The Girl Least Likely is an okay young adult romance.
There's definitely some major coming of age development in this one.
But, I was totally left sad that she and Sam were moving on without each other.
That's on me though.

Gretchen is our protagonist, and is a sucker for a good rom-com. She soon finds herself living out well-known tropes from said rom-coms:

1. She's suddenly falling hard for her BFF Samuel.
2. An impromptu makeover and (underage) night out at a bar with her sister and cousin.
3. The hot mysterious guy she meets at the bar.
4. Leading a double life doing stand-up so Gretchen can find out who she is and what she wants out of life.

Gretchen is a character who is easy to root for as she stumbles through her real-life movie, trying to figure things out. She is the youngest of three and has not always felt like she fits in, even within her family. They love her dearly, there's no doubt about that, but Gretchen needs to create a space for herself to be who she truly is - once she discovers that. She feels like less effort went into her upbringing than her siblings that came before her, and Gretchen thinks on this a lot. I do like the way that this aspect of the story was wrapped up. Gretchen is helped out along the way by a wide variety of characters who are wonderfully developed and each stand out on their own at different points.

Despite there being a few different possibilities of who Gretchen would end up with, that was not the focal point of the story and I appreciated that. Gretchen didn't need a boyfriend to define her. She defined herself, and ended up with the guy who best fit into her life in the right way. I did kind of guess who the lucky guy would be, but that did not diminish my enjoyment of the story at all.

There was an interesting little twist I did not see coming, and in part it lead to the unraveling of Gretchen's life as Sabrina, the stand-up comic. it was not something out of left field that felt out of place, but something that made sense. I appreciate that the author took the story in a different direction than I was expecting with that part of the story. There is nothing cookie-cutter about this YA novel at all. Seeing Gretchen grow in her time as Sabrina, and how she used jokes and humor to figure her life out, added to the charm. Being part of the stand-up comic contest gave Gretchen the freedom to express herself in ways she did not feel comfortable doing so around her family and even her friends. I really thought this was a clever way to move the character development along and was a unique way to do this.

I also enjoyed the fact that even secondary characters were well-developed. We meet the fellow comics Gretchen is competing against and get to hear some of their sets as well. This worked really well also, each character felt real and left their own imprint on the story in simple ways.

This book is fun and funny and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Highly, highly recommended.

This YA novel is billed as "To All the Boys" meets "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" meets "Dumplin," which made it an automatic read for me. Yet, I only got real teen Maisel vibes with the contemporary setting from TATB and Dumplin. Casting expectations aside, this was a very cute teen coming-of-age story with funny. engaging language. However, it took nearly halfway through this book to get there. I enjoyed the different chapters following a variety of classic rom-com tropes, which it was fun to see how each related to the characters and the bigger story. Plus, it's full of well-written and authentic characters.

So, yea, it took a while to pull me in. It was slow to start, and I had struggled with getting into it and wanting to keep reading. You see, it didn't have any real exposition and just dived right in, which (to me) felt like I was missing something as I didn't get much (or any) true introduction to meet these characters before the story starts. I was struggling to muster enough energy to pick it up daily and was seriously debating DNFing before I even reached halfway through my galley. I'm glad I did stick with it because the story does pick up soon after that and it gets funnier and more engaging. So, if you can stick with this read, you'll end up smiling over its absolutely precious rom-com-worthy ending.

I absolutely LOVED The Girl Least Likely, which follows Gretchen, a high school junior who has a secret crush on her best friend—the only person she feels comfortable being herself around. That is, until she takes on a fake identity (or rather, the identity of another girl whose ID she decides to use as her own one night). As Sabrina, Gretchen does stand up comedy and meets a community who understands her. As she's immersed in the stand up world, she meets a boy who she starts to like, as she's realizing maybe she and her best friend are growing apart. At school, she begins to come close with her Yearbook friends, one of whom is a boy she feels completely comfortable being herself around *and* who knows the truth about her alter ego. When her secret life explodes in her face, and everyone (including her) learns *certain truths*, Gretchen is forced to confront her life and her problems as herself instead of hiding behind a faux identity.

