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The Mosts

by Melissa Senate (Goodreads Author)

3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 · rating details · 100 ratings · 31 reviews

Madeline finished freshman year at Freeport Academy just as invisible as when she started. But after a summer in Italy with her sophisticated aunt, she returned as a sophomore with cool clothes, European attitude, and a hot new boyfriend, Thom.

Maddie's part of the in crowd . . . the Mosts. Her best friend, Caro? Most Beautiful. Her other friends, Fergie, Annie, and Selena...more

Paperback, 240 pages

Published June 8th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published May 27th 2010)

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2010 Best Books for Young Adults (Nominations)

466th out of 607 books — 1,996 voters

We Wove a Web in Childhood by Ruth Thomas

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Jul 11, 2010 Nian rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

Before Madeline went to Rome, she was invisible at Freeport Academy. When she came back, she was wearing all the right clothes and attitude, and snagged Thom as a boyfriend. But now that Thom was leaving for California, Madeline wonders if her status with the in-crowd would change. And a group of outcasts are begging Madeline to teach them how to transform themselves from losers to people with more confidence. But Madeline's involvement with them could ultimately risk her spot with Caro and her...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Devora added it

The Mosts is the story of Freeport Academys Most Popular girl, Madeline. She came from obscurity to claim the title and is now part of Freeports most competitive clique. However, in the book the mosts maddie goes through quite a bit at first her boyfriend thom moves to california, leaving maddie upset lonely and sadly not sure how their relationship will turn out. truth is she became popular after an exciting trip to rome where she completely changed her style. when she returns home her rise on...more

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Sep 05, 2010 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Madeline is a Most. Most Popular to be exact, and her best friend is Caro, the girl who's voted Most Beautiful ever year without fail. However, before her freshamn year, Madeline was a nobody. Invisible. It was a trip to Rome that transformed her, and her rise in the social hierachy was mostly due to her popular boyfriend, Thom. But now Thom is moving to California and Madeline has a reputation to keep. Not only that, but people from the "Not" list are actually offering to pay her to help them b...more Madeline is a Most. Most Popular to be exact, and her best friend is Caro, the girl who's voted Most Beautiful ever year without fail. However, before her freshamn year, Madeline was a nobody. Invisible. It was a trip to Rome that transformed her, and her rise in the social hierachy was mostly due to her popular boyfriend, Thom. But now Thom is moving to California and Madeline has a reputation to keep. Not only that, but people from the "Not" list are actually offering to pay her to help them become more normal. Madeline could do with the money; plane tickets to California aren't cheap after all. And she's desperate to get away from her friends - the weirdness between her and Caro is getting worse and worse, and Sam isn't helping either. Why does he keep staring at her...and why doesn't she mind?

The Mosts was a meh book for me. I didn't really like it, but I didn't hate it either, and it had some good qualities that made it readable. I liked the concept, the idea of having a "Most" list and a "Not" list, and I liked the way that Madeline stopped really caring about who was on which list by the end, which showed some character growth. I also liked the "Not" interns; Joe and Elinor were my favourite characters because although they were over-eager and desperate to be noticed, they were sweet and kind of endearing too and I felt so bad for the way they were treated at the beginning. I'm glad they managed to feel more confident and at peace with themselves by the end, and I also liked the fact that Sabrina, Madeline's sister, refused to change herself for anyone, and felt comfortable in her own skin, even though she made the "Not" list every year.

I also quite liked Madeline's mum and Mac; they seemed like they knew what was going to happen but they wanted Madeline to experience it for herself and learn from her mistakes, so they didn't ever tell her what to do, they just let her figure it out for herself. There was also a Harry Potter reference (a calf named Hermione) which, as a huge HP fan, I appreciated very much. I actually liked the fact that Madeline lived on a farm, and I thought it was funny the way she complained about it yet also found it hard to imagine leaving her family and living somewhere else.

