TV Stevie from Rogers/Yahoo recaps the first episode:

• Those were the Best Years of our lives
  “Best Years has the potential to be a winner. I’d never denounce a show on a few holes in its first episode. In fact, it probably takes more than an entire season (if it lasts that long) to get a proper read. The first episode laid the groundwork for some future storylines, and I can see the plot going somewhere.”

From Infinite Monkey Theorem:

• The Best Years
  “Samantha, the plucky orphan, is alright. Casting Charity Shea was a great choice, she’s likable and brings a quirky charm to the role that elevates it. She’s the high point. The rest of the characters are laughable. We have the rich-bitch roomate (who’s blonde in case you didn’t guess). The basketball jock love interest. The Asian nerd we can’t help but love. None of the characters provide a twist on the stereotype. None of them have a whiff of originality. They’re flat out boring.”

Dana Gee of the Vancouver Province thinks teen girls might like The Best Years:

• Not exactly the Best show
  “This show has got “teen girl” written all over it. That in mind, The Best Years gets a more generous review as it does deliver the kind of extreme — as in plentiful and borderline silly — drama that often appeals to those more concerned with the mall than mutual funds.”

andPop interviews The Best Years star:

• Charity Shea is Counting Her Lucky Stars
  “It has a lot of heart,” Shea, on vacation in the Bahamas, says about The Best Years. “It’s a way for kids to watch something they can relate to or something they might deal with when they do go to college and it’s something they can learn from.”