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Late to the Party
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.
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.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published April 21, 2020
415 people are currently reading
37340 people want to read
About the author
Kelly Quindlen
6 books2,689 followersKelly Quindlen is the bestselling author of the young adult novels She Drives Me Crazy (winner of the Volunteer State Book Award; Goodreads Choice Awards nominee), Late to the Party, Her Name in the Sky, and the forthcoming This Must Be the Place (May 2026). Her books have been featured in The New York Times, Business Insider, Vulture, and Paste.
Kelly enjoys speaking to high school GSAs, PFLAG groups, and all manner of LGBTQ+ organizations. She lives in Atlanta with her fiancée and their saucy cat, Peach Marie.
Kelly enjoys speaking to high school GSAs, PFLAG groups, and all manner of LGBTQ+ organizations. She lives in Atlanta with her fiancée and their saucy cat, Peach Marie.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,353 reviews
December 31, 2019
When I picked up this book, I was not expecting it to make me ache for things I've never done, friends I've never had, and a teenagerhood I never got. Late to the Party is a great queer coming-of-age about self-discovery and friendship and experiencing all the firsts of life.
I could relate SO MUCH to Codi, and I found her such a wonderful narrator. She's a typical wallflower—shy and nervous to talk to people, and it was so wonderful to see her open up. I saw so much of myself in her. I have fairly severe social anxiety, and even though Codi doesn't I loved seeing her challenge that and fight through it so she could make friends. To brave rejection and terror with the chance of trying new things. It was so inspiring; I loved reading about her character growth.
I fell in love with all the side characters, too. Ricky and Codi's friendship was everything to me; peak mlm/wlw solidarity, and I loved it. This book showed a side of the Cool Kids and the Losers that wasn't stereotypical, that blended the two groups together and showed that they weren't so different after all. I also loved how delightfully queer this book was—and how it's about finding yourself while being queer, not finding that you're queer. This is distinctly coming-of-age, and there is coming-out, but the book isn't about coming-out-as-queer as much as it is about emerging as your own person. The friendships are real, tumultuous but caring, and the relationships felt so raw in every way, and it was wholly good.
This book is an ode to late bloomers. I had my own whirlwind summer just last year, at twenty-one and eleven-twelfths—the first time I'd ever been out dancing at a club, the first time I sat around with a group of people my own age just hanging out, and getting to be someone new. I had to move past my fear of change yet my deep yearning to grow in order to have those experiences. Like Codi, I launched myself out of my comfort zone and found I hated being comfortable. I get this book. I get this book so much. It made me ache for that summer, to get that feeling of freedom and infinity back.
I would definitely recommend Late to the Party to fans of Alice Oseman's Radio Silence; it has similar vibes. It's a contemporary that's full of nostalgia and what it's like to be young and feel like the world is infinite, and I really loved this book.
content warnings | drug and alcohol use
representation | lesbian mc, bisexual panamanian major character, two gay black major characters, bisexual side characters
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I fell in love with all the side characters, too. Ricky and Codi's friendship was everything to me; peak mlm/wlw solidarity, and I loved it. This book showed a side of the Cool Kids and the Losers that wasn't stereotypical, that blended the two groups together and showed that they weren't so different after all. I also loved how delightfully queer this book was—and how it's about finding yourself while being queer, not finding that you're queer. This is distinctly coming-of-age, and there is coming-out, but the book isn't about coming-out-as-queer as much as it is about emerging as your own person. The friendships are real, tumultuous but caring, and the relationships felt so raw in every way, and it was wholly good.
This book is an ode to late bloomers. I had my own whirlwind summer just last year, at twenty-one and eleven-twelfths—the first time I'd ever been out dancing at a club, the first time I sat around with a group of people my own age just hanging out, and getting to be someone new. I had to move past my fear of change yet my deep yearning to grow in order to have those experiences. Like Codi, I launched myself out of my comfort zone and found I hated being comfortable. I get this book. I get this book so much. It made me ache for that summer, to get that feeling of freedom and infinity back.
I would definitely recommend Late to the Party to fans of Alice Oseman's Radio Silence; it has similar vibes. It's a contemporary that's full of nostalgia and what it's like to be young and feel like the world is infinite, and I really loved this book.
content warnings | drug and alcohol use
representation | lesbian mc, bisexual panamanian major character, two gay black major characters, bisexual side characters
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 27, 2020
I have... complicated thoughts on this one. I wanted to love this *so* bad, but something about the writing style kept me from connecting fully to the characters. It's especially frustrating because I can't even put my finger on exactly what didn't work for me. All I know is that it didn't and I am big sad :( I definitely don't think this was a bad book, but it just wasn't quite a me book.
May 3, 2021
I adored this book.
Yes, the main character is the one we all know too well, the shy and nice type.
But!
This story is about a lot of things.
I loved how every character dealt with something and not everything was about the mc. There were old friends, new friends, siblings, a love interest and drama with everyone, but at the end everything came full circle and every character and relationship came out better than as they were at the beginning. That's why it felt so real – everyone had something to put on the table.
This is my kind of story. Where you feel safe and loved, what makes you think and gives you a new found family you want to be a part of.
Definitely will reread it sometimes.
If you want to read a love letter to this book, check out - ̗̀ jess ̖́-'s review.
Yes, the main character is the one we all know too well, the shy and nice type.
But!
This story is about a lot of things.
I loved how every character dealt with something and not everything was about the mc. There were old friends, new friends, siblings, a love interest and drama with everyone, but at the end everything came full circle and every character and relationship came out better than as they were at the beginning. That's why it felt so real – everyone had something to put on the table.
This is my kind of story. Where you feel safe and loved, what makes you think and gives you a new found family you want to be a part of.
Definitely will reread it sometimes.
If you want to read a love letter to this book, check out - ̗̀ jess ̖́-'s review.
July 17, 2021
i love :')
check out my reading vlog for kelly quindlen's books here!
check out my reading vlog for kelly quindlen's books here!
February 15, 2021
↠ 5 stars
I'm finding it difficult to articulate how much this book made me feel seen. It's almost as if the author peered inside my head and found something that was worth writing about. Reading this was like having my entire teenage experience dissected in front of my very own eyes, leaving me to grapple with having been perceived.
Late to the Party is a coming of age story that has been on my radar for awhile, being one of my highly anticipated reads for this year. To say this book blew all my expectations out of the water is an understatement. This book truly is a love letter to finding yourself and all the struggles that go alongside that. I found myself wishing that a book like this had been around when I was younger. The main characters struggles really took me aback, in part because they mirrored so much of my own at the time. The fear of change versus the want to be apart of something was so prominent throughout the story. That and the underlying yearning for new experiences. What stood out for me the most though, was the characters. The author did an amazing job juxtaposing Codi's old and new friends with her need to no longer feel stagnant. She initially finds solace in Ricky because he represents this desire she has to have new experiences that she feels she had denied herself for so long. Eventually she finds harmony in both. To me, this book really emphasized the importance of becoming your own person and finding your own space, especially within the queer community. A really different side to a coming of age story, but needed nonetheless.
