About the Book
A hilarious, heartfelt story about four lifelong friends determined to change their lives, come hell (terrible bosses, ex-husbands living next door) or high water (laundry…so much laundry) from the acclaimed author of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel.
Melissa Levin, Priya Chowdhury, Tara Taylor, and Suki Hammer were going places when they graduated high school in 1997. Their yearbook superlatives were Most Likely to Win the White House, Cure Cancer, Open a Michelin-Starred Restaurant, and Join the Forbes 400, respectively. Fast forward twenty-five years and nothing has gone according to plan.
Reunited at their reunion, the women 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 youthful 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 never a good idea to peak too early.
My Review
From the moment I started reading, I was ready to settle in with some wine and popcorn and get to know Melissa, Priya, Tara and Suki. Four friends who are on the verge of their twenty-five year high school reunion, and with that milestone looming, they are thinking back on their younger selves. In 1997, the yearbook superlatives were the biggest deal for the graduating class – and each friend takes what they received seriously. Melissa never ran for public office, but she is the head of the PTA at her daughter’s school. Priya might not have cured cancer, but she is a doctor and married to one. Tara didn’t open a Michelin-Starred restaurant, and somehow now teaches young kids how to cook. And Suki … well Suki is actually a highly successful businesswoman, wife and mother – but her career is in danger of crumbling down. As the date of their reunion gets closer, the four friends come together once again to reflect on their high school years and everything that came after.
I highly enjoyed this one. I was curious why we weren’t getting Suki’s POV through the first half of the book, but it started to make sense as we got back story on each of the other women. It was interesting that Suki was sort of the glue holding everything together, even back in the day. It was endearing to watch the friends understand the sacrifices Suki made for them individually over the years, and how they all rallied around her in her personal time of crisis. While I didn’t graduate until the 2000s, it was still fun to reminisce on a simpler time of being in school – not that it made homework, boys and shaky friendships any simpler, but without the addition of social media it really kind of was – and I was interested in each women’s story and what she was dealing with. There were just a few timeline errors but overall I thought the theme took it further than a surface level four friends go to their high school reunion, and really touched on parenting, personal happiness, career goals and the bond amongst females. A good one for the start of your New Year!
4 stars
