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Summary
Summary
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 (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up-High school junior Jessie has a lot on her plate-her mother died from cancer two years ago, her father has remarried, and Jessie and her dad have to move to California to join their new family. Jessie's new private school (complete with mean girls) is light years away from her former Chicago life, and Jessie desperately misses home and her best friend. When a mysterious person starts emailing her anonymously, giving her tips on surviving at her new school, Jessie is initially leery but quickly bonds with the writer. But just who is the secretive correspondent, and when they finally meet in person will everything remain the same? Jorjeana Marie reads and does her usual superlative job. Her youthful voice perfectly depicts Jessie's confusion as well as the personalities of the other teen characters Jessie meets. Much of the story is told through instant messaging, which Marie handles with aplomb. As Jessie and her online pal continue to list three things that no one else knows about them, listeners will connect with the characters through the energetic narration. VERDICT Give this to your fans of Jenny Han, Lauren Myracle, and Sarah Dessen. ["A definite purchase for collections where readers enjoy character-driven fiction": SLJ 2/16 review of the Delacorte book.]-Julie Paladino, formerly at East Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Jessie's mother has been dead for two years, and because her father has recently married a woman he met online and moved the family to Los Angeles, Jessie is starting her junior year at a fancy private school where she knows no one. The only good news is that a classmate and self-described "spirit guide" is anonymously emailing her tips about surviving Wood Valley High. "Somebody Nobody" is a great virtual conversationalist, and they turn out to have plenty in common, including grief. Jessie begins making friends and grappling with her complicated family dynamics, but she's always wondering about her correspondent. Could he be brooding, handsome Ethan, her English-project partner? The cute guy at work whose girlfriend has it in for her? Stepbrother Theo? The dialogue-both spoken and typed-is consistently funny, and adult author Buxbaum (After You) makes everyone, even subsidiary characters, believable. She maintains suspense until the very end, and even if readers think they know who "Somebody Nobody" is, the desire to find out whether Jessie's real-life and virtual crushes are one and the same will keep them turning the pages as quickly as possible. Ages 12-up. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Jessie's unassimilated grief over her mother's death makes her dad's abrupt marriage to Rachel, a wealthy widow he met online, and their subsequent move from Chicago to her mansion in Los Angeles feel like betrayal. Rachel's son wants nothing to do with Jessie. Her first week at his private school is agonizing. When she gets an email from "Somebody Nobody," claiming to be a male student in the school and offering to act as her "virtual spirit guide," Jessie's suspicious, but she acceptsshe needs help. SN's a smart, funny, supportive guide, advising her whom to befriend and whom to avoid while remaining stubbornly anonymous. Meanwhile, Jessie makes friends, is picked as study partner by the coolest guy in AP English, and finds a job in a bookstore, working with the owner's son, Liam. But questions abound. Why is Liam's girlfriend bullying her? What should she do about SN now that she's crushing on study-partner Ethan? Readers will have answers long before Jessie does. It's overfamiliar territory: a protagonist unaware she's gorgeous, oblivious to male admiration; a jealous, mean-girl antagonist; a secret admirer, easily identified. It's the authentic depiction of griefhow Jessie and other characters respond to loss, get stuck, struggle to break throughdevoid of clich, that will keep readers engaged. Though one of Jessie's friends has a Spanish surname, rich, beautiful, mostly white people are the order of the day. Within the standard-issue teen romance is a heartfelt, wryly perceptive account of coming to terms with irrevocable loss when life itself means inevitable change. (Fiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
When Jessie is uprooted from Chicago to California after her father elopes, Jessie's life is turned upside down. Now with a stepfamily, a fancy rich school, a mean girl out to get her, and lingering grief over her mother's death, Jessie discovers an anonymous e-mail in her in-box with tips on how to survive her new home. Soon Jessie and Somebody/Nobody (aka SN) are chatting all the time. Jessie feels caught between her old life and trying to belong in her new one, in addition to the challenge of growing up without her mother and with a father who is growing more distant. Jessie's story is about more than having a secret admirer, but the mystery of SN's identity is engaging. Buxbaum adds layered plotlines about grief, family, and the confusion and hardships of growing up, all with a touch of humor and romance. A solid YA debut ideal for fans of Sarah Dessen and Stephanie Perkins.--Thompson, Sarah Bean Copyright 2016 Booklist