I'm finding it difficult to articulate how much this book made me feel seen. It's almost as if the author peered inside my head and found something that was worth writing about. Reading this was like having my entire teenage experience dissected in front of my very own eyes, leaving me to grapple with having been perceived.
Late to the Party is a coming of age story that has been on my radar for awhile, being one of my highly anticipated reads for this year. To say this book blew all my expectations out of the water is an understatement. This book truly is a love letter to finding yourself and all the struggles that go alongside that. I found myself wishing that a book like this had been around when I was younger. The main characters struggles really took me aback, in part because they mirrored so much of my own at the time. The fear of change versus the want to be apart of something was so prominent throughout the story. That and the underlying yearning for new experiences. What stood out for me the most though, was the characters. The author did an amazing job juxtaposing Codi's old and new friends with her need to no longer feel stagnant. She initially finds solace in Ricky because he represents this desire she has to have new experiences that she feels she had denied herself for so long. Eventually she finds harmony in both. To me, this book really emphasized the importance of becoming your own person and finding your own space, especially within the queer community. A really different side to a coming of age story, but needed nonetheless.
January 6, 2021
nothing spells out ‘sad teen’ quite like reading a coming-of-age novel during a pandemic 😔
August 1, 2021
Betty & august by gaylor swift
July 19, 2020
Late to the Party is a contemporary novel about what happens when the narrative about yourself you built in your own head starts hindering your potential. It is about the differences between yourself, your perception of yourself, and others' perception of you, and how one can find spaces for exploration in those gaps as well as places to get stuck in.
On the surface, it's a very typical coming-of-age story about Codi, a white American teenage lesbian living in Atlanta, who has always been "the quiet kid". She has her art and her two best friends, but after forming an unexpected new friendship with a "popular" boy (who is gay and closeted), she decides she wants to change that.
Like most coming-of-age stories, it includes a romance (F/F, of course), but it's not the focus - because, beneath the surface, Late to the Party is mostly a story about friendship. It follows Codi as she understands what her relationships mean to her, why she feels stuck, and how friendships can be outgrown but can also shift in their meaning to you as you change. It does all of this while following mostly queer characters, and how that influences the dynamic.
I feel like often the message of this kind of book can be very one-note, become the party-lover you were always meant to be! get out of your comfort zone! who cares about your boring friends!, but this book deals with it with enough nuance for it not to feel this way.
It's one of those stories that have just have enough truth to them to hurt. While I did enjoy this as an adult, I know that probably wouldn't have been true as a teen - sometimes when you're struggling there are things you're not ready to hear or deal with, and they hurt. (I would have taken it personally, probably; one thing that you won't learn in this community when talking about "hurtful books" is that sometimes when a book hurts you isn't because there's something wrong with it but because you need therapy.)
Despite this, I did feel like something was missing. There isn't much to Codi as a character apart from her shyness, her desire to grow out of it, and her love for her art. To make some examples, she struggles with her self-esteem but mental health isn't even discussed in this book; and while this is a story about friendship between queer people, it's yet again a gay book in which the portrayal or discussion of anything but rigorously cis and gender-conforming queerness is very lacking. And I think that's where many of my issues with this book come from - it's good and it achieves what it sets out to do, but it still feels somewhat surface-level; I think it could have done so much more.
On other minor negatives:
🏠 it has no sense of atmosphere and relies on the reader's assumed familiarity with America to make up for that. Too bad for the book that I have no idea of how Atlanta looks like;
🏠 the characterization could have used some help in general; while Codi's close friends and brother are well-drawn characters, the same can't be said about most of the supporting cast, and sadly this includes the love interest.
3.75 stars.
On the surface, it's a very typical coming-of-age story about Codi, a white American teenage lesbian living in Atlanta, who has always been "the quiet kid". She has her art and her two best friends, but after forming an unexpected new friendship with a "popular" boy (who is gay and closeted), she decides she wants to change that.
Like most coming-of-age stories, it includes a romance (F/F, of course), but it's not the focus - because, beneath the surface, Late to the Party is mostly a story about friendship. It follows Codi as she understands what her relationships mean to her, why she feels stuck, and how friendships can be outgrown but can also shift in their meaning to you as you change. It does all of this while following mostly queer characters, and how that influences the dynamic.
I feel like often the message of this kind of book can be very one-note, become the party-lover you were always meant to be! get out of your comfort zone! who cares about your boring friends!, but this book deals with it with enough nuance for it not to feel this way.
It's one of those stories that have just have enough truth to them to hurt. While I did enjoy this as an adult, I know that probably wouldn't have been true as a teen - sometimes when you're struggling there are things you're not ready to hear or deal with, and they hurt. (I would have taken it personally, probably; one thing that you won't learn in this community when talking about "hurtful books" is that sometimes when a book hurts you isn't because there's something wrong with it but because you need therapy.)
Despite this, I did feel like something was missing. There isn't much to Codi as a character apart from her shyness, her desire to grow out of it, and her love for her art. To make some examples, she struggles with her self-esteem but mental health isn't even discussed in this book; and while this is a story about friendship between queer people, it's yet again a gay book in which the portrayal or discussion of anything but rigorously cis and gender-conforming queerness is very lacking. And I think that's where many of my issues with this book come from - it's good and it achieves what it sets out to do, but it still feels somewhat surface-level; I think it could have done so much more.
On other minor negatives:
🏠 it has no sense of atmosphere and relies on the reader's assumed familiarity with America to make up for that. Too bad for the book that I have no idea of how Atlanta looks like;
🏠 the characterization could have used some help in general; while Codi's close friends and brother are well-drawn characters, the same can't be said about most of the supporting cast, and sadly this includes the love interest.
3.75 stars.
December 1, 2023
2nd read: 2023
4/5 ☆ - still good but when i first read it, it was definitely the perfect timing
1st read: 2021
5 stars ⭐
This the first book I've finished in 2021 and it's a 5 star read. I actually can't believe it. I'm speechless.
Last year was awful in general (as I'm sure you all know) and my reading was definitely one of the things affected by that. Although I loved a few books, it was an overall lackluster reading year. So to start off 2021 with an amazing book already makes me very hopeful that this is going to be a great year for my reading.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
Codi Teller is a seventeen year old who feels like she's missing out on the "teenage experience". She will be a senior next year and she's never been to a party, got drunk or even kissed anyone. So when her best friends, Maritza and JaKory, with whom she spends most time watching Netflix in her basement, suggest crashing a party, she is really not sure about the idea. But then she stumbles upon one of the cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and a new friendship between Codi and Ricky blossoms. This completely changes Codi's life and summer as Ricky takes her under her wing and introduces her to his very friendly group of friends, including a girl Codi might be starting to develop feelings for.
The only problem, though, is that Codi doesn't tell her best friends any of it.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
I had a feeling in my bones that this book would be perfect for me and wow was I right!
I don't think I've ever related so much to a character. Codi is me. I'm Codi. Seriously, it's like Kelly Quindlen wrote this story with me in mind. The fear of missing out on what everyone else is doing when you're a teen is something that I've felt for so long and that I've thought about so many times. My life really isn't that exciting, at least not in the way that teens' lives are portrayed all over: books, films, TV shows (e.g. Euphoria). There's people constantly partying, drinking, smoking, having sex... and when you don't fit into that standard, it can feel very isolating and like you should be doing more with your life. Like you're stuck doing the same activities and hobbies over and over again, as if it's an endless loop you can't escape. The author was able to write this feeling into Codi perfectly and I thank her for that because it made me feel so seen.
