Late to the Party

Late to the Party is a poignant young adult novel about Codi Teller, a seventeen-year-old who feels she's missed out on the 'real' teenage experience. She and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, are content with their quiet routine until Codi secretly befriends Ricky, a 'cool kid' who introduces her to a summer of parties, new friends, and a first crush on a girl named Lydia. The book beautifully explores themes of self-discovery, coming out, and the complexities of evolving friendships, particularly the strain Codi's new life puts on her relationship with her old friends due to her secret-keeping. It's a relatable story for any teen navigating identity, independence, and the sometimes messy journey of finding where you belong.

Seventeen is nothing like Codi Teller imagined. She’s never crashed a party, never stayed out too late. She’s never even been kissed. And it’s not just because she’s gay. It’s because she and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, spend more time in her basement watching Netflix than engaging with the outside world. So when Maritza and JaKory suggest crashing a party, Codi is highly skeptical. Those parties aren’t for kids like them. They’re for cool kids. Straight kids. But then Codi stumbles upon one of those cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and an unexpected friendship is formed. In return for never talking about that kiss, Ricky takes Codi under his wing and draws her into a wild summer filled with late nights, new experiences, and one really cute girl named Lydia. The only problem? Codi never tells Maritza or JaKory about any of it. From author Kelly Quindlen comes a poignant and deeply relatable story about friendship, self-acceptance, what it means to be a Real Teenager. Late to the Party is an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers everywhere.