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A review by blue_charlesss
Most Likely by Sarah Watson
2.0
Another YA book I really wanted to like more than I did. The gimmick of 4 friends, one of whom goes on to be president in the intro but you don't know who, is a really cool one, and was honestly what kept me reading through this occasional slog of a book.
The biggest issue with cutting back and forth from all 4 girls POVs is that none of them get the time to have fleshed out characters and storylines. While everyone's arcs are serviceable, none of them are intense standouts. Characters, their relationships, and the general plots themselves feel ok, just very flimsy. It defintily doesn't help none of the girl's POVs feel particuarly distinct.
The girls' seperate arcs are also hit or miss. One of them has some great and challenging disabled representation, but another sees a high school senior lie about her age to a political aide for a news story who then TAKES HER ON DATES and she keeps up the ruse in order to "get the story" and because she likes "feeling mature" which... I shouldn't have to explain why that's not great. None of the other characters or the text itself really challenges this, and it's really, reallyyyy uncomfortable.
Other than that though, this book wavers from bland to yikes to pretty decent over the course of nearly 400 pages. At least the gimmick reveal at the end was heartwarming, if not entirely "earned." Can't say I loved it, but didn't hate it.
The biggest issue with cutting back and forth from all 4 girls POVs is that none of them get the time to have fleshed out characters and storylines. While everyone's arcs are serviceable, none of them are intense standouts. Characters, their relationships, and the general plots themselves feel ok, just very flimsy. It defintily doesn't help none of the girl's POVs feel particuarly distinct.
The girls' seperate arcs are also hit or miss. One of them has some great and challenging disabled representation, but another sees a high school senior lie about her age to a political aide for a news story who then TAKES HER ON DATES and she keeps up the ruse in order to "get the story" and because she likes "feeling mature" which... I shouldn't have to explain why that's not great. None of the other characters or the text itself really challenges this, and it's really, reallyyyy uncomfortable.
Other than that though, this book wavers from bland to yikes to pretty decent over the course of nearly 400 pages. At least the gimmick reveal at the end was heartwarming, if not entirely "earned." Can't say I loved it, but didn't hate it.