I absolutely loved Ricky and his friendship with Codi. Ricky is funny, kind, caring and helps Codi feel like she belongs. Their dynamic is so fascinating and they have so many conversations that I valued so much. For instance, Codi talks about how sometimes she feels like their friendship is one-sided and that she shares so much with Ricky but he doesn't seem to trust her enough to do the same - also something I can relate to. During this novel, Ricky is trying to figure out his sexuality and coming to terms with it. He has an entanglement with the boy Codi saw him kiss and he doesn't feel comfortable sharing this with his close group of friends, even though he feels as if he's known them since they were little kids. I believe many people will resonate with his character and what he's going through and will find comfort in reading about his friendship with Cody.
On a similar note, I adored the dynamic established in Ricky's and now Codi's friend group. They're all such great people who welcome Codi with open arms. Going back to me being a little more personal, these past few months I've felt like my friendships have grown a lot and that I've become closer with a lot of my friends so, in that way, I could also really see myself in Codi. I completely understood where Codi is coming from when she doesn't tell Maritza or JaKory about Ricky and his friends.
And the romance is so adorable!! Not as perfect as the one in The Falling in Love Montage, but it still made me blush and feel all the feels. F/F romances in YA novels are on the rise and I'M HERE FOR IT.
Speaking of, Maritza and JaKory are awesome characters as well. Maritza is Latina and bi and JaKory is black and gay, but despite those aspects being part of who they are, they are not their whole personalities. They're both three-dimensional and face their own hurdles throughout the story which help them grow as individuals.
Codi has a younger brother named Grant who has a relevant part in the story. The protagonist feels like he has a much more exciting life than her, with so many more friends and experiences that she has yet to replicate. To put it plainly, she is jealous of how easy life seems to be for him, how easy he makes friends and talks to people as if it's no big deal. OMG can I tell you HOW RELATABLE THIS IS. I have an older brother and I love him with all of my heart, but I've felt the same thing as Codi for so longggg. Not as much anymore, but a year ago, before the pandemic happened, and he would constantly go out with his many friends to clubs, bars, parties, I would be a bit jealous of him because I thought that I would never do any of those things because I didn't have that many people that I was close to. Again, Codi is ME. All of that to say that her relationship with her brother is incredibly realistic, but touching as well.
Another aspect to highlight is how funny this book is. Kelly Quindlen has a great sense of humour. Many were the times I laughed out loud and I spend the majority of my reading experience with this novel with a big smile on my face because it not only made me chuckle, but it also warmed my heart.
There's so much more I could talk about when it comes to this book, but I want you to find out how wonderful Late to the Party is by reading it. If one thing's for sure is that this will be on my top favourite books of this year and I would love for you to experience and fall in love with this novel as I've had, so please, pick it up asap!
4/5 ☆ - still good but when i first read it, it was definitely the perfect timing
1st read: 2021
5 stars ⭐
This the first book I've finished in 2021 and it's a 5 star read. I actually can't believe it. I'm speechless.
Last year was awful in general (as I'm sure you all know) and my reading was definitely one of the things affected by that. Although I loved a few books, it was an overall lackluster reading year. So to start off 2021 with an amazing book already makes me very hopeful that this is going to be a great year for my reading.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
Codi Teller is a seventeen year old who feels like she's missing out on the "teenage experience". She will be a senior next year and she's never been to a party, got drunk or even kissed anyone. So when her best friends, Maritza and JaKory, with whom she spends most time watching Netflix in her basement, suggest crashing a party, she is really not sure about the idea. But then she stumbles upon one of the cool kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the dark, and a new friendship between Codi and Ricky blossoms. This completely changes Codi's life and summer as Ricky takes her under her wing and introduces her to his very friendly group of friends, including a girl Codi might be starting to develop feelings for.
The only problem, though, is that Codi doesn't tell her best friends any of it.
✦ ✧ ✦ ✧
I had a feeling in my bones that this book would be perfect for me and wow was I right!
I don't think I've ever related so much to a character. Codi is me. I'm Codi. Seriously, it's like Kelly Quindlen wrote this story with me in mind. The fear of missing out on what everyone else is doing when you're a teen is something that I've felt for so long and that I've thought about so many times. My life really isn't that exciting, at least not in the way that teens' lives are portrayed all over: books, films, TV shows (e.g. Euphoria). There's people constantly partying, drinking, smoking, having sex... and when you don't fit into that standard, it can feel very isolating and like you should be doing more with your life. Like you're stuck doing the same activities and hobbies over and over again, as if it's an endless loop you can't escape. The author was able to write this feeling into Codi perfectly and I thank her for that because it made me feel so seen.
I absolutely loved Ricky and his friendship with Codi. Ricky is funny, kind, caring and helps Codi feel like she belongs. Their dynamic is so fascinating and they have so many conversations that I valued so much. For instance, Codi talks about how sometimes she feels like their friendship is one-sided and that she shares so much with Ricky but he doesn't seem to trust her enough to do the same - also something I can relate to. During this novel, Ricky is trying to figure out his sexuality and coming to terms with it. He has an entanglement with the boy Codi saw him kiss and he doesn't feel comfortable sharing this with his close group of friends, even though he feels as if he's known them since they were little kids. I believe many people will resonate with his character and what he's going through and will find comfort in reading about his friendship with Cody.
On a similar note, I adored the dynamic established in Ricky's and now Codi's friend group. They're all such great people who welcome Codi with open arms. Going back to me being a little more personal, these past few months I've felt like my friendships have grown a lot and that I've become closer with a lot of my friends so, in that way, I could also really see myself in Codi. I completely understood where Codi is coming from when she doesn't tell Maritza or JaKory about Ricky and his friends.
And the romance is so adorable!! Not as perfect as the one in The Falling in Love Montage, but it still made me blush and feel all the feels. F/F romances in YA novels are on the rise and I'M HERE FOR IT.
Speaking of, Maritza and JaKory are awesome characters as well. Maritza is Latina and bi and JaKory is black and gay, but despite those aspects being part of who they are, they are not their whole personalities. They're both three-dimensional and face their own hurdles throughout the story which help them grow as individuals.
Codi has a younger brother named Grant who has a relevant part in the story. The protagonist feels like he has a much more exciting life than her, with so many more friends and experiences that she has yet to replicate. To put it plainly, she is jealous of how easy life seems to be for him, how easy he makes friends and talks to people as if it's no big deal. OMG can I tell you HOW RELATABLE THIS IS. I have an older brother and I love him with all of my heart, but I've felt the same thing as Codi for so longggg. Not as much anymore, but a year ago, before the pandemic happened, and he would constantly go out with his many friends to clubs, bars, parties, I would be a bit jealous of him because I thought that I would never do any of those things because I didn't have that many people that I was close to. Again, Codi is ME. All of that to say that her relationship with her brother is incredibly realistic, but touching as well.
