Late to the Party [Kelly Quindlen]; 2020 YA Releases

Ahh, Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen sounds like an adorable bunch of fun. While I’m not typically one for contemporary novels, I’m actually pretty intrigued by this one. Since there are so few contemporary novels that I actually end up falling head over heels for, I don’t really expect that to happen with this one either. Still, there’s something really wonderful about the way this one seems to focus on friendship in addition to a relationship. And I’m really excited.

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.