Julie Buxbaum

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

Tell Me Three Things

One of my favourite books. It isn’t the most interesting and there isn’t so much gossip BUT it’s a very good classic book which is really good to read!

Blub

Sarah Campbell

Because it wasn't okay and never will be. We will power through it; I will continue to power through it all the stagnant, soul-crushing grief but it will never be okay that ny mom is not here. That she will not be at my high school graduation; that she will never give me the lecture, and I won't be able to play along and pretend to be embarrassed and say, Come on on, Mom; that she will not be there when I open my college acceptance letters (or rejections); that she will never see who I grow up to be — that great mystery of who I am and who I am meant to be — finally asked and answered. I will march forth into the great unknown alone. 

With Tell Me Three Things, I was finally brave enough to take a look at a period in my life that I long ago boxed up, put away, and marked with a big red label that red “Too Painful”. I wasn’t interested in exploring my specifics, necessarily, but I very much wanted to delve into those feelings of first loss and their immediate aftermath. To look back at what it was like to be a teenager and to have the worst thing you can imagine happening actually happening. 

Like Jessie, I also lost my mother at fourteen, and of course I’m not going to be coy and pretend that’s a coincidence. It’s not. And I used to do that too: the counting. I still do it, in fact, but now I count in years instead of days. I’m at twenty-four. Twenty-four?!? How is that even possible? 

Everything passes, Jessie. Remember that. What feels huge today will feel small tomorrow.

Perfect days are for people with small, realizable dreams. Or maybe for all of us, they just happen in retrospect; they’re only now perfect because they contain something irrevocably and irretrievably lost. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last two years, it’s that memory is fickle. When I read Harry, I can no longer hear my mothers voice, but I picture her next to me, and when even that fails, I imagine the weight of someone against me, an arm against my arm, and pretend that’s enough. 

I never asked her. Why didn’t I ask her? One of the worst parts about someone dying is thinking back to all those times you didn’t ask the right questions, all those times you stupidly assumed you’d have all the time in the world. And this too: how all that time feels like not much time at all. What’s left feels like something manufactured. The overexposed ghosts of memories. 

Aubrey Hennig

Kimmy Hobden

Jules

Can you say cliché? Can you say not like other girls? Can you say predictable? Well those are the words best used to characterize this book. The ending was not a surprise AT all it was obvious who SN was from the beginning, the clues dropped are obvious. I did like how they dealt with the loss of Jess’ mom and how the two connected over loss, but other than that, I don’t really have much of anything good to say about this book. Not to mention it was also unnecessarily vulgar. They kind of had chemistry, but their kissing scene fell so flat after all the build up, yawn. I really wanted to like this book, but I just can’t do it. This book follows so many clichés and it’s just too much, I’m sorry. I’m glad it brought so many people joy anyways.

Vivi

★★★★☆ (4)

“Not knowing the right thing to do is not an excuse for not doing anything.”
Me gustó más de lo que esperaba. Quería leer algo ligero porque llevo todo el año leyendo de asesinatos y me iba a volver loca, pero Tell Me Three Things fue más sentimental de lo que pensé que sería. Jessie intentando adaptarse a una vida nueva aún con la pasada guindándole de la espalda fue una lectura interesante. 

Also, AMÉ sus conversaciones con SN y a Ethan, que rompió el estereotipo de dark y bad boy de los libros de romance juvenil porque él era ADORABLE. 

“Wait,” Ethan says, and takes a step forward and then one backward. It’s an awkward dance, and his face reddens. “You’re early.” SE PONÍA ROJO, ES UNA DULZURA

peyton 

Yep it’s official this is my favorite book I’ve read so far it’s such an amazing contemporary romance. I love the way it shows the downsides of high school and life in general as a teenager. But the romance is to good like it’s phenomenal and Jessie and you know who (read the book to know who I’m talking about) are the best couple to ever walk the face of the earth.

Naiya

Melissa Palmer

Book #15 Read in 2016
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

Jessie's mother passed away not that long ago. She is still dealing with that when her father unexpectedly marries Rachel and moves Jessie to California. Jessie struggles to maneuver her new school and climate. SN texts her and says he will help her figure out the school but he will not reveal his identity. The two share many things about themselves through this communication method and Jessie tries to figure out SN's identity. This book is well written, has interesting characters and contains a good balance of romance, humor and angst. I received a copy of this book from Amazon Vine in exchange for a honest review.

Patricia Nelson

I'm 55, and this book brought me right back to when I lost my mom suddenly at age 17. The author absolutely nails all the feelings that I had, all while navigating high school. The numbness, the feelings, the "just getting from one day to the next", all of it. I liked the characters, particularly Jessie, and found them to be real and believable. It looks like it's primarily a romance, but ends up being a great coming of age story about a young woman who is trying to figure out her place in the world after her world is upended in multiple ways, and where all these other people fit. The other characters in the novel were also complex, and dealing with their own issues, and likeable. Well done.

becky oh

Kelci

alexandra

2.5/5?

this book was so up-and-down; i'm have a difficult time reviewing it. i'll try to sum it up in three things:
1. the beginning was very very promising, but it ended up feeling draggy and slow. THE ENDING, however, was really satisfying.
2. the characters were hard to decipher and i was often frustrated at our MC, but she had a nice character arc.
3. the romance was really cute, but also really insta-lovey. our "mystery guy" was so predictable (aka i knew from the moment he appeared) and it took 300 pages for our protagonist to figure it out. *facepalm*

i'm kinda disappointed by this book, but i still like it. it's a strange feeling. full review may or may not come.