Another aspect to highlight is how funny this book is. Kelly Quindlen has a great sense of humour. Many were the times I laughed out loud and I spend the majority of my reading experience with this novel with a big smile on my face because it not only made me chuckle, but it also warmed my heart.
There's so much more I could talk about when it comes to this book, but I want you to find out how wonderful Late to the Party is by reading it. If one thing's for sure is that this will be on my top favourite books of this year and I would love for you to experience and fall in love with this novel as I've had, so please, pick it up asap!
February 21, 2023
„Late To The Party” Kelly Quindlen to mój patronat.
Codi, główna bohaterka ma już siedemnaście lat i nigdy się nie całowała, w sumie to na imprezie też nigdy nie była.
Jej najlepsi przyjaciele, JaKory i Martiza postanawiają zmienić swój los, wzbudzając w Codi sprzeczne emocje i powodując, że ta ze zbiegiem okoliczności pozwoliła sobie przemóc się w sobie.
„Late to The Party” w moim przekonaniu, jest przykładem idealnego tytułu. Świetnie dopasowuje się do Codi, która czuje, że jak na swój wiek - jest spóźniona na "prawdziwe" nastoletnie życie.
Czytając te książkę, rozumiałam główną bohaterkę. Sama poczułam, że znalazłam fikcyjną postać, a bardziej nastolatkę, która została przedstawiona w XXI wieku bez krzywego zwierciadła. Jej zachowania, przemyślenia, wszystko to sprawiło, że poczułam się jakbym nie tylko ja była "spóźniona na imprezę”.
Codi, główna bohaterka ma już siedemnaście lat i nigdy się nie całowała, w sumie to na imprezie też nigdy nie była.
Jej najlepsi przyjaciele, JaKory i Martiza postanawiają zmienić swój los, wzbudzając w Codi sprzeczne emocje i powodując, że ta ze zbiegiem okoliczności pozwoliła sobie przemóc się w sobie.
„Late to The Party” w moim przekonaniu, jest przykładem idealnego tytułu. Świetnie dopasowuje się do Codi, która czuje, że jak na swój wiek - jest spóźniona na "prawdziwe" nastoletnie życie.
Czytając te książkę, rozumiałam główną bohaterkę. Sama poczułam, że znalazłam fikcyjną postać, a bardziej nastolatkę, która została przedstawiona w XXI wieku bez krzywego zwierciadła. Jej zachowania, przemyślenia, wszystko to sprawiło, że poczułam się jakbym nie tylko ja była "spóźniona na imprezę”.
April 25, 2022
Every character in this book is either extremely boring or extremely boring AND a little bit mean. They all speak in weird platitudes and tell terribly unfunny jokes that make everyone else cry with laughter. The only personality traits they have are things like, “does dance,” “paints pictures,” “wears fedora,” and “likes popcorn.”
It seemed like a lot of the time this book was trying to say that the peak of being a teenager is getting drunk off warm beer in some dude’s basement. And I guess that’s a common teenage experience? But it’s not particularly fun or exciting to read about, even if the main character is convinced it’s the most thrilling thing you could do.
This often had the vibe of someone who peaks in high school constantly telling you the most mundane stories about this one time when they got drunk with their friends in the CVS parking lot and Ryan lost one of his shoes in the sewer and everyone had to walk home in the rain or whatever nonsense no one over the age of 18 cares about anymore.
A quote from this book that perfectly encapsulates my frustrations is when the main character describes herself as “the kind of girl who could throw a party where people would shotgun beers and invent new drinking games and make out with someone in the laundry room.” And then follows that up with, “I felt grown-up like never before.” Girly, what are you talking about? This is the great teenage experience you felt like you were missing out on? You can think of nothing better than this? Throwing a shitty party is as good as it’s going to get for you?
I guess the message of this book and the weird friendships kind of pulled together in the end, but this mostly felt like it was written by a 40-year-old who remembers nothing about being a teenager or by a 12-year-old who is trying to write about what they think being a teenager will be like.
On the rare chance I read a YA contemporary book, I want it to make me ache for the characters and their teenage vulnerability. I want it to scratch that little spot in the back of my mind that remembers high school and how tough it can be to just exist at that age. I want it to bring forth a sense of bittersweet nostalgia. This unfortunately did none of that.
Wish I could have read a book about Maritza and Vivien instead…with Codi as the annoying side character I don’t have to care about.
It seemed like a lot of the time this book was trying to say that the peak of being a teenager is getting drunk off warm beer in some dude’s basement. And I guess that’s a common teenage experience? But it’s not particularly fun or exciting to read about, even if the main character is convinced it’s the most thrilling thing you could do.
This often had the vibe of someone who peaks in high school constantly telling you the most mundane stories about this one time when they got drunk with their friends in the CVS parking lot and Ryan lost one of his shoes in the sewer and everyone had to walk home in the rain or whatever nonsense no one over the age of 18 cares about anymore.
A quote from this book that perfectly encapsulates my frustrations is when the main character describes herself as “the kind of girl who could throw a party where people would shotgun beers and invent new drinking games and make out with someone in the laundry room.” And then follows that up with, “I felt grown-up like never before.” Girly, what are you talking about? This is the great teenage experience you felt like you were missing out on? You can think of nothing better than this? Throwing a shitty party is as good as it’s going to get for you?
I guess the message of this book and the weird friendships kind of pulled together in the end, but this mostly felt like it was written by a 40-year-old who remembers nothing about being a teenager or by a 12-year-old who is trying to write about what they think being a teenager will be like.
On the rare chance I read a YA contemporary book, I want it to make me ache for the characters and their teenage vulnerability. I want it to scratch that little spot in the back of my mind that remembers high school and how tough it can be to just exist at that age. I want it to bring forth a sense of bittersweet nostalgia. This unfortunately did none of that.
Wish I could have read a book about Maritza and Vivien instead…with Codi as the annoying side character I don’t have to care about.
May 6, 2023
➥ 3.5 Stars *:･ﾟ✧
YA books and I don't really get along so well, but then I thought, how about a queer YA book...and we did get along marginally better. And just to clarify/note, this is not a romance (not that I expected it to be, but I'm aware that's what I usually read, so you know, warning 🚨), it's more of a coming-of-age YA story.
When I started this book, it was slapping me across the face with relatable characters and writing...but after the 40% mark, I started scratching my head, wondering why this was going in the direction that it was.
To be fair, no book is going to reflect my high school experiences exactly, because not only does everyone have a different experience, but also, I'm sure there's a serious difference between going to an american highschool and going to the highschool I went to, though there are obviously some similarities.
Because it was set in the summer, there is barely any discussion/exploration about school itself - it's more so an exploration of the "awkward kid", Codi's (h) growth as a person, and their navigation of the teenage social hierarchy *shivers*.
As above mentioned, some parts of this book were on point. I related to the grandeur I expected from teenagehood, and I remember feeling disappointed or even just indifferent toward supposedly big, significant moments. Things like looking for a prom dress weren't exciting to me anymore, just an added stress or expectation.
