Review: Tell Me Three Things - Julie Buxbaum

Synopsis

"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?" (Goodreads)

In keeping with the tradition of the book and its many reviews on Goodreads,
I've decided to format my review into 3 things. 

#1 - The Voice

This is Julie Buxbaum's first YA novel. After having written books with adult characters (that I haven't read), I imagine it might be hard to accurately write the words of a teenager. Not the case with this one. In a lot of YA novels, the characters often suffer from two different language problems: A) Sounding more intelligent than their peers and, especially, the adults in the book, or B) Sounding much younger than they are. I feel that Jessie was the embodiment of a teen girl, specifically one who has experienced loss. Because her mother has died, a part of her has had to grow up a little faster and realized a lot of hard truths we often don't face until later in life. That is a consistent part of her narrative. However, she's also 16, at a new school in a new city (L.A. of all places), is communicating with a complete stranger via the internet, wants to make friends, falls for a seemingly dangerous boy in her class, all while dealing with the occasional bullying, breakouts, and fear of sex and intimacy. She balanced the smarts with the OMG thoughts, and I really appreciated that.

#2 - Talking to Strangers

Last year, I read the delightful, funny YA contemporary Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda,  an excellent LGBT rom-com that everyone should check out. The premise of TMTT is very similar to that of Simon, and I couldn't help but draw comparisons. In both stories, the protagonist actively communicates with someone who goes to their school but remains anonymous (though in Simon, they are both unknown). Their online interactions become a lifeline. For Jessie, she has a sort of "guardian angel" guide helping her navigate her new school. Simon's communication reminds him he is not alone in the frustrating world of having to "come out". 

I tried to put myself in Jessie's shoes. Would I willingly respond to (and engage in intimate conversation with) a complete stranger? Right now, I'd say no. But as a teen? It's very possible. I've always been a bit naive, hopeful, and gullible (This quote from New Girl comes to mind). A part of me would've loved the romanticized life I had suddenly started to lead. And because IMing was a huge part of my high school/college life, it is possible I did kind of talk to strangers. Just not to this extent. I'd love to know if you think you'd respond to these strangers. Wouldn't you be worried about the ol' Catfish scenario?

#3 - Warm and Fuzzy Feelings 

When you read a YA contemporary, you want the warm and fuzzy feelings. You want to smile hard and possibly squeal with delight over the cuteness of it all. You want to believe in the relationship between the two participants. Whether Jessie is pondering over her feelings with the unknown SN, crushing on the quiet yet intimidating Ethan, or wondering what makes her her friend's crush (and lead singer of popular band Orgasmville) Liam so attractive, every feeling is realistic. When I put the book down, I was, indeed, squealing with cuteness overload. That's what you want in a rom-com, and that's exactly what I got.

Overall

Four Stars!

This is a well-written novel about a girl going through so many changes: the loss of her mother, the uprooting of her life to a new location, a stepmother and stepbrother. Though the mystery of who SN is and whether or not it will be who Jessie wants it to be is central to the story, her life doesn't revolve around that. It's just another part of the swift changes occurring in her world. This is a great book about growing up, feeling crushed, having hope, and learning lessons.