There was, however, a whole bunch of stuff I didn't like. For example, the rest of the characters. Madeline was shallow, but more so than a usual teenager, and she was too obsessed with popularity, I just couldn't relate to her at all. I understand she was meant to be this way to start off, but by the end she hadn't really changed that much. And her relationships were totally unbelieveable. Thom, who seemed like a nice guy to begin with, spent about half an hour explaining to Madeline that they were not breaking up, and that the long distance thing would work for them etc etc. He left with tears in his eyes. A week later, they're both over each other! I found this so unrealistic, Thom got over Madeline so quickly, after telling her he loved her too. If they supposedly loved each other, would they really give up on their relationship in less than three weeks? After being together for two years? There was no love, I really wish it hadn't been mentioned because I just felt like their relationship was ridiculous. If they were just boyfriend/girlfriend no mention of "love", I could have accepted it. But love. That damn word. They had to say it. I know long distance doesn't usually work out, but come on. Thom seemed to get over it in a matter of days, and I felt like the fact that he got a "new" girlfriend so quickly as well was just to make him seem like the bad guy to justify the fact that Madeline wanted to be with Sam.

And Sam, dear me. Didn't like him. First of all, what was his problem? His best friend anounces he's moving and suddenly it's okay to stare longingly at his girlfriend? No! At least wait until the guy has moved already, seriously. Madeline gets all this stick for breaking the "girl code", but Sam totally breaks the "guy code" by going after his best friend's ex, and he gets off scot-free. He's supposedly a "nice" guy too. I know this because Madeline described him as nice so many times I was starting to refer to him as that in my head. And we never found out why he was nice, or how he was nice, we were just told that he was. Plus, I don't even get why Sam and Madeline liked each other, except he was "nice" and they were both hot. What else? Their relationship was based purely on those two things. They barely even knew each other (they didn't seem to talk about much). Which is why I once more thought it was ridiculous when "love" was mentioned again. Really. Had Madeline learnt nothing? Because I'm pretty sure that if Sam had announced he was leaving for California, the same thing would happen all over again and they'd both get over each other quickly. Because really, why was Sam so different to Thom? He wasn't. So saying they loved each other wasn't something special because Madeline said it to Thom too. And look what happened.

I haven't even started on the other characters yet. Caro, Fergie, Annie - all horrible people. Avery, acted like she hated the Mosts, but really just wanted to be one and wanted to rule the school. She was commended for "standing up" to them (she didn't really in my opinion), and then she got the popularity she always wanted. Okay then.

I'm going to stop because I think I've said enough. It does seem like there's more I disliked than liked so you're probably wondering why I still gave a three. The reason is because The Mosts was an okay book, it kept me occupied and I didn't want to put it down thought the characters sometimes annoyed me, so I'd still say it's worth reading. Maybe you'll have better luck with it than me. Read it if you liked Mean Girls (but who doesn't love this movie :P) or Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.(less)

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May 13, 2011 Carly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

The Mosts is the story of Freeport Academy’s ‘Most Popular’ girl, Madeline. She came from obscurity to claim the title and is now part of Freeport’s most competitive clique – The Mosts. However, she comes to realise that staying in is just as hard as getting in (I totally stole that from The Clique books, I know, I’m sorry) and, as the story progresses, she isn’t completely sure that staying in is what’s most important to her any more.

After her gorgeous boyfriend Thom moves across the country to...more The Mosts is the story of Freeport Academy’s ‘Most Popular’ girl, Madeline. She came from obscurity to claim the title and is now part of Freeport’s most competitive clique – The Mosts. However, she comes to realise that staying in is just as hard as getting in (I totally stole that from The Clique books, I know, I’m sorry) and, as the story progresses, she isn’t completely sure that staying in is what’s most important to her any more.

After her gorgeous boyfriend Thom moves across the country to California, Madeline is distraught. She’s worried that their relationship won’t last and she’s scared that, with Thom gone, her popularity will begin to wane, as it was their relationship that helped her gain her status in the first place.

Her only shot of saving her relationship with Thom is raising the $300 she needs to fly out to California to visit him. Enter The Nots – the loser kids of Freeport Academy. Three interns at Madeline’s farm offer to pay her $400 to tutor them in how to be popular, stylish and attractive to the opposite sex. A brilliant business opportunity or social suicide? Madeline isn’t sure but she knows one thing: she needs that money for her ticket to California.