As someone who has zero interest in stand up, I wasn't sure what to expect. And while I didn't laugh at the stand up itself, it didn't matter because I was cracking up at a million other things in the book. It's such a funny book with a relatable MC, and it's such a FUN read. There were so many twists, and the love interests are all perfection. Very strong character development and relationships between the character and her friends and family members. It's honestly probably the most fun I've had reading a book in awhile. I read it in one sitting, loved every second of it, and I didn't want it to end. And now I can't stop thinking about it.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend.

Katy Loutzenhiser captures a true high school experience. Even if you're in the "in crowd" you feel lonely, as if the world is vying to take you down. The voice Katy Loutzenhiser emits in her writing reminds you that you're not alone in feeling alone.

Katy Loutzenhiser is a great voice for readers of young adult novels, especially teen girls. Her depiction of Gretchen is so true to what teen girls on the outskirts of popularity are like these days. She's such a likable character and watching her find herself and open herself to new experiences was rewarding (and a lot of fun). I didn't always like how Sam treated her - he is a little patronizing when he talks about how he wishes she would open herself up to others. Why should she have to become interested in going to parties with people she doesn't have anything in common with? I wish she had found more of her own group at school rather than just falling in with his. Also, Sam is kind of a jerk overall. He decides to move away for his senior year of high school? First of all, we are supposed to believe that this super popular guy is going to go to a new school in a new state for his final year of high school? Secondly, he makes this big announcement and then acts like Sam is overreacting. And then, he leaves Sam alone on NYE even though it's obvious they have some sort of tradition (his excuse that he would have invited her but knew she would say no was lame). Gretchen's sister and cousin don't treat her much better - it's really no wonder she finds her voice while pretending to be someone else. I also don't understand how it was possible Carmen never told Gretchen the name of her jerk ex-boyfriend or didn't recognize him as the bouncer when they go to the club the first time. The only other aspect I didn't like was how everyone thought it was weird she pretended to be someone else for the stand-up competition. Really? She was underage for both the bar and competition. And lots of people work under stage names.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel meets (insert your favorite rom-com) here.Thank you to #netgalley for this ERC which I absolutely loved.

You know that “most likely” section in high school yearbooks? High school Junior Gretchen is more of a “least likely” kind of girl until she finds herself in a situation worthy of a rom-com movie and living a secret life as a stand up comedian.

What I loved: even though the idea of comparing the protagonist to a rom-com is a bit played out, the author managed to write a very fresh take on it. At some point the ending did start becoming somewhat predictable, but that didn’t take away from some very unexpected twists and all of the laugh out loud moments. As a fan of stand-up comedy I really enjoyed witnessing the way Gretchen turned the not so great moments in her life into really funny stand-up sets.

Gretchen really isn't a fan of the "typical" high school experience. She doesn't have team spirit, she doesn't like to party, and she really only has one or two good friends outside of her family rather than a giant crew. And she prefers it that way! She is FINE. Except between realizing that she might have feelings for the boy next door, quickly becoming obsessed with a new passion that might shape her future, and getting to know new friends along the way...she's kind of doing a lot of the quintessential high school things without even trying. The girl least likely to fit into any of the stereotypical yearbook categories might just discover that all those experiences she'd scoffed at were actually kind of key to figuring out who she is and who she's going to be.

I really enjoyed this book. I think I thought it was going to be more of a romance, but it surprised me. Much more of the story is dedicated to Gretchen figuring herself out, getting it wrong, falling down and learning and standing back up again. She makes friends with people she never would have imagined having anything in common with, and she gets to know her family in a different way than she ever had before. This is a book about Gretchen getting to know herself. And I loved that, because the guys all kind of faded into the background in comparison.

