So this is definitely my favorite book of the year so far. Wow. The rom-elements, the comedy, the visuals this writing gave me. All incredibly well done!

"Voice galley," read by a synthetic voice, not whoever is the eventual narrator. The sound of the voice is pretty good, but intonation, emphasis, pronunciation are not always consistent. The real narrator will undoubtedly be much better.

Gretchen is a high school junior in Portland, Maine, the youngest of three siblings, and a generally quiet, somewhat withdrawn girl. She doesn't call attention to herself. She has only a few close friends, and not a large number of friendly acquaintances. She's a member of the yearbook club mainly because an extracurricular activity is required, and in her freshman and sophomore years, there were enough members that she as able to do only tasks that didn't require much interaction with anyone not a member of the yearbook club.

Becoming a standup comic is something that never crossed her mind.

This year, there are only four members of the yearbook club, and so she has to be actively involved with people. Her sister and her cousin convince her to go to a bar with them, with a fake ID originally created for her cousin's ex-girlfriend, and due to a series of events that don't quite make sense to her, she winds up doing a standup act in what she doesn't at first realize is a competition--and placing well enough that she's expected to return next week.

Oops.

It's not long before she is living a double life, and her standup comic alter ego is bleeding over into her "real" life. Her friends in the bar/comic world think she's of legal age, and a far more outgoing person than she has ever been, in addition to thinking she has a different name. But she's also using some of her "standup comic" personality to help her do the more challenging tasks she's stuck with in the yearbook club, asking questions of people involved in the various other school activities.

And her new best friend is the guy who's the photographer for the yearbook club, while her longtime best male friend whom she has a crush now, is suddenly more distant, and spending time with girls Gretchen knows she can't compete with.

She can't keep all these balls in the air forever, and things must inevitably come crashing down.

It's a lot of fun, and genuinely funny.

I received a free electronic "voice galley" of this audiobook from the publisher via NetGalley, and am reviewing it voluntarily.

It’s been over a week since finishing this book and I still find myself giggling over it.

I was pleasantly surprised to find the stand up bits in this novel to be absolutely hilarious! Seriously, I was laughing so hard that I had to stop reading. Aside from the comedy bits the book was overall quite funny in its own right and it kept me wanting more.

I loved the main character and felt her high school growing pains. I’m sure we can all relate to those awkward and uncertain years. The sisters and the cousin added color, depth, and also provided some backstory. They were wonderful characters and left you wanting more!

The main character’s growth came from her own desires and actions. She gains confidence, independence, and begins to see her own self worth. It was beautiful to watch and an empowering message to future young readers.

Katy Loutzenhiser’s focus on female empowerment paired with comedy and laugh out loud standup scenes came together wonderfully in this 2021 Young Adult release.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ four stars for this uproarious coming of age young adult novel with a PG rating

"The Girl Least Likely" was a really fun and funny book that had total Marvelous Mrs. Maisel vibes (which is definitely a compliment!). Gretchen is struggling with her life changing as she's approaching her senior year in high school and unexpectedly finds her way to stand up comedy. Full of laugh out loud moments and poignant insights, this is a fantastic YA novel.

This was a super cute book that I thoroughly enjoyed. High school books are often hit or miss for me. This one was a hit. I really relate to the awkward outsider girl trying to figure out her place in the world and using humor to do it. I absolutely loved how the main character came into herself and found a way to express herself, even while using an alias. There were some really hilarious moments, great insights, and character growth. Highly recommend this for a light and fun book that also has some serious and real moments.

Thank you @netgally for the audiobook copy of The Girl Least Likely by Katy Loutzenhiser!

This book made me literallyyyyy lol the whole way thru. After a weird moment between her and her BFF/long time crush Sam, Gretchen goes to a comedy club with her sister and cousin. Posing as Sabrina Martin, she Unexpectedly finds herself on stage giving complete strangers a look into her painfully awkward love life. If your in the mood for a good laugh, rom-com style book, id highly recommend this one!

I’m absolutely obsessed with all the characters and would LOVE to see a companion novel following Carmen or Natalie! Please!!

Ps I can’t wait to see what the cover looks like!!
#netgallyread #thegirlleastlikely

Gretchen finds her best friend (who she has a serious mega crush on) is moving away for their senior year. When her older sister and cousin don’t offer much support and she’s left feeling out of place she turns to stand up comedy.