From here on out Madeline’s popularity takes a steep downturn as her friends slowly distance themselves from her and her relationship with Thom breaks down. To make matters worse, the only guy she’s interested in besides Thom is the guy her best friend (and Most Beautiful) is after. She knows that making a move will ruin her friendship with Caro and secure her expulsion from The Mosts but is she willing to give all that up for the guy she likes?

Once of the things I enjoyed most about The Mosts is Madeline’s character. She’s not your average popular girl, which was a refreshing change. She’s not even sure why she was voted Most Popular in the first place and she has all the worries about teenage life that we’re all been through – or are going through. I’m so used to picking up teen or young adult novels where the protagonist is a filthy rich, blonde, socialite with no cares in the world so it was nice to read a high school story that wasn’t driven by money and glamorous parties.

The main problem I had with The Mosts was the secondary supporting characters who made up the other popular girls and guys at Freeport Academy. It seemed like so many girls were introduced at once without much distinction between them that I found it hard to remember who was who.

Sure, we were told who was ‘Most Hot’ and ‘Most Stylish’ and given a physical description of each girl but 100 pages later I had no idea whether Fergie was ‘Most Hilarious’ or ‘Most Stylish’. Their dialogue wasn’t particularly varied so, to be honest, when characters others than Caro and Madeline were talking I couldn’t tell who it was so the background girls just ended up blurring into one big popular secondary character. This was a bit of a shame really, as the rest of the writing is great.
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Jan 16, 2011 Leah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-2010

After Madeline finishes eigth grade, she goes off to Rome for the summer, assuming that when she gets back she'll be just as invisible at Freeport Academy as ever. When Thom, one of the popular guys in school asks her out, Madeline suddenly becomes one of the "Mosts", Most Popular to be precise. Two years down the line, though, and Thom is moving to California leaving Madeline alone and leaving her "Most" status particularly vulnerable. When a group of school misfits beg Madeline for help so the...more After Madeline finishes eigth grade, she goes off to Rome for the summer, assuming that when she gets back she'll be just as invisible at Freeport Academy as ever. When Thom, one of the popular guys in school asks her out, Madeline suddenly becomes one of the "Mosts", Most Popular to be precise. Two years down the line, though, and Thom is moving to California leaving Madeline alone and leaving her "Most" status particularly vulnerable. When a group of school misfits beg Madeline for help so they don't end up on the "Not" list (the opposite of the Most list), Madeline says yes. But what will happen when all of her "Most" friends find out? Madeline doesn't want to lose her friends, but are they really her friends?

Melissa Senate is a well-known chick lit author, but because her books are only published in America, I haven't yet gotten around to reading any of her chick lit books. However I saw that Melissa also writes books for teenagers and I really liked the sound of her newest book The Mosts. I decided to take the plunge and buy it for myself and I knew that at only 225 or so pages long, it wouldn't take me long to read so would be perfect for those days when I want something quick and easy to read. Watching the football, I decided now was as good a time as ever to see what I thought of The Mosts.

I must start by saying The Mosts is probably one of the most predictable books I have ever read. And I read chick lit, which a lot of people say is predictable. The Mosts is as light and as fluffy a read as you're ever going to find and there isn't much that really holds this book down. It's sort of a book version of the movie Mean Girls. I loved that movie, by the way, and The Mosts is like it's poor sister. You have the totally-un-popular-to-popular girl in Madeline and then you have the clique of every so popular girls who rule the school (The "Mosts"): Cora, Fergie, Annie and Selena and they take Madeline under their wing when she manages to bag herself a popular boyfriend, Thom. Fast forward a couple of years and Thom is leaving and Madeline's status as a "Most" is under threat... even more so when a gang of misfits enlist Madeline's help so they don't end up on the "Not" list. Madeline's friends aren't happy about that so Madeline has to choose... See, Mean Girls, in a book format.

