“I got emotional thinking about how much my friends have really pushed me to go further, so it was really the combination of that and thinking about who would our first female president be?” Watson said of the process. The novel was inspired by her own friendships, motivation among friends running a marathon, and the need for young women to empower each other along the way.

It evolved over time and the friendship component of the novel–which is so important to the narrative. The book didn’t immediately come fully formed though. “You still have time now,” the friend said. I, like most of the country, thought we were going to have our first female president,” Watson said.Īfter the defeat of Hillary Clinton, an old friend sent her a photo from their 8th grade yearbook where Watson had won “Most Likely to be the 1st Female President,” and the friend had hoped to send it along saying that she was out of the running. “I wrote it post-2016, and that really was the initial impetus for it. We are in a world of protests and demonstrations, so I immediately wanted to know what inspired Sarah to write this book. The four girls–Ava, CJ, Jordan and Martha–are all unique and their journeys are fascinating to follow through the course of the novel. But there’s a twist: we know that one of them becomes President of the United States in January 2049. As an avid reader and someone who has met or spoken to a lot of authors, I know that not everyone is as nice as their books, but Sarah was, if possible, even nicer.įor a bit of background, if you haven’t read the book yet, Most Likely follows four girls during their senior year of high school. I sat down to talk, via the marvels of the telephone, to Sarah in early June 2020, several months into a pandemic that seemed to have no end in sight, so the absolute laughter and joy she inspired was such a perfect respite from the world. She’s a UCLA grad and has a golden retriever named Daisy. She’s the creator of the hit Freeform show The Bold Type and wrote for and produced many other shows, including Parenthood on NBC, Lipstick Jungle, and more. Most Likely is Sarah Watson’s debut novel. If you think the book is a fun read, you can only imagine how much fun we had talking to Sarah Watson. Our June 2020 book, Most Likely, definitely fits the bill, and the author, Sarah Watson, was kind enough to grant us an interview to talk about what inspired the book, the reception of the book, and what’s next for her. The Official Future Female Leaders Book Club was launched in April 2020 to encourage a love of literature among young women everywhere, and we pride ourselves on picking books that you won’t be able to put down.

Most likely by sarah watson