Most Likely to Succeed

June 15, 2015
A road map for the rest of her life suddenly doesn't seem so appealing for Kaye when she realizes class clown Sawyer might not be joking with her. Kaye and her boyfriend, Aidan, have dated since ninth grade, and they're planning to stay together once they go to Columbia to study finance. That's all Kaye has been working toward, spurred on by her ambitious, driven mother. But there's always been something about Sawyer, the mascot who flirts with Kaye whenever she's cheering. And student-council vice president Kaye knows a secret: she and Sawyer have been voted "Perfect Couple That Never Was" for the yearbook senior superlatives. Their friends keep throwing them together, but Kaye and Sawyer never seem to get on the same page, even after Aidan breaks up with Kaye. Is it because she's black and Sawyer's white? Could it be because she's got the Ivy League in her future and he doesn't? Kaye doesn't know-but she realizes she wants to throw her plan out the window even as her mother forbids her to date Sawyer. Will love find a way? The meandering plot and one-dimensional villain pull this third volume in the Superlatives series down; it's hard to imagine what Kaye found to like in the poisonous Aidan. They detract from the book's positives, such as the interracial romance and frank look at teen relationships. Still, Echols writes surely enough that romance fans will enjoy it. (Fiction. 14-17)

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June 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Kaye is senior in a town on the gulf coast of Florida. Everything in Kaye's life seems to be perfect. She's vice president of student council; dates the president, Aidan; is captain of the cheerleading squad; and plans on going to Columbia University with her boyfriend. Aidan is voted Most Likely to Succeed but Kaye is voted half of the high school's Perfect Couple-with Sawyer, the school mascot and resident bad boy. The results change the way Kaye looks at Sawyer, who had a rough start in life, but has overcome the odds and is changing for the better. Longtime friends, the pair have often been on the field together, as she cheers and he performs his playful and flirty antics as mascot. But out of costume, he treats Kaye quite differently, which encourages her to think about him in a more positive light. Echols seamlessly tells this story of how two people come to fall in love, while including themes of bullying, interracial relationships, class, and family strife. The overall pace, plotting, and character development are even, and the narrative frankly touches upon sex and consent. VERDICT Fans of the author and easy-reading romances will enjoy this tale.-Jesten Ray, Seattle Public Library, WA

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