On the other hand though I whizzed through it in under three hours and while it may have been a slight rip-off of Mean Girls, it was an OK enough read. Sure, Madeline's constant referral of the fact she was only helping out the misfits because they're paying for her trip to see Thom (and her father) does grate (she says it A LOT), but if you get past that, it's a good enough read. It's not going to win any awards but it is what it is: a fairly absorbing, and very quick, teen read. Pre-teens and the like will undoubtedly lap it up, but the message isn't a particularly good one. I'm not one for messages but The Mosts, for the majority, kind of gives away the message that you have to be popular to win at High School, otherwise you're destined to be taunted for life. Not a good message for a young teen just about to embark in High School. Yes, of course, it all could come good in the end, and I'm sure High School life IS indeed like that in reality, but you know, it's not the kind of message I'd want to be sending to a younger teen and that is who The Mosts is mainly aimed at.

The characters were a tad flat and all adhered to their characters; confused girl stuck in the middle of the Mosts and the Nots, the "Mosts" with their stupid attitudes towards people who aren't deemed special enough and then the misfits who are made to feel like misfits because of the horrible popular kids. No one was really fleshed out enough and it kind of made me sad Madeline wasn't as willing to stick up to her so-called friends a bit more. The book could have gone in a totally different direction if Madeline had a bit of gumption to her. All of the Mosts were fairly terrible, vapid and idiotic teenagers who think they're God's gift to high school. Of all the characters, the only ones with any realness to them were the "misfits", Joe, Avery and Elinor. I liked Elinor in particular, she was totally undeserving of the crap she got and I felt so sorry that she felt so low about herself.

Overall, The Mosts was only OK. It wasn't original at all, and was fairly predictable with two-dimensional characters but I carried on reading it and managed to finish it in under three hours. If you're looking for a light teenage read, the this is probably right up your alley but if you're after a book with a bit more depth, I'd steer well clear of this one, just so you don't get too annoyed about it's vapidity. Young teenagers will probably enjoy this more than older teenagers/adults. For me, it was just a bit too light.
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Sep 01, 2010 Brandy Bates rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teens

Shelves: first-reads

The Mosts by Melissa Senatehttp://www.goodreads.com/meliss... will be a hit for tweens and teens. It was a very easy story to follow. I think this story is Can't Buy Me Love meets Mean Girls....Two movie that I do like.

If you are female and have ever attended Middle/High School then you will be able to relate to this story. Most School's have Cliques and the one in this story is no different,either you are a Most or a Not.

Madeline Echols is the Most popular girl and dating the hottest guy at s...more

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Jun 23, 2012 Xyra rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Young teens and tweens

Recommended to Xyra by: Goodreads giveaways

Shelves: first-reads

This was to have been a first read as it was the first giveaway I was selected to receive. I was thrilled and grateful to be chosen; there was a mix up so it took a lot longer to read than it should have. Perhaps like Elinor, Avery, and Joe the timing and reasons were now right.

The writing was easy-going and comfortable. I did feel as if I were there with Madeline and her anxieties. She had a ton. I found the book to be completely enjoyable.

Throughout we saw Madeline grow and become the her-ist...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Claire Dawn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

A little generic, but then aren't all the high school popularity books? I enjoyed the development of the relationship between the MC and her "pet projects", her polar opposites, "the Nots". Nice quick read. I've really been enjoying Melissa Senate, and I'm looking forward to more women's and YA from her.

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Aug 11, 2010 Kourtney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was hard for me to put down (thank goodness for my Kindle App on my Blackberry! Thank you technology!!) Mix one part "Can't Buy Me Love" one part "Mean Girls" and a whole lot of Melissa Senate's great writing style and you have a winner!

This book brought me back to the days of being a youngster and seeing my name in slam books. I, being a misfit myself, could relate to the "misfits" in this book. Would I have begged, pleaded, and paid money to a "most" to transform myself? Probably no...more

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Jul 09, 2010 Ezzy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It was a little of CAN'T BUY ME LOVE meets SABRINA. Maddie, a high-school sophomore, struggles with her first boyfriend moving cross-country. The group of girls she hangs out with are a shallow, evil-spirited, salad-eating, diet soda-drinking group of "you-know-whats." I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say it was gratifying to see Maddie's transformation at the end (friends and all). Senate writes a tight story, peppered with humor and believable innocence. I...more

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Aug 16, 2010 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

This was actually a pretty good book! It was written good, although some of the things in the story line errked me. It was very similar to a mean girls type story...just taking place in farmland Maine.