Now, that isn't to say that there wasn't swoon or a love triangle (square?) in the story. Gretchen's torn between Sam (her neighbor and life-long friend), Jeremy (a new older guy she meets at the comedy club who becomes something of a mentor), and...??? The one who was right in front of her all along, the one I kept hoping she'd notice and see how great he was --to her and for her-- throughout. Again, the romance isn't at all the focus of this book, but it is a fun undercurrent that shows up here and there.

This is my first book from this author, but I'll definitely be looking forward to what she does next!

**Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

Gretchen is a observer, averse to large crowds, raucous teenage buffoonery, and literally anything to do with socializing outside of her clique of preferable people. When her best friend Sam begins to expand his own social scene, Gretchen realizes her feelings for him are no longer platonic. Your girl is in full on, unrequited love territory. It's like one of her beloved rom-coms...but not as fun.

When her sister and cousin convince her to go 180 degrees in the opposite direction of her regular scheduled New Years Eve Eve plans, Gretchen finds herself with a fake ID of her cousin's detestable roommate, and then thrust onstage as an unwilling participant in a standup competition.

Through the experience, Gretchen finds a pull to be onstage, as long as she can hide behind the guise of someone else's identity. The people she meets, the experiences she's able to share through a lens of humor no matter how traumatizing, give Gretchen a sense of identity she has never experienced before.

Could this be her calling?

Laugh out loud funny, and a perfect teen read. I would recommend this to mature 8th graders and older. There is some cussing, so that should be explained before recommending to students or parents.

This was cute coming of age, young adult romance.

Gretchen is the youngest of 3 and has struggled to fit in, not just with her family but in life. She doesn’t fit the “mold” that society has pitted upon us. She starts doing stand up comedy as an escape but also so that she can be herself without judgement. During this time she starts to really get to know herself and realizes she had been holding her emotions and feelings in.
She also fancies herself in love with her best friend Sam but then starts to develop feelings for Jeremy, who she meets while doing stand-up. It is cute to read about her feelings for these guys. This really reminded me about guys I had crushes on when in high school. Gretchen also struggles with her relationship with her family. She feels like as the last child her parents don’t try anymore with her. That she’s always an after thought and not appreciated by them.
All of this catapults at the end.... want to know what happens??? You’ll just have to get the book!

Read this book! It was unique, funny, and a clean read.

Katy Loutzenhiser is FUNNNNNY! I laughed a lot while reading this book. I feel like there were a few gaps in the story that led to holes in the plot line, but overall it was a cute story. I'm not sure if I would recommend it for the younger side of the YA crowd due to the excessive language, but there wasn't any graphic sexual content or crude commentary so that was a plus.

Gretchen is a high school junior (this was hard to figure out from the get-go... I think I was more than 1/2 through the book before I learned her actual age) and is unintentionally thrown into a comedy contest. In a shocking turn, especially to Gretchen herself, she finds that she doesn't hate it. She learns to translate her inner monologue into material for her act and the process she goes through to develop her comedy routine is awkward, yet endearing. This is a great book for those who feel like they're always outside the circle looking in. Gretchen realizes that high school isn't the be all end all to life, and that it's ok for her "real life" to begin AFTER graduation.

She seems to develop feelings for the guys in her life pretty quickly... but she's also a high school junior so I guess some back and forth drama is expected?? I wish there had been more character development (Ethan!) but the humor saved a lot of the missing elements for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I like the MC and the fact that she was a comedian. It reminded me of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. However, I thought the writing was messy. It was hard to differentiate between all the secondary characters and the roles they played. And I realllllly didn't like Sam. It was just so one dimensional. Didn't really understand what Gretchen saw in him or even understand their friendship. I think this mainly had to due with the gaps in the story line.

This is my first comedian MC and I rather enjoyed it. I would recommend to fans of Meg Cabot, who prefer their humor with a bit more... language.

Some tropes, but a lot of fun along the way.