Victoria

There wasn't a time when I felt bored while reading this. The story itself is not super special and while there's that added mystery of who SN is, the plot wasn't the main reason that I liked this book so much.

Julie's way of writing is just absolutely superb. And I feel like she's really just channelling her teenage self here and I love it.

***

CURRENTLY READING

First time to read a Julie Buxbaum novel and I must say, I already like a few things and I'm only on Chapter 5.

- I like her way of writing.
- I like the amount of sarcasm.
- I like the humor.
- I like how such an easy read this is.

Hopefully, the entire novel doesn't disappoint.

menna

I think I'd love it more if I read it back when I was maybe 15. but now it was just meh and very predictable. I didn't like anyone all that much and the whole secret messaging was done so much better in simon vs the homosapiens agenda.

Elena

Such a good book. Jessie is the most relatable girl ever I loved how I had to figure out who SN is with her. It’s one of the few books about people my age that I enjoyed!

Abrianna

I remember reading this again and again. I honestly loved it so much

Rebecca Self 

Absolutely loved this book. The story is so sweet, so cute, and it made me so happy throughout the whole thing. 

I loved the semi mystery aspect as well - not knowing who SN is. I really enjoyed trying to see if i could determine which of the boy characters it was. 

A very quick read but also a very sweet read.

lilac archives

Cute romcom, the main couple are each dealing with the loss of a loved one. 

Charlie Winchester 

Lilly

Kelly Cotton

I've read six books in the last week, each one getting better after the other, but this book has been the best so far. I loved it! It was full of fluffy love and raw emotions. Jessie (which I found myself forgetting the main characters name because they neVER SAID IT) has dealt with heartbreak, but not romantically. She lost her mother, and while coping with that loss her father remarries and drags Jessie to LA to live with his new wife. Isolated and scared, Jessie tries to blend into the background. 
I loved this novel because even though I always knew who SN was, it wasn't obvious because he made it obvious. He never made references to their messages, and always communicated differently through IM as SN than himself.
I also loved that Jessie and Scarlett worked through their issues. I feel like most novels drag out friend drama.
All in all, I loved it.

Wenn das Glück in deinem Postfach liegt ...

Tell me three things

Sonja H

Mir war nach einer leichten Lektüre und auch wenn ich YA eher als Dystopie mag, klang der Inhalt dieses Buches nach guter Unterhaltung.

Und die habe ich bekommen.

Thematisiert wird in „Tell me three things“ der Umgang mit Verlust eines geliebten Menschen. Wie findet man sich – gerade als Jugendliche/r – in dieser neuen Situation zurecht?
Für Jessie verschärft sich die Lage zusätzlich, da ihr Vater überraschend wieder heiratet und sie in eine ihr völlig fremde Umgebung geworfen wird, die noch dazu völlig andere Erwartungen an ihr gesellschaftliches Auftreten stellen.
Sie fühlt sich verloren, bekommt jedoch unerwartet anonyme Hilfe.

Die Autorin zeigt, wie wichtig es ist, nach dem Tod eines Familienangehörigen Unterstützung zu suchen, weiter am Leben teilzunehmen, Interesse an anderen zu zeigen, auch wenn es schwer fällt und einem alles wie eine neue Welt erscheint.

Buxbaum hat eine interessante Geschichte erschaffen, die zwar ein wenig typisch „Highschoolstory“ und „Girl meets Boy“ ist, deren Hauptfiguren aber vielschichtig sind und mit dem beginnenden Erwachsenenleben jede auf ihre eigene Art kämpfen.

Aber!

Einen Kritikpunkt muss ich loswerden: in diesem Buch werden Haschisch und Alkohol mehr oder weniger als „cool“ beschrieben. Es gibt am Anfang eine Szene, in der Jessie und ihr Halbbruder Theo das Eis zwischen sich brechen – bei einem Joint und Wein, der beide wundersam auflockert und die Beziehung zwischen ihnen verbessert.
Vor andere Drogen wie Heroin wird zwischen den Zeilen gewarnt, aber die weichen Drogen nehmen viel Raum in der Erzählung ein. Es mag zu einem Teenagerleben dazugehören, hätte sich aber auch etwas zurückhaltender einbauen lassen.

Ein nettes YA-Buch mit kleinem Manko.

Ley Stanton

I just died of cuteness 
Full review: https://leyreads.wordpress.com/2016/0...

jana <3

tbh, i found Jessie insufferable and annoying and just— ugh, she was literally the human embodiment of internalised misogyny.

she was so spiteful towards other girls, constantly reinforcing these obnoxious gender roles and basically implying that everyone is a “pick me” girl, when in reality, it only made her look like the pick me.
it was almost as if she was trying SO hard to seem different and unique. like, we get it, you're not blonde. you can shut the fuck up now.

i loved basically all of the other characters, and i also loved the ending, so there's that.

Super cute great writing and good characters easy read

Maria youngberg 

Chloe

I remember reading this nonstop in high school! I think it was comforting to see a seemingly stranger help someone through some difficult stuff, because when I found this book I had just lost someone close to me that I loved. So I guess this book and the person in book ended up being that stranger for me. 

Savannah Muron

It was a refreshing YA novel. A nice, pure, gentle read, with a very cute ending. I would recommend it as a weekend read. It seems different from the normal YA genre, yet somehow very fitting. It was great if you are looking for a short book to start out the new year.

Tell Me Three Things

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