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Apr 17, 2011 Hanaa709 :) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 7th-grade

it was really good. i kind of saw the end coming but even though caro wants to block Madeline out and considers her not a most she is still a most!

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Aug 07, 2010 Paula rated it 4 of 5 stars

A typical "mean girls" story that is a lot of fun and easy to read. I think most teenage girls would like this one.

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Jul 12, 2012 Ana Carolina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cute, little book. But not memorable.
Really liked Avery but the whole story was just to soft, a little boring even. Not the right book for me.

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Nov 21, 2012 Anoolka rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, female-protagonist, high-school, romance, small-town, young-adult

Predictable. But not badly written. Not exactly for my age group though. 2.5

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Mar 04, 2010 Lee Nichols rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sweet and romantic! Loved the setting and the characters.

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Sep 30, 2010 Emery rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: b-teen-reads-books

this book had a good lesson at the end:)

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Jun 12, 2012 Zabet The Dark Empress of Dark Chocolate rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-books, contemporary-fiction

A fun, quick read. Review to come.

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May 07, 2012 Leonel rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fun and quick read. It made me smile.

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Jun 07, 2010 Pam marked it as to-read

Shelves: teen-reads, first-reads

second first reads winner in a month!!

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May 01, 2011 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

A clique is an inclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. The clique from this "Most" list will bring back memories or the Most popular, Most attractive, Most sylish girls from your high school years. This story is about a girl who finally ended up in the Popular group only to find out that maybe that's not really what mattered. Quick read, predictable. I'd recommend for 8th - 10th grade clique-ish girls. Not a boy book.

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Jun 30, 2010 April rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, ya, contemporary

Cliques are a big deal in high school. The Mosts by Melissa Senate is all about the pecking order. Madeline Echols, Most Popular, finds out that her uberhot boyfriend is moving to California. Other boys then begin to show interest in her, including queen bee Caro's crush, Sam. Will she be exiled to Not-land by her friends?
Read the rest of my review here

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Dec 27, 2010 BCPL Youth Services Librarian added it

Shelves: chick-lit, realistic-fiction

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

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Sep 01, 2010 Hanneybean rated it 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads Giveaway book.

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Aug 22, 2012 Soomi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 40-book-challenge, favorites

The four Best friends who are the most popular girls at school. And one of the girl, Madeline has the hottest boyfriends in school. They were happy and she enjoyed her life but when she heard her boyfriend is leaving to California... her life went upside down.

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Mar 06, 2012 Georgiann Hennelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cliques are big in high school. Madeline Echols, is the most popular, When she finds out her hot boyfriend is moving to California. Other boys begin to to show interest in her. Including the Queen Bee Caro,s crush Sam. Will Madeline be exiled to Not-land By her friend?

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Jun 07, 2010 Jesse rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is great...another win!! I look foward to enjoying this book and the others I have recently won. How nice to actually enter something and win once in awhile!!!

thanks good reads!

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Apr 25, 2013 Raya rated it 5 of 5 stars

It was an outstanding book. I highly tell anyone who is into love drama to read this book!

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Oct 10, 2010 Stacy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-read-in-2010, five-star-ratings, chick-lit, ya

Loved it! Loved the main character and I love how she grew into her own person. Great story!!!

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Jan 19, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: star_reviewed-2010, fiction, teen

3.5 since I enjoyed it more than I thought I would

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About Melissa Senate

I'm the author of ten novels, including my debut, SEE JANE DATE (also available in cute TV movie form on DVD) and my newest, THE LOVE GODDESS' COOKING SCHOOL (October 2010).

I'm the proud mother of an adorable nine-year-old boy. We live on the beautiful coast of Maine, where I'm working on my next novel.

Hope you'll visit my website: http://www.melissasenate.com

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