Review: Tell Me Three Things, by Julie Buxbaum

Elegantly written and heartfelt, Tell Me Three Things is Julie Buxbaum's YA debut.

Her characters are complex, their histories are heartbreaking, and the weight of their losses anchor the first half the book.

What I most want to say would spoil the book, so instead: read this book. It's lovely.

Barely two years after her mother's death, Jessie relocates to Los Angeles to live with her new stepmother and attend an elite school with her stepbrother. Jessie has no allies until a secretive classmate contacts her online. Her mystery friend becomes her confidante and, eventually, something more. But who is he?

From Goodreads:

What if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met?  
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?

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