Book Review: The Favorites by Layne Fargo

5 ✨

This was such an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. The Favorites by Layne Fargo is an amalgamation of Daisy Jones and The Six, Wuthering Heights, and Spinning Out. I mean the level of toxicity, drama, betrayal, and scandal at every turn had me wanting to throw the book across the room, stare into the void, and then pick it up and keep reading. To say I was obsessed with this book is an understatement. I mean Heath Rocha and Katarina Shaw were the epitome of will they, won’t they or even should they, would they. I so wanted to reach into the book and shake the characters from pure frustration more than a few times. The Lins were an interesting set of characters that I wanted to hate, but grew to understand, and even appreciate. Things that I didn’t think I would have been able to get over, I ended up being okay with and then finding peace with alongside Kat.

I could write in depth character analysis of each character because they were all individually complex and so layered. The interview/ documentary bits were so welcomed as a reprieve but oftentimes helped to pull back the camera to see a situation from other people’s perspectives. I think the idea of unreliable narrators fits the bill here, we get to live in Kat’s perspective and then we see how fellow competitors and coach’s felt about a situation or how they were playing off their involvement.

All in all, The Favorites is already getting classified as a favorite for the year. I look forward to reading whatever else Layne Fargo writes because if a 434 page book could make me feel everything that I felt. I want to experience that again. A resounding gold metal 5 stars.