranormal novel but ends up as something totally different.  The beginning of the novel is confusing and the plot wanders, but the plot threads finally weave themselves together to make sense.  Some readers may not wait long enough to see this through and will miss the satisfying conclusion.

The plot is character-driven, and the author does a wonderful job of fleshing out the characters.  Even the minor characters are extremely complex.  Additionally, the subject matter has obviously been well researched and brilliantly integrated into the story.

Charm and Strange is a psychological thrill that deals with a sensitive subject.  It is for mature readers.  I highly recommend it for upper high school students and public library libraries and give it five out of five fleur de lis!

Review of Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz

Miller, Ashley Edward and Zack Stentz.  Colin Fischer. Razorbill (Young Penguin Readers Group), 2012.  978-1-59514-578-9.  226 p.   $17.99, hc.  Grades 8 and up.

Colin Fischer is a fourteen-year-old freshman with Asperger’s Sydrome.  He is high-functioning and extremely intelligent, but is an outcast because of his lack of social skills.  He is very observant and detail-oriented, and has kept a notebook of his observations for many years.  He does not excel at any sports, except jumping on the trampoline, which seems to calm his nerves and help him to think.

On his first two days as a freshman, Colin causes a scene in class, gets sent to the principal’s office, learns to shoot basketball, becomes a witness in a school gun incident, gets into a fight, and lies to his parents for the first time.  This, from a boy, who has never been in trouble at school!  When he is sent to the office for disrupting class, he is able to tell Dr. Doran, the principal at West Valley High School, specifics about a student’s cellphone that no one else would even notice!

The next day, as Colin’s friend, Melissa, celebrates her birthday with cake in the cafeteria, there is a school shooting!  The obvious culprit is Wayne, one of the school bullies, but Colin knows he is innocent and sets out to prove it.  Although Wayne has tormented Colin since grade school, the two pair up and go on a wild adventure to figure out who owns the gun used in the shooting!  Using what they learn, what Colin overhears and his honed powers of deduction, Colin pins the crime on the girlfriend on another of the school’s thugs.  The solving of the crime results in mutual admiration and an unlikely friendship between Colin and Wayne!

Colin Fischer is just a delightful novel!  I cannot remember the last time I laughed so much while reading a book!  Colin is a wonderful character, very matter-of-fact, and takes everything so literal.  He writes down everything in his spiral notebook, which is actually more of a journal, including the word, “investigate”, if he needs more information.  Because he has a hard time deciphering facial expressions, he carries around flash cards to help him label emotions.  In the book, the font for these emotions…ANGER…SERIOUS…IMPRESSED…and so on, seem to mimic the actual words he might see on his flash cards.  During the story, readers find out more about Asperger’s Syndrome, both through writings in his notebook and through dialogue.

Colin’s mom and dad are great parents!  They have worked at raising Colin to be independent, but are still surprised when moments arrive when he doesn’t need their help.  He is still able to surprise them with his accomplishments.  His brother, Danny, on the other hand, is resentful and jealous of Colin, who just seems to shrug it off.  This is one-sided sibling rivalry!

My favorite part of the book was the quest that Wayne and Colin went on, specifically the time spent in the home of the La Familia gang!  I also loved how Mr. Turrentine, Colin’s gym teacher, took the time to actually teach Colin how to shoot the basketball.  Mr. Turrentine had the best line in the book when he said to Colin, “Life is a contact sport, and pads are not an option.”

This is a great guy book, but girls will also enjoy it.  It’s a quick read and one that shouldn’t be missed!  I highly recommend it for upper middle school, high school, and public libraries!

*Reviewer’s Note:  This book was received from Library Media Connection in exchange for an honest review.

 

Review of What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman

What Boys Really Want by Pete Hautman. Scholastic, 2012.

Lita Wold and Adam Merchant have been friends since they were very young, and now they are juniors at Wellstone High School. Lita, who is working on a romance novel, aspires to be a writer like her famous author mother. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lita also secretly writes an advice blog under the alias, Miz Fitz, doling out answers on dating and boys. Adam, on the other hand, has no interest in writing, so Lita is surprised, but also a little upset, when Adam announces his intentions to write a book on what boys really want from their relationships with girls. Writing a book turns out to be a lot of work, so Adam ends up obtaining much of his book from material he finds online. Unfortunately, a good bit of it comes from Miz Fitz’s blog!