What I enjoyed most:
- Strong YA female lead not reliant on a “guy”
- Serious laugh-out-loud comedic bits
- Importance of friendships
- Dynamic character growth

Loved this story! Gretchen is 17, the youngest in her family unless you consider her dog. Gretchen is trying to find herself. She thinks she is in love with her childhood friend Sam, she has only one good friend, if you do not count her sister and her cousin, and all she does is watch rom coms with her sister and parents. She ends up at a comedy club with a fake ID and finds herself on stage. She has lots to say (and it is very insightful and funny) and so she stays in a competition for a chance to open for a comedian she follows. The boyfriend thread is important in the story. There is Sam who she thinks she might really like, Jeremy who helps her with her comedy routine and is her first kiss, and Ethan, who is a true friend that she seeks out when she needs someone. How do you get comfortable with your own person? Loved the friends, supportive faculty at school, and parents who cared.

I loved this story so much. Gretchen is such a relatable character and I didn't find her overly dramatic, which is something that tends to happen (in my opinion) in YA books, specifically romance leaning ones. Yes, she might be having some boy problems and family problems, and maybe talking about that on stage as part of a comedy act isn't the best solution, but it's definitely not the worst. I loved her humor a lot and the commentary on things like trying to change clothes in a car. All of the characters really felt developed and relatable. I also really loved Gretchen's self-esteem development throughout the story. I feel like this is a good story for young people who are struggling to figure out who they are.

This book surprised me, it didn't go in the direction I thought it would and had a twist that I didn't see coming. It's a cute coming of age story with plenty of jokes and it went by quickly. Gretchen is funny and awkward and struggling with who she is and who she wants to be. When she accidentally ends up on stage for a stand up comedy show, things begin to click for her. As Gretchen writes her jokes, she starts to come to terms with some of the feelings she's been pushing down.

Gretchen is in love with her best friend Sam, but is too afraid to tell him. When she stars doing stand up, she starts to fall for fellow comic Jeremy, but he thinks she's someone else. I enjoyed watching Gretchen decipher her feelings about the boys, but my favorite part was her relationship with her family. She feels unappreciated and less than her siblings. As the youngest kid, Gretchen thinks her parents don't put as much effort into raising her and that her sister and cousin outshine her. I think a lot of people have felt this way and my heart went out to Gretchen.

The romance was fun and went a unique way. I thought this was well paced and some of the jokes made me chuckle. I'm excited for this to be out in the world!

I received an advanced audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty good book. I really like standup comedy and that is why I requested this book. I am definitely glad I did cause I enjoyed this book quite a lot.
First off this book was actually funny. That shouldn't be surprising but unfortunately not all books set in the world of standup are actually funny. The little standup bits we got a peek at made me snort in some places but the book in general was just really funny. There where places where I had to stop reading because I was laughing.
I also really liked most of the characters. The men of this book where not central to most of the girls stories and that is a major plus for me. Most of the girls did not need the men to further their story except really the main character but she wasn't my favorite anyway. I really loved the sisters and the cousin. I really wanted to know more about them. I was clambering for every little tidbit we got about them.
I said I didn't love the mc which in most cases would be a major problem but I don't think it is here. I felt like Loutzenhiser made her unlikable on purpose for the first part of the story. I felt like she actually got some decent character growth and not just as a comic.
I would say overall this is a solid girl power type story. It is a little by the numbers but the addition of the standup scene as well as the great side characters really make this a solid addition to the YA lexicon.
Thank you Netgalley for the early review copy.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl Least Likely was such a fun and adorable audiobook to dive into. I laughed, smiled, and wanted to slap some people around for being judgmental. Yet, I ate it all up. Ever piece of drama, confusion, funny, and romantic moment. No matter how little or big it was - I wanted it all and then some.

In it, you will meet Gretchen. Now she is someone that you can easily fall in love with. She kind of reminded me of Rebel Wilson in the movie 'Isn't It Romantic'. Not sure if other people got that vibe or not but that's what I'm going with.

She's the youngest of 3 kids in her family, which girl - same, and she doesn't quite know where she fits into things. Which, also - same girl. So she turns to standup comedy and honestly, I would go see her live if she was real. I love standup! I love laughing. Both bring me joy (so does wine and my dogs).

Now I'm going to stop right here because you need, and lemme repeat NEED, to listen to the audiobook for this one. It includes the standup comedy bits and you'll just enjoy it way more. You're welcome.

Other than that, this book had hints of romantical shapes. Honestly a lot of drama came with these and I wasn't really sure on who I wanted with who. Mostly because I just wanted to see how things were going to play out. Yeah, at one point I liked both guys. Then I didn't but I still wasn't going to pick one over the other. People change and my opinion changes faster than that.

