The Best Possible Answer: A Novel

by E Katherine Kottaras

AP Exams - check. SAT test - check. College Application - check. Date the wrong guy and ruin everything you've spent your whole life working for - check. Ultra-high-achiever Viviana Rabinovich-Lowe has always had a plan - and no room to be anything less than perfect. But her quest for perfection comes to a screeching halt when her boyfriend leaks racy pictures of her to the entire school. Making matters worse, her parents are getting divorced and now her perfect family is falling apart. For the first time, Viv feels like a complete and utter failure. Then she gets a job working at the community pool, where she meets a new group of friends who know nothing about her past. That includes Evan, a gorgeous guy who makes her want to do something she never thought she'd do again: trust. For the first time in her life, Viv realises she can finally be whoever she wants. But who is that? While she tries to figure it out, she learns something they never covered in her AP courses: that it's okay to be less than perfect, because it's our imperfections that make us who we are.

• ISBN10: 1250072816
• ISBN13: 9781250072818
• Publish Date: 1 November 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 12 May 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Saint Martin's Griffin,U.S.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[whisperingchapters]

This 2.5 review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.


I thought this book was just okay. I couldn't connect to the any of the characters. Despite this dealing with topics such as the importance of education, friendships, family, lying, and cheating, everything felt very childish. I also didn't like some of the characters and felt others were there to fill up space in a story.

I did like that it was a light and quick read. I also really liked the friendships formed. At one point, I thought the author was going to go downhill with an important friendship and I'm glad she didn't.

Overall, The Best Possible Answer is an okay story that will appeal to younger readers.

I received an eARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Poor Vivi! Every facet of her life is in pieces: reputation tarnished, father vanished, AP and SAT bombed. Things are not looking good for Vivi, but after a panic attack, her mother denies her summer at engineering camp, and Viviana gets a job at the pool with her BFF, Sammi. At the pool, she makes some new friends, who are unaware of any of the drama from the past school year, but due to her family dissolving, her friendship strained, and her self doubt, she continues to suffer from the panic attacks.

Kottaras heaped a lot of drama on our poor heroine. I honestly felt quite sorry for her. But, it was all these "tests" that made Vivi a better person in the end. It was quite surprising, how a book with this many BIG dramatic events, came across as quite light. Not light as in making light of the situations, but rather, done with just the right amount of sadness and angst. I really liked the way Vivi grew to be more open and more trusting of others (and herself), despite so many bad experiences. Her BFF was so solid, even when she was mad, and her mom and sister also turned out to be a great part of her support system.

I truly loved the way the chapters all started with test questions, test prep tips, or writing prompts. The writing prompts were especially well used, and provided some of my favorite moments from this book.

A cute and charming story of a girl's struggle to navigate those late high school years that are so cataclysmic for many with a strong message of loving and trusting one's self.