It's like teenagehood was presented to you as this marvellous, yet intangible thing, that you've grown to long for, until you're suddenly 17 and you're like "oh, this is it". Or as Quindlen put it,
It all comes down to personal experience though. I had stricter parents, so I was confused as to why Codi felt she 'didn't have a life' even though she regularly went on outings with her tight, close, queer friend group. Also, although this book was set in the summer, I probably would have put more weight on the academic pressure that students feel, though it was mentioned that Lydia (h) endured some of its difficulties.
This author's writing of the queer experience was an interesting one. At first, I though this book was aiming for "relatable", like it was really planning to hit the nail on the head as hard as it could. And sometimes it got close,
But, after the 40% mark, it began to feel like a curated plotline with entertainment value. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but I was hoping for/expecting something else. Although this quote hit the mark, I felt like there was generally little discussion of queerness. Most characters were so sure of their sexuality from the beginning (other than Ricky), and had just not come out about it. And they have a queer friend group?? Maybe I've been doing it wrong but those don't exist where I'm from, as idyllic as they sound. We then see the characters go on to have their first queer experiences with a partner, which was endearing to be fair. I enjoyed seeing Lydia and Codi's feelings grow for each other, and the ending with was too cute.
No book can do it all, but I also felt that the fmc's relationship with her parents was brushed over. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think most people have had a complicated relationship with their parents, usually around this time of their life.
So, I see this fmc who has happy parents, lives in a neighbourhood with a pool and has a queer friendgroup... and then I have to see her complain about that? Like babe, let's trade or something. Because then, she has this whole...'development arc' per se, where she is ashamed of her 'awkward' queer friend group, and she goes off to hang out with the popular kids. She starts going to parties, drinking and smoking (which is presented in a really positive light?), yet keeps it from her friends.
The fmc is extremely offended all the time because she feels like her close friends perceive her as being "boring" and "predictable", just because they believed her when she said she'd been painting on the weekend? Maybe it was the authors intention to prove how she projected her own insecurities onto her friends, but it got to a point where I was struggling to empathise with her.
In highschool, you sometimes see people who try to nudge their way into being part of the 'popular group', and it's always so horrifically embarrassing, seeing them bring their real friends down for the sake of climbing up, yet they're rarely fully welcomed into the group of popular kids.
I felt like I was watching the fmc do just that. Feeling like she's not "living her life" because she hasn't smoked or drank. What was also a little confusing to me, was that the author portrayed the group of popular kids as people who are just as genuine and kind, but that are more socially adept and friendly.
Now, again, maybe this happens in american highschools, but in my experience (in two separate schools), I saw the popular group as a large drama club, where all the women in it were dealing with break-up/cheating/exes, and where the men were sharing their frustration with the younger kids who still haven't paid for the drugs they sold them. From what I've seen, there's a very specific type of person that survives in these social spheres, and it's rarely kind, genuine people.
So, it felt strange to me, that I basically just saw the fmc abandon her old friends, because this group that parties is so much better, and interesting and exciting. I was left wondering, what's the moral of this story? In YA, I usually find that there is some element of a character having a crisis, and then coming to terms with their struggles. But here we just see the fmc have it all?
Grant was right 🔥💯🥶
On another note, this author's apprehension toward using the word lesbian really grinds my gears, especially considering that labels like "gay" and "bisexual" are said without problem.
So in conclusion, what seemed to be a book about a relatable teenage experience didn't ultimately align with my own experience and my own opinion, but the small romances, sweet friend groups, and heart-warming queer experiences were cute. To me, the moral of the story was the classic saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side", because there are some things this fmc has that I'd kill to have myself, but probably some things I have or have experienced that she'd want too. I think it's important to know that life will take it's course, and regardless of how much you force yourself into parties or other social events, you will always have fond memories to look back on, especially something like going to the pool every weekend with your queer childhood friends. And of course, I enjoyed the gay + lesbian friendship/solidarity.
“I like girls,” I said, with a confidence I didn’t feel.
Until that moment, I didn’t appreciate how big of a deal it would be to tell someone other than Maritza and JaKory. I felt vulnerable and powerful in the same breath.
“Oh,” he said finally. “Yeah. Cool.”
I’d hoped for a grander reaction, but maybe he didn’t realize what it meant for me to share something like that with a stranger.
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
YA books and I don't really get along so well, but then I thought, how about a queer YA book...and we did get along marginally better. And just to clarify/note, this is not a romance (not that I expected it to be, but I'm aware that's what I usually read, so you know, warning 🚨), it's more of a coming-of-age YA story.
When I started this book, it was slapping me across the face with relatable characters and writing...but after the 40% mark, I started scratching my head, wondering why this was going in the direction that it was.
To be fair, no book is going to reflect my high school experiences exactly, because not only does everyone have a different experience, but also, I'm sure there's a serious difference between going to an american highschool and going to the highschool I went to, though there are obviously some similarities.
Because it was set in the summer, there is barely any discussion/exploration about school itself - it's more so an exploration of the "awkward kid", Codi's (h) growth as a person, and their navigation of the teenage social hierarchy *shivers*.
As above mentioned, some parts of this book were on point. I related to the grandeur I expected from teenagehood, and I remember feeling disappointed or even just indifferent toward supposedly big, significant moments. Things like looking for a prom dress weren't exciting to me anymore, just an added stress or expectation.
With our junior year behind us, things were supposed to feel big and important and, as JaKory described it no matter how much Maritza and I begged him not to, “pregnant with potential.” But the thing is, nothing felt big or important or bursting with potential to me.
It's like teenagehood was presented to you as this marvellous, yet intangible thing, that you've grown to long for, until you're suddenly 17 and you're like "oh, this is it". Or as Quindlen put it,
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.
It all comes down to personal experience though. I had stricter parents, so I was confused as to why Codi felt she 'didn't have a life' even though she regularly went on outings with her tight, close, queer friend group. Also, although this book was set in the summer, I probably would have put more weight on the academic pressure that students feel, though it was mentioned that Lydia (h) endured some of its difficulties.
This author's writing of the queer experience was an interesting one. At first, I though this book was aiming for "relatable", like it was really planning to hit the nail on the head as hard as it could. And sometimes it got close,
We hadn’t told anyone else simply because it wasn’t relevant yet. I’d never kissed anyone, and neither had JaKory. Maritza’s only kiss had been last summer in Panama with some boy who hung out with her cousins. In short, we had no experience, so why worry about making an identity claim?
But, after the 40% mark, it began to feel like a curated plotline with entertainment value. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but I was hoping for/expecting something else. Although this quote hit the mark, I felt like there was generally little discussion of queerness. Most characters were so sure of their sexuality from the beginning (other than Ricky), and had just not come out about it. And they have a queer friend group?? Maybe I've been doing it wrong but those don't exist where I'm from, as idyllic as they sound. We then see the characters go on to have their first queer experiences with a partner, which was endearing to be fair. I enjoyed seeing Lydia and Codi's feelings grow for each other, and the ending with was too cute.
I gave her an old art camp T-shirt and a pair of lounging shorts. She washed her face at my sink and I sat on the bed, watching her, my heart settled and aching at the same time.
We crawled into bed and lay facing each other. She played with my hair, smoothing it back from my face. I didn’t want to close my eyes, but I couldn’t fight the exhaustion coming over me.
