The Most Likely Club

Written by Elyssa Friedland

Narrated by Kristen Sieh

A Good Morning America Buzz Pick
A Betches Book to Add to Your Fall Reading List
A PureWow Book We Can't Wait to Read in September
A Skimm Reads Pick

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Sep 6, 2022
• ISBN: 9780593625835

Elyssa Friedland

Elyssa Friedland attended Yale University, where she served as managing editor of the Yale Daily News. She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and subsequently worked as an associate at a major firm. Prior to law school, Elyssa wrote for several publications, including Modern Bride, New York magazine, Columbia Journalism Review, CBS MarketWatch.com, Yale Alumni Magazine, and Your Prom. She grew up in New Jersey and currently lives in New York City with her husband and three young children.

[mchwest · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was pretty good. I've read this author before and I like her writing and development of characters. So true, you can't even imagine how many different turns your life can take after high school! I think we should always remind young teens of this fact!

[dwcofer_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

If you enjoy reading about four frustrated middle-aged women who are disappointed that life failed to turn out the way they had expected back in high school and love creating drama between not only themselves, but everyone around them, even when none exists, then this book might be for you. For me, it was just “meh.” I can live without reading about diva drama.

I wanted to like this book, but it was highly disappointing. The characters were flat and the dialogue stilted and unrealistic. None of them achieved any of the goals they set for themselves in high school, but who does, really. Life has a way of changing our path as we age and most of us choose a different path than what we were on when we were in our teens.

These women were more interested in fulfilling their yearbook superlatives than nurturing their children and their marriages, all of whom were in disrepair, so it was no wonder none of them possessed a happy home relationship.

The “fairy tale” plot of the rich alum that no one could barely remember returning to his high school to not only make a generous donation, but to fall in love with the most dysfunctional of these women was too much to accept as a reader.

I can summarize the book in two words, Diva Drama. I don’t care to read about it.