Title: Tell Me Three Things

Author/s: Julie Buxbaum

Publication Date: April 05, 2016

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: Paperback

Number of Pages:336

 

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?

Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel filled with characters who will come to feel like friends.“

 

My Thoughts

Tell Me Three Things is an insanely splendid book!
Since I’ve been reading a lot of YA Fantasies last month, I wanted to read another book category. So I took the chance to read this book. My past reading experiences wasn’t satisfying for I hated the fact that I’ve read too many cliched books, but something compelling made me want to give this one an opportunity.

Jessie, a girl who’s still grieving over losing her mother two years ago. She’s with her father who remarried a woman with a son almost the same age as hers. She doesn’t get along with her new family. Her sadness is still present. It got worse when she moved in to a new school and met new people, she’s having a hard time coping: feeling like an outcast, being insecure. It was a total disaster. Until she received an unexpected e-mail from Somebody/Nobody someone who volunteered to be her unknown guide in Wood Valley High.

Jessie was hesitant at first, eventually she began feeling really comfortable chatting with the anonymous writer. She wanted to know more and finally wanted to meet him in person. She wanted to know who in Earth decided to be nice to her. Is it someone who’s close to her? How is it possible that she likes someone she has never met personally? Who is he? S/N is kind of fun to talk to, he’ll make you laugh and even give you new things to learn like vocabulary words and such. He’s witty, humorous and all.

We all know that stories themed with anonymity are way too common. But I’m a total sucker for such! In TMTT, there were many guys who are possible to be S/N. And it overwhelmed me to know that given that there were plenty of options, you won’t feel a “love triangle” vibe. There was no love triangle, people! It’s amazing how Julie managed to rip off our mind thinking that S/N could be this person, but suddenly… no he couldn’t be that guy.

The twists and turns will make you crack up. The like/love interest was so cute, I couldn’t help but giggle most of the time. Can you imagine falling for someone you’ve never met? What if you won’t like the real them? Their mannerisms, the way they move, their physical appearance? The book taught me one thing, all of those won’t matter if you’ve learned how to love a person.

To sum it all up, Tell Me Three Things- with the experience of the characters in the story, their own struggles, some coping and relationship problems, is a quick but impressive read. Not missing Julie’s insane ability to capture her reader’s attention by means if her writing style. I won’t forget to recommend this book to everyone. Mind you people, you’d wish for a Somebody/Nobody after reading this.

Rating: Four Stars

 

 

 

This guest review was contributed by Amidst the Pages. Imogene reviews almost any genre from both indie and traditionally published authors.