No book can do it all, but I also felt that the fmc's relationship with her parents was brushed over. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think most people have had a complicated relationship with their parents, usually around this time of their life.
So, I see this fmc who has happy parents, lives in a neighbourhood with a pool and has a queer friendgroup... and then I have to see her complain about that? Like babe, let's trade or something. Because then, she has this whole...'development arc' per se, where she is ashamed of her 'awkward' queer friend group, and she goes off to hang out with the popular kids. She starts going to parties, drinking and smoking (which is presented in a really positive light?), yet keeps it from her friends.
The fmc is extremely offended all the time because she feels like her close friends perceive her as being "boring" and "predictable", just because they believed her when she said she'd been painting on the weekend? Maybe it was the authors intention to prove how she projected her own insecurities onto her friends, but it got to a point where I was struggling to empathise with her.
In highschool, you sometimes see people who try to nudge their way into being part of the 'popular group', and it's always so horrifically embarrassing, seeing them bring their real friends down for the sake of climbing up, yet they're rarely fully welcomed into the group of popular kids.
I felt like I was watching the fmc do just that. Feeling like she's not "living her life" because she hasn't smoked or drank. What was also a little confusing to me, was that the author portrayed the group of popular kids as people who are just as genuine and kind, but that are more socially adept and friendly.
Now, again, maybe this happens in american highschools, but in my experience (in two separate schools), I saw the popular group as a large drama club, where all the women in it were dealing with break-up/cheating/exes, and where the men were sharing their frustration with the younger kids who still haven't paid for the drugs they sold them. From what I've seen, there's a very specific type of person that survives in these social spheres, and it's rarely kind, genuine people.
So, it felt strange to me, that I basically just saw the fmc abandon her old friends, because this group that parties is so much better, and interesting and exciting. I was left wondering, what's the moral of this story? In YA, I usually find that there is some element of a character having a crisis, and then coming to terms with their struggles. But here we just see the fmc have it all?
I turned away from him and stared out the window again. My stomach was in knots. “You don’t get it.”
“Don’t act all dramatic just because you’ve been a shitty friend,” Grant said, his voice acidic. “You probably think you’re cool now because you threw a party, but guess what, that doesn’t make you cool. You were cooler before, when you cared about people.”
Grant was right 🔥💯🥶
On another note, this author's apprehension toward using the word lesbian really grinds my gears, especially considering that labels like "gay" and "bisexual" are said without problem.
So in conclusion, what seemed to be a book about a relatable teenage experience didn't ultimately align with my own experience and my own opinion, but the small romances, sweet friend groups, and heart-warming queer experiences were cute. To me, the moral of the story was the classic saying, "the grass is always greener on the other side", because there are some things this fmc has that I'd kill to have myself, but probably some things I have or have experienced that she'd want too. I think it's important to know that life will take it's course, and regardless of how much you force yourself into parties or other social events, you will always have fond memories to look back on, especially something like going to the pool every weekend with your queer childhood friends. And of course, I enjoyed the gay + lesbian friendship/solidarity.
━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡ ━━━━━━━━━━━
October 29, 2022
3.25 stars. After how much I liked Her Name in the Sky I might have had too high expectations for this. I think I’m an outlier here, but it was just an ok read for me. The biggest issue for me was that I didn’t really seem to like any of the characters. They were so selfish. I know this is a typical teenage/YA thing and they are supposed to learn and grow, but it annoyed me too often. Other than that the storyline was nice and there was quite some angst.
I listened to the audiobook.
I listened to the audiobook.
August 6, 2022
this book ruined me. this book grabbed me by the collar and spat on my face and stabbed me and killed my family. i fucking hate this book. five stars.
August 7, 2020
this is CRIMINALLY underrated and i have no idea why.
i don't even know how to put into words what i felt while reading this, but codi's story hit really close to home. even when i didn't have the exact same experiences or feelings she did, i still got it.
it's rare to find a book that portrays what it's like to be a teenager accurately but this truly hit the nail on the head (i'm ignoring the slightly outdated GIF, tumblr and doctor who stuff) all the struggles, one of them being a queer teenager, and the overall pressure was described so so well. it was comforting to see a character deal with the same shit and being able to relate to her.
and if that wasn't convincing enough, read it for the incredibly wholesome wlw/mlm solidarity !!
(my only complaint was how everyone ended up with a love interest; it just felt like that was reinforcing the idea that everyone at that age has/should have a gf/bf/whatever, but at the same time they all deserved that so i'm okay with it)
i don't even know how to put into words what i felt while reading this, but codi's story hit really close to home. even when i didn't have the exact same experiences or feelings she did, i still got it.
it's rare to find a book that portrays what it's like to be a teenager accurately but this truly hit the nail on the head (i'm ignoring the slightly outdated GIF, tumblr and doctor who stuff) all the struggles, one of them being a queer teenager, and the overall pressure was described so so well. it was comforting to see a character deal with the same shit and being able to relate to her.
and if that wasn't convincing enough, read it for the incredibly wholesome wlw/mlm solidarity !!
(my only complaint was how everyone ended up with a love interest; it just felt like that was reinforcing the idea that everyone at that age has/should have a gf/bf/whatever, but at the same time they all deserved that so i'm okay with it)
May 3, 2020
This is a great book and I love Kelly Quindlen's writing but I needed more from that ending. Also I felt very frustrated with how bad of a friend Codi was to her best friends and again, I needed the story to be better wrapped up. Legit thought (and still do) that someone ripped out a chapter from the back of my book. It's so open-ended, so many things aren't answered and I don't even necessarily feel like I got a resolution for some plot stuff. And I have a feeling that was an artistic choice about how in real life things aren't wrapped up with a bow but guess what, this aint' real life and I want it wrapped up with a bow when I read a book lol.
November 27, 2023
A dreamy teen novel that took me right back to high school. Highly recommended for all fans of the genre.
October 22, 2021
there's a copy of late to the party where my heart should be and—you know what? good. love to see it.
one day i will write a proper review, but for now: my all-time favourite. no words.
one day i will write a proper review, but for now: my all-time favourite. no words.
May 1, 2021
Late to the Party is my first book by Kelly Quindlen and I certainly was not disappointed! I’ve heard really great things from some of my friends, especially Anja who absolutely loves the book, though there were some mixed reactions to it in the bookclub Discord. Late to the Party follows Codi who feels like she’s always been on the outside of the true ‘teenage experience’ looking in. Her and her two best friends, Maritza and JaKory, spend more time watching queer movies and ordering takeaway than going to wild parties, but one summer that changes when Maritza and JaKory decide to go to a party in Codi’s neighbourhood. When the two of them end up too drunk to get home, Codi agrees to pick them up, but when she arrives she sees the party’s host, Ricky, hidden away in the dark kissing another boy. The two become fast friends and Ricky shows her a whole new world, but the problem is that Codi doesn’t tell Maritza and JaKory anything about it.
I’ll admit, I was a wee but sceptical going into this book as I am probably one of the last in the bookclub to pick the book up, and most people found it to not have lived up to their expectations – mostly due to the narrative of the ‘true teenage experience’ and also the lack of parents (seriously though, where were they? These kids were staying out all hours of the night and their parents had no clue), and I really do get where they’re coming from, but I think I have to politely disagree!