What Boys Really Want is a quick, playful read about relationships built on a book about relationships! It is told in the alternating voices of Lita and Adam and spiced up with “quotes” from Lita’s Miz Fitz blog and Adam’s book. There is a lot of humor in the book; I found myself laughing out loud at some of the scenes in the novel!

I loved both Lita and Adam. Lita is a sarcastic, tough realist; she tells it like it is. Adam is exactly the opposite; he is easy-going, fun-loving, and happy-go-lucky. Adam’s eventual love interest, Blair, who some students think is a “skank”, actually has the same type personality as Lita. It is no surprise Adam is drawn to her. Dennis, Adam’s friend, is the typical geeky tech guy. I was delighted to find that two school librarians figure prominently in the story. One is the strict, stereotypical librarian, and the other is a cool, laid-back bibliophile.

The dialogue is realistic and believable, and the teen interactions are spot-on. The blog and book snippets at the beginning of each chapter add a lot to the mood of the book. There are some surprises and twists in the story that I did not expect! Although the book is a little over three hundred pages, it did not take long to read at all.

Teens will easily relate to the events, dialogue, and characters in the book! I recommend What Boys Really Want to middle school, high school, and public libraries.

**Note:  The copy reviewed was an advanced reader's copy obtained from Library Media Connection in exchange for an honest review.

Review for In Too Deep by Amanda Grace

Grace, Amanda.  In Too Deep.  Flux, 2012.

All Sam Marshall wants is for  Nick Davis, her best friend since forever, to notice her.   She wants him to think of her as more than a friend.  So she dresses up in a mini-skirt and heels for a party and tries to make Nick jealous by throwing herself at Carter Wellesley, the most popular and most athletic boy at Mossy Rock High School.   Instead of welcoming her into his bedroom, Carter insults her and sends her crying out into the hall.  Sam has already had too much to drink, so she doesn't think anything of it when Michelle Pattison asks her if she's ok.  When she gets to school, Sam doesn't know why people keep staring and whispering about her.  It's not until later that she discovers that her classmates think that she was raped by Carter.  She cannot believe it, but she doesn't deny it, either.  When she tells girls in her class that nothing happened, they want her to pretend until the school year is over.  In her wildest dreams, she never thinks about how this will affect Carter, his family, and Nick.  And when she does think about it, it's gone too far and she doesn't know how to get out of it.  On top of all this, her father, the chief of police in Mossy Rock, is still trying to control her life.  How can she gracefully get out of this terrible situation, continue to have a relationship with Nick, and find a way to go away to college?

In Too Deep is a fabulous read, filled with emotion and a girl's hopes and dreams.  Sam, the main character, has deep self-esteem issues.  She was been raised by a father who she thinks doesn't love or care about her.  Her mother is long-gone, and her father seems to care more about work and controlling Sam's decisions than her well-being.  Nick, who has been her best friend forever, is liked by everyone.  He has an on-again/off-again relationship with a girl named Reyna, but is actually in love with Sam.  Both of the main characters were extremely well-developed and very likable.  Carter Wellesley, on the other hand, is the star athlete and golden boy, but is also a jerk and a womanizer.  It is all too easy for people to believe that he raped Sam, and it spreads throughout the school and the town like wildfire.  However, I find it strange that her father, the chief of police in an extremely small town, did not hear this rumor until it was too late!  He seemed to know everything else that was going on in his daughter's life!

There were so many themes going on in this novel--gossip, small-town life, where everyone knows everyone, budding romance, underage drinking and partying, peer pressure, and father-daughter relationships.  The humiliation, embarrassment, and rejection that Sam feels is real, as is the hopelessness and helplessness of her situation that she unwittingly, and then just as willingly, creates.

This novel is a real page-turner!  I recommend In Too Deep for high school and public libraries!

**Note:  The book reviewed was an advanced reader's copy received from Library Media Connection in exchange for an honest review.