Tell Me Three Things
Ratings35
Average rating3.7
15
Ratings35
Average rating3.7
A New York Times Bestseller “Here are three things about this book: (1) It’s . . . funny and romantic; (2) the mystery at the heart of the story will keep you turning the pages; (3) I have a feeling you’ll be very happy you read it.” —Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight With the perfect mix of comedy and tragedy, love and loss, and pain and elation, the characters in Julie Buxbaum’s Tell Me Three Things come to feel like old friends who make any day better. This YA novel is sure to appeal to fans of Rainbow Rowell, Jennifer Niven, and E. Lockhart. 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. 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, and to start at a new school where she knows no one. 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? 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? More praise for TELL ME THREE THINGS “Three Things about this novel: (1) I loved it. (2) No, really, I LOVED it. (3) I wish I could tell every teen to read it. Buxbaum’s book sounds, reads, breathes, worries, and soars like real adolescents do.” —Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Leaving Time and Off the Page “The desire to find out whether Jessie’s real-life and virtual crushes are one and the same will keep [readers] turning the pages as quickly as possible.” —PW, Starred “A heartfelt, wryly perceptive account of coming to terms with irrevocable loss when life itself means inevitable change.” —Kirkus “Buxbaum’s debut is hard to put down because of its smooth and captivating text. The addition of virtual conversations through email and chatting adds to the exciting plot twist.” —SLJ
Reviews with the most likes.
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.
“Not feeling like I belong anywhere has made me crave constant motion; standing still feels risky, like asking to be a target.”
With all that's been going on in the world and especially in my country this week I needed to read something light and sweet to lift up my mood. Nothing better than a good infusion of coming-of-age sprinkled with a bit of romance to do that.
This story has been told many, many times before, it relies on many clichés, so it gets no points for originality, however, the combination of cuteness, angst and humor were in the perfect doses to send to sleep my grumpy critical gnomes and just enjoy the ride. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for mysterious online correspondence stories, after all Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was one of my favorite books last year. Sure, there were some eye-roll worthy moments, at times the humor relied quite heavy on stereotypes about L.A., mean girls, etc. but overall ‘twas a fun book.
I figured who SN was, from the beginning, even though the author kept introduction characters to mislead us, the were obvious signs. It didn't bother me though, I went along with it and waited with excitement for the moment when Jessie would figure it out too.
I have no idea why I enjoyed this so much. But I couldn't put it down and it put a big ‘ol smile on my face. You can picture me like this.
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.
*The author's notes added a star. Good book, but I loved the notes.