The book is set over one summer and something about the book really captured the vibes of the season just perfectly – when you’ve got no real responsibilities (save your crappy part time job) and you’re just trying to have fun and do new things with your best friends. I don’t know what it was but something about the way that Kelly Quindlen wrote it just made me so nostalgic for high school summers, even though I live in Scotland and it’s more like going to the woods and getting drunk with your friends or a house party with like 20 people max! I also actually really liked how the teenage experience was written in this, as when Codi meets Ricky she tries all these new things with a new group of friends, and she thrives among them, which she didn’t with the friends she’s grown up with since elementary school, but she doesn’t fully change – she still does the things she loves, like her painting, but for once she’s actually appreciated and her new friends encourage her painting and cheer her on, and this theme of almost growing out of your old friends really struck a chord with me as I’ve had a similar experience in the past, too.
I would definitely say that this is a character-driven novel, which I absolutely love, and I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters and how real they all felt! I think Codi was a great main character and I loved seeing her growth and her becoming more comfortable in herself, including standing up for herself. She is also openly a lesbian and, alongside other queer characters and characters of colour in the book, the representation is really great (I also liked the discussion of girls kissing each other for the attention of boys alone and how not okay that is). Maritza and JaKory were frustrating to no extent, though that may just be because I have had similar friends in the past, though their stories and how they linked with Codi’s were really interesting to see! I loved Codi’s new friend group, including Ricky and the love interest, Lydia. Seeing Ricky figuring himself out and allowing himself to be open with people was so lovely and he was definitely one of my favourite characters! I loved Lydia, too, and her wee quirks, like her love of giant boxes of popcorn were so sweet! The romance was definitely a really great part of the book, too, and I loved seeing it grow! A side character I also really liked was Codi’s younger brother – their sibling relationship was shown really realistically with how they fought and held grudges, but the love was definitely apparent!
Overall, this book was just so much fun and screamed summer to me, and it’s definitely one I’ll be re-reading for years to come!
Want more sapphic books? You can find me here: Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram
I’ll admit, I was a wee but sceptical going into this book as I am probably one of the last in the bookclub to pick the book up, and most people found it to not have lived up to their expectations – mostly due to the narrative of the ‘true teenage experience’ and also the lack of parents (seriously though, where were they? These kids were staying out all hours of the night and their parents had no clue), and I really do get where they’re coming from, but I think I have to politely disagree!
The book is set over one summer and something about the book really captured the vibes of the season just perfectly – when you’ve got no real responsibilities (save your crappy part time job) and you’re just trying to have fun and do new things with your best friends. I don’t know what it was but something about the way that Kelly Quindlen wrote it just made me so nostalgic for high school summers, even though I live in Scotland and it’s more like going to the woods and getting drunk with your friends or a house party with like 20 people max! I also actually really liked how the teenage experience was written in this, as when Codi meets Ricky she tries all these new things with a new group of friends, and she thrives among them, which she didn’t with the friends she’s grown up with since elementary school, but she doesn’t fully change – she still does the things she loves, like her painting, but for once she’s actually appreciated and her new friends encourage her painting and cheer her on, and this theme of almost growing out of your old friends really struck a chord with me as I’ve had a similar experience in the past, too.
I would definitely say that this is a character-driven novel, which I absolutely love, and I really enjoyed the complexity of the characters and how real they all felt! I think Codi was a great main character and I loved seeing her growth and her becoming more comfortable in herself, including standing up for herself. She is also openly a lesbian and, alongside other queer characters and characters of colour in the book, the representation is really great (I also liked the discussion of girls kissing each other for the attention of boys alone and how not okay that is). Maritza and JaKory were frustrating to no extent, though that may just be because I have had similar friends in the past, though their stories and how they linked with Codi’s were really interesting to see! I loved Codi’s new friend group, including Ricky and the love interest, Lydia. Seeing Ricky figuring himself out and allowing himself to be open with people was so lovely and he was definitely one of my favourite characters! I loved Lydia, too, and her wee quirks, like her love of giant boxes of popcorn were so sweet! The romance was definitely a really great part of the book, too, and I loved seeing it grow! A side character I also really liked was Codi’s younger brother – their sibling relationship was shown really realistically with how they fought and held grudges, but the love was definitely apparent!
Overall, this book was just so much fun and screamed summer to me, and it’s definitely one I’ll be re-reading for years to come!
Want more sapphic books? You can find me here: Book Blog | Twitter | Instagram
May 4, 2020
[actual rating: 5 stars] Kelly Quindlen has done it again. it's really difficult for me to put into words how much this book – both her books, really, because her debut novel, Her Name in the Sky, is one of my favourite books of all time – means to me, and so i've been trying to write this review for two-three weeks and trying to come to terms with the fact that my words won't be able to do it any justice. Late to the Party is very different from her debut – for those who are not familiar with it (please, check it out! it's a f/f best-friends-to-lovers, coming-of-age story with a happy ending), HNITS mostly deals with themes such as the relationship between religion (Christianity/Catholicism) and sexuality, homophobia (both external and internalised) and bullying. well, i didn't know what to expect from her second novel, but, while LTTP is also a coming-of-age story, the tone here is completely different: this is a book about growing up, making new friends, falling in love for the first time, and figuring out who you really are. this is my absolute favourite kind of YA contemporary. it's definitely sweeter and more lighthearted than HNITS (and i, personally, also found it more relatable), & i loved a lot of things about it: the relationship between the main character, Codi, and her younger brother, Grant; Codi's friendship with Ricky; Ricky as a character; how sweet and caring the love interest, Lydia, is. the characters in this book are all great (which i found incredibly refreshing). i'm also in love with Kelly Quindlen's writing style; she's one of those "could write a shopping list and i'd buy it and then give it five stars" kind of authors for me. i don't know what else to add, except that i loved it and it made me really happy. thoroughly recommended :)
March 25, 2020
I am completely obsessed with this book and will not stop yelling about it. It's quiet, but the stakes feel like the world's ending, because what doesn't when you're a teenager? I love these messy imperfect queer teens
July 15, 2021
Codi has never felt like a capital T Teenager. She's never been kissed, never parties, never drinks, and the wildest her nights get with her friends are a squabble over which queer movie to watch. When her BFFs are suggest crashing a party for some fun, Codi declines - and ends up having to pick them up when they drink too much. There, she accidentally sees the host of the party, Ricky, hooking up with another boy. In the dark.
Her newfound friendship with Ricky sets off a summer of new experiences, including a huge new crush on his friend, Lydia. So why can't she bring herself to tell her best friends about it?
_____
I really loved this. More than I thought! It's so refreshing to read a queer teen novel where the main conflict doesn't stem from "coming out", coming to terms with one's sexuality, or dealing with homophobia. This book simply follows Codi, who's a lesbian, as she branches out from her old friends to open herself up to new experiences, like smoking and sneaking out and a giant crush on a girl.
Her BFFs, Martiza and JaKory, are also queer and proud (Bi and gay, respectively) dealing with their own firsts in love, and once again, the conflict does NOT centre around their sexuality!! Nary a shameful thought to be found.
