I can vividly remember my very first assembly in high school as a freshman. It was the ‘senior assembly’ where they announced all the ‘most likely to’ people. This was the mid 1990’s so they were still doing things like ‘best legs’ and’ most likely to marry a rich guy’. So obviously things like this are pretty outdated now a days but I can still remember wondering what I would be voted ‘most likely’ as when I became a senior. As luck would have it I never got to find out. I moved my senior year of high school to a large school that had done away with this by the time I was as senior.
But that doesn’t mean I still don’t wonder! That is what appealed to me about this book—-the nostalgia. This book looked like it was going to be FULL of 1990s nostalgia and something that I could FULLY relate to now as an adult! I have never attended a single high school reunion even though I am approaching the 25 year mark. I have had zero desire to attend one as I have zero desire to ever revisit my high school years. But now that I have moved back to my small home town, I see a lot of people that I used to go to school with so it’s sort of like having a reunion every time I go to the grocery store.
This book was at the top of my TBR going into the fall, just knowing that someone else out in author-land also wanted to have a mini high school reunion through their new novel made me really excited and I couldn’t WAIT to start this one. I think for a certain demographic, this book is going to be a big hit. Maybe not for everyone, but definitely for the early 40s demographic!
Summary
At their milestone high school reunion, a group of friends make a pact to finally achieve their high school superlatives one way or another, in the lively new novel from the acclaimed author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.
In 1997, grunge is king, Titanic is a blockbuster (and Blockbuster still exists), and Thursday nights are for Friends. In Bellport, Connecticut, four best friends and high school seniors are ready to light the world on fire. Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer are going places. Their yearbook superlatives confirm it: Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400.
Fast forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan as the women regroup at their dreaded high school reunion. When a forgotten classmate emerges at the reunion with a surprising announcement, the friends dig out the yearbook and rethink their younger selves. Is it too late to make their dreams come true? Fueled by nostalgia and one too many drinks, they form a pact to push through their middle-aged angst to bring their teenage aspirations to fruition, dubbing themselves the “Most Likely Girls.”
Through the ensuing highs and lows, they are reminded of the enduring bonds of friendship, the ways our childhood dreams both sustain and surprise us — and why it’s deeply uncool to peak in high school.
Review
WhenI say that a certain demographic will likely love this book, that’s not to say others would like it, but it just hits different when everything in this book reminds you of your own high school years! There was so much fun pop culture in this book and I cherished every moment reading it. I loved all the nostalgia in the pages but there were times that I actually had to sit and think “what that actually the year Titanic was released?’ but at the end of the day, a few ‘off’ dates didn’t matter to me. I loved this one. I think younger readers would like the book but I don’t know that they would love it in the way that I loved it. There were plenty of times that I laughed out loud and found myself thinking back to all my own high school friendships and memories—I simply loved this book for that matter.
I think the author really captured the evolution of change and the changes that long time friendships undergo and really crafted a story that readers can relate to—-even if they aren’t as into the 1990s nostalgia—-I think readers will love the evolution of friendships and find something to enjoy through that. I currently do not have friends that I still talk to from high school but I have seen them around town on occasion and of course through Facebook. It’s weird to see the paths different friends have taken—-some have ended up being dentists and doctors, while others are homemakers who in high school wanted to be lawyers. It’s crazy how time and life circumstances change you which is what was really at the heart of this book.
This book ticked a lot of boxes for me and I really enjoyed my time reading it. If you are looking for a story with a lot of heart mixed with some humor, this is going to be a solid choice. But if you are a late 30s early 40s gal, you absolutely need to read this one! It’s full of all the nostalgia and pop culture that you never knew you were missing—-plus all the other things like humor, friendships, and heart. This was an excellent way to kick off my fall reading and I am looking forward to more by this author. She has a daft hand for heartwarming stories! So glad I picked this one up!
Book Info and Rating
Format: 368 pages, paperback
Published: Berkley Books September 6 2022
ISBN: 9780593199749
Free review copy provided by publisher, Berkley Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: women’s fiction
The Lit Bitch 