Psst! #ReadWithPride is a new series here on The Nerd Daily where we strive to regularly highlight #ownvoices authors and their queer stories! This series aims to shed more light on diverse, unique reads; we want to make sure that everyone can find themselves represented in books! If you have a suggestion for a book you would love to gain more attention, drop us a line! In the words of Raymond Holt from Brooklyn Nine-Nine: “Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the worlds becomes a better, more interesting place.” We appreciate your help in doing our part to create that place!
“You grow up with these ideas about Teenagers, about their wild, vibrant, dramatic lives of breaking rules and making out and Being Alive, and you know that it’s your destiny to become one of them someday, but suddenly you’re seventeen and you’re watching people cannonball into a swimming pool in the pouring rain, and you realize you still haven’t become a real Teenager, and maybe you never will.”
Why this book needs to be on your shelf:
- The title of the book is a pun??
- There is a tight-knit group of friends that you will want to be part of
- Speaking of, friend dynamics and support vs. pressure are discussed!
- The love interest is the softest girl to ever exist
- It’s an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers and everyone who’s ever felt like they are on the sidelines watching life instead of living it
“I think being friends with someone should be like the concept of infinity— like you truly believe that person has no limits, and you just want to keep counting upward with them to see where they go.”
Review:
Late to the Party is one of these books that feels like an eye opener. It’s the kind of quiet book that deserves to make a big splash because it reveals one of the deepest fears of teens everywhere: not measuring up.
Codi and her friends have spent every weekend and every summer break the same way: pining over the fact that neither of them has had a significant other yet to share their life with. In an age where everyone seems to be growing up so fast and sex is almost more a commodity than an actual experience, it’s hard to be on the side of inexperience, especially when everyone keeps bragging how far they’ve gone already. It also begs the question ‘how do you fit in while also standing out?’
I remember reading this tweet about how queer adults often have a do-over of their teenage years when they’re more comfortable in their identity and it just rang very true in this book as well. Perhaps because they don’t fit in with the straight crowd, Codi and her friends are a bit “late to the party” of having first crushes, first kisses, and first heartbreaks. It’s a plotline that deserves all the attention because it’s just so relatable, especially when you’re struggling with your sexuality. Codi never outright admits it, but others see her hiding her true self because she’s scared to break out of the shell that everyone has put her in—not just in terms of liking girls, but being an outgoing, carefree girl when everyone knows her as reliable and timid.
Codi was just so relatable. There’s this perception that’s fed into by movies and TV shows that your teens are just wild and reckless and Codi’s experience shows both sides of the coin. Yes, having a big group of friends can be awesome but it’s also really amazing to have a few best friends who will always be in your corner and drive you to Alabama in the middle of the night to meet up with a boy as well. Friends are people who support you no matter what and the portrayals of friendships in this book are spectacular.
The secondary characters made this book as unique as it is. From Ricky, the guy who does not want to deal with labels, to Lydia who is the personification of a marshmallow (you’ll see once you read the book why this is the only way to describe her), everyone had their own baggage to deal with but still tried to be the best friends they could be. Maritza and JaKory may have the best of intentions but sometimes, they go about getting Codi out of her shell the wrong way and cage her in instead of giving her the space to be okay with herself. But friends stick together, even when they’re annoyed, and that’s what makes them great.
Ultimately, this is a book about friendship and self-acceptance. It chronicles what it means to grow up and explore other sides of yourself while figuring out what that means for the relationships through which you have defined yourself your whole life. There’s also the question of how a significant other fits in with your life and friends group and even though Codi may fail to reconcile these facets of her life, there’s always the chance to try again and get it right next time. Hopeful and a bit rebellious, this book will resonate with everyone who has ever felt like a wallflower and wants to know they’re not alone in taking everything slow. Growing up isn’t a race, it’s a marathon, and this story showcases this beautifully.
A love letter to late bloomers, Late to the Party combines teenage angst with first loves and second chances and emphasises that true friends will always be there for you even as you discover new parts of yourself. Do not be late to the party and get on reading this book!
Late to the Party is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of April 21st 2020.
Will you be picking up Late to the Party? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