Ricky, Codi's new friend, does deal with some new revelations about his sexuality too, and sure, there are secrets and acceptances and sneaking around, but I can't remember the last time I read a teen book about queer kids that DIDN'T have needless homophobic side-plots.
All that goodness aside, I especially loved Codi's relationship with Grant, her brother. It reminded me so much of my own brother honestly. Their scenes almost got a tear out of me!
A great, quick read about coming out of your shell and finding your people.
Her newfound friendship with Ricky sets off a summer of new experiences, including a huge new crush on his friend, Lydia. So why can't she bring herself to tell her best friends about it?
_____
I really loved this. More than I thought! It's so refreshing to read a queer teen novel where the main conflict doesn't stem from "coming out", coming to terms with one's sexuality, or dealing with homophobia. This book simply follows Codi, who's a lesbian, as she branches out from her old friends to open herself up to new experiences, like smoking and sneaking out and a giant crush on a girl.
Her BFFs, Martiza and JaKory, are also queer and proud (Bi and gay, respectively) dealing with their own firsts in love, and once again, the conflict does NOT centre around their sexuality!! Nary a shameful thought to be found.
Ricky, Codi's new friend, does deal with some new revelations about his sexuality too, and sure, there are secrets and acceptances and sneaking around, but I can't remember the last time I read a teen book about queer kids that DIDN'T have needless homophobic side-plots.
All that goodness aside, I especially loved Codi's relationship with Grant, her brother. It reminded me so much of my own brother honestly. Their scenes almost got a tear out of me!
A great, quick read about coming out of your shell and finding your people.
March 9, 2022
Codi knows she's never had the "typical" teen experience. At seventeen, she spends most of her time watching movies and hanging out with her best friends, Maritza and JaKory. So when they suggest crashing a party, she refuses. She's happy in her little world. However, when they need someone to come get them at said party, Codi stumbles across one of the popular kids, Ricky, kissing another boy in the shadows. In return for keeping his secret, Ricky and Codi form an unlikely friendship--one she keeps from her other friends. She finds herself in a world of parties and new experiences, and she meets a really great girl, Lydia. It's all well and good, but what will happen when JaKory and Maritza find out?
I enjoyed this book a lot. I found myself smiling while reading it; Quindlen perfectly captures all that awkwardness and hope of falling in love as a teen. There's plenty of teen and YA melodrama, yet it's just so classic in its portrayal of the teen experience of being in love and wanting to enjoy what you think is the quintessential teen life.
I really liked Codi; she was a wonderful and engaging character. JaKory and Maritza? Eh. Ricky was excellent, and the book is filled with a diverse and representative cast--so refreshing. Watching Codi come out of her shell and the beauty of her and Lydia finding each other was just lovely. This is a coming of age story, but also a great look into queer relationships and friendships in general. It's about finding yourself and then learning to like that self. A really touching read. 4+ stars.
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I enjoyed this book a lot. I found myself smiling while reading it; Quindlen perfectly captures all that awkwardness and hope of falling in love as a teen. There's plenty of teen and YA melodrama, yet it's just so classic in its portrayal of the teen experience of being in love and wanting to enjoy what you think is the quintessential teen life.
I really liked Codi; she was a wonderful and engaging character. JaKory and Maritza? Eh. Ricky was excellent, and the book is filled with a diverse and representative cast--so refreshing. Watching Codi come out of her shell and the beauty of her and Lydia finding each other was just lovely. This is a coming of age story, but also a great look into queer relationships and friendships in general. It's about finding yourself and then learning to like that self. A really touching read. 4+ stars.
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May 3, 2020I loved this a lot, and blurbed it!
"A deeply heartfelt and emotionally honest celebration of late bloomers, queer solidarity, and friendships both old and new. This book has a permanent place in my heart." ―Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights
Seriously, its handling of friendship and late bloomer-dom and especially in connection with coming out is done so, so well, and the romance is afreakingdorable and it's just. So good. SO GOOD.
"A deeply heartfelt and emotionally honest celebration of late bloomers, queer solidarity, and friendships both old and new. This book has a permanent place in my heart." ―Dahlia Adler, author of Under the Lights
Seriously, its handling of friendship and late bloomer-dom and especially in connection with coming out is done so, so well, and the romance is afreakingdorable and it's just. So good. SO GOOD.
April 22, 2021
Quindlen makes me wish that this was my high school experience. As confusing as it was with the friendships Codi was juggling, both new and old, the one thing I loved about her was how certain she was of the fact she's gay.
April 11, 2023
love love love !
January 2, 2022
I wish I'd had this book when I was 17. it hit so close to home and how I felt during my entire adolescence, and I just know I would've felt so seen if I'd had this book back then. this is a lovely book about being scared of missing out on life and of never being able to change and stop feeling so small. it's a book about friendship: outgrowing friends or simply rediscovering your friends and how you all fit together, but also creating new friendships. it's such a happy book, such a queer book, and damn do I wish I'd had it in my life back then (4.25)
May 7, 2021
3.5 stars.
this book basically just crashed though my door and went HEY REMEMBER ALL OF THAT INSECURITY YOU HAD IN HIGH SCHOOL? HOW ABOUT I BRING IT BACK. rude.
this book basically just crashed though my door and went HEY REMEMBER ALL OF THAT INSECURITY YOU HAD IN HIGH SCHOOL? HOW ABOUT I BRING IT BACK. rude.
June 14, 2020
A wonderfully warm and heartfelt YA about growing beyond the person your friends from kindergarten know you to be, first queer kisses, and queer solidarity friendship. Codi and her BFFs JaKory and Maritza (lesbian, gay, and bi respectively) are homebodies who stay at home and watch Netflix. When they force themselces to go to a big party to make something happen in their lives, Codi ends up forming a secret friendship with a closeted popukar jock, Ricky, after she accidentally sees him making out with a guy.
Through him she meets a girl who just might like her back. She also breaks out of her shell, trying new things, putting herself out there, and finally having the kind of teenage adventures she thought she might never have. The only problem? She never tells JaKory and Maritza anything, so you are just waiting for that shit to hit the fan as well as to see if the girl and Codi are ever going to kiss.
Late to the Party had a lot of beautifully complex relationships, some bright sparks of poignant writing that really brought to life a teenage mindset, and layered subplots including one for Ricky, JaKory, Maritza, and Grant, Codi's 14-year-old brother. There were many times when this book made me fondly remember high school and the great sometimes complicated friendships I had.
One quibble I had was that I had trouble picturing what a lot of the characters looked like since the author didn't give enough information early enough when they were introduced. Like it was very far into the novel when we learned what colour hair Codi's crush had! And with the secondary characters that were Ricky's friends, I couldn't picture them at all--like no indication even of their racial or cultural background. I don't think it's a bad thing to just say if so-and-so is Black, white, Latinx, etc if you're not going to describe in detail what they look like. Especially since there's a tendency to assume whiteness in the face of lack of details because of white supremacy!
Some favourite lines:
"When you had a crush and you knew you were going to see her again, especially for something that sounded exactly like a date, suddenly the whole world could never be big enough for you."
"I'd