So long story short, this book was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. Probably more than I was supposed to. Or maybe I had way too much coffee this morning? Not sure. Just know that it's good and a delight to dive into.

I can't really pinpoint what about this book worked for me, but I really enjoyed this book! It was messy and kinda deep, but overall it was a super fun read that was perfect for binging in one night!

I was a little thrown off to find out that Gretchen actually isn't in a love triangle (like mentioned in the synopsis), but was in more of a love square. There were three guys she liked/who liked her. But this didn't bother me as much as I would have assumed.

The messiness of crushes and family life and finding out who you are was just so wonderful to read! I loved Gretchen's character arc and I found her character super relatable!

All-in-all, I was amazingly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this, especially considering it has many tropes that just don't work for me!

Good, simple story. Characters are well developed. Story is interesting and made for a quick listen.

This is my first review for aun audiobook and even though the voice was monotone the story was there! (I know for the release it will be a different voice so no problem)

Overall Gretchen was a quirky teenager and very relatable, so it was actually refreshing to see a "real" grow on the character through the story.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for getting access to these audiobook.

I thought this was a fun YA story! Gretchen is a likable character that I enjoyed reading about! She's the kind of character that you get invested in, and just want things to go right for. I loved the comedic situations and tropes throughout the story with the romance twists.

This was a fun story that I think readers will enjoy!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was so good!! I listened this on audiobook and I cannot wait for the final version because if this was this good with this monotone voice, with an actual narrator is going to be incredible.
I love the plot and Gretchen felt like a l very relatable character. You fell in love with her quirky nature pretty easy and the journey she takes felt "real" and like someone 9f her age. It was a truly fantastic experience watching her grow as the story moves and finding herself. Loved it!
Fully recommend this coming of age book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read/listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. The Girl Least Likely tells the story of Gretchen, a high school senior and youngest of three who doesn't always know where she fits in as she finds herself by getting into standup comedy.
I really enjoyed myself with this one, I didn't quite know what to expect with this one but I had a really good time with this story and I imagine that the finished audiobook is going to be even better.
When you hear a book includes stand-up comedy you hope that it's going to be funny and I'm happy to say that the author came through on that very naturally and I just kept chuckling at it while I was listening. I also loved how the author incorporated the use of rom-coms. Gretchen watches a lot of romantic comedies and the way they were used as a lens and frame throughout the book was really well done but also very enjoyable and really heightened it for me.
I also loved how relatable Gretchen was. No, I've never used someone else's identity to enter a comedy competition but I am the youngest of three siblings! It's also very refreshing to read a YA book where the MC isn't interesting in drinking alcohol or wanting to have sex because that's how I was in high school and there are so many books out there that make me feel like I was weird for being like that. Even though Gretchen did use a fake ID, she wasn't a party girl. There is nothing wrong with wanting to party but that just wasn't my experience.
I also thought that the romance was a particularly interesting part of this book, it definitely kept me on my toes in the best ways and I'm really happy with how things ended up. No spoilers, but I like that Gretchen was able to just have a platonic friendship with a guy without it Having to be romantic. it is so rare to see and so lovely and important.
I was also impressed at, despite how many characters we saw throughout the book, they all felt fully formed and distinct. I never once mixed anyone up or got confused and I loved these characters, they were full of such life and humor. In case you couldn't tell by this essay, I really enjoyed this book and I definitely recommend it. I will definitely be looking up more books by this author, I was impressed and thoroughly entertained.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an audiogalley of The Girl Least Likely in exchange for an honest review.

I really thought I'd hate the protagonist in this at the beginning for being a YA cliche so I was beyond overjoyed when she went through actual dynamic character development that didn't just consist of her blaming everyone around her for her faults. This was charming and fun and surprisingly honest and I will forever sing the praises of YA characters who actively attempt to better themselves.

A strong female protagonist! An age appropriate YA with no talk of drugs or sex! Comedy! Romance! Clever dialogue! In one book?? Yes!! You can’t help but root for the strong, funny young woman who commands center stage in this adorable rom-com. This was almost a DNF because I found the synthetic voice so incredibly distracting, but what a reward I got for sticking it out! It was so much fun joining Gretchen in her journey of discovery, and getting to know all the characters who pepper her life.
I love that this was original and quirky, yet sophisticated enough to appeal to a wide variety of readers. It was solidly in the YA genre but didn’t ever talk down to the audience or stoop to preachy or condescending language or situations. There are family values, cute dogs and best friend misunderstandings. Boys will want to date Gretchen; girls will want to be Gretchen or at least her best friend. Clearly... something for everyone!