Review: Most Likely to Succeed

Title:  Most Likely to Succeed (Superlatives #3)
Author: Jennifer Echols
Genres: contemporary, romance
Pages: 352
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Availability: August 4th, 2015

Summary: As vice president of Student Council, Kaye knows the importance of keeping order. Not only in school, but in her personal life. Which is why she and her boyfriend, Aidan, already have their lives mapped out: attend Columbia University together, pursue banking careers, and eventually get married. Everything Kaye has accomplished in high school—student government, cheerleading, stellar grades—has been in preparation for that future.

To his entire class, Sawyer is an irreverent bad boy. His antics on the field as school mascot and his love of partying have earned him total slacker status. But while he and Kaye appear to be opposites on every level, fate—and their friends—keep conspiring to throw them together. Perhaps the seniors see the simmering attraction Kaye and Sawyer are unwilling to acknowledge to themselves…

As the year unfolds, Kaye begins to realize her ideal life is not what she thought. And Sawyer decides it’s finally time to let down the facade and show everyone who he really is. Is a relationship between them most likely to succeed—or will it be their favorite mistake? [Image and summary via Goodreads]

Review: I read the first book of the Superlatives series, Biggest Flirts, half a year ago and I loved it. So of course, I was really looking forward to the final book in the series Most Likely to Succeed. This is book is so much more rewarding if you’ve read the first two books in the series, but it does work as a stand-alone book… but why would you deprive yourself of the first book? Silliness.

The Superlatives series centers on three friends who win certain titles in the yearbook superlatives (specifically, “biggest flirts”, “perfect couple”, and “most likely to succeed”) — and, basically, the romance that ensues. Most Likely to Succeed is definitely a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

Most Likely to Succeed centers on Kaye, the student council vice president, who gets voted “most likely to succeed” with her boyfriend, the student council president. She and her boyfriend are the perfect power couple, with an ivy league future planned out and everything. But their relationship is showing cracks, and Kaye finds herself drawn to her high school’s charismatic slacker.

Good girl falls for bad boy sounds like the same old formula, but Most Likely to Succeed is anything but that. The fun narration of Kaye and the relationships portrayed in the book work to make the story come alive. From friendships to family relationships, Kaye’s story doesn’t feel simply reduced to the central romance.

Kaye’s identity as African American does show through in little details about her ambitions, her family, and how other people treat her. I love how this was portrayed, though I did raise my eyebrows a bit when a character insisted that someone else insulting Kaye’s hair wasn’t racist (maybe not intentionally, but in the larger context of society, it totally was! oh well). But in general, I felt that Kaye’s character was incredibly well-written in this respect.

But seriously. Read the first two books — or, at least, the first book Biggest Flirts — before you read this one. It will make Most Likely to Succeed so much more awesome. The Superlatives series is a series to check out! Each of the books is a fun, lighthearted read. This is going on my “To Reread a Million Times” list.

Recommendation: Get it soon!

Further reading: Review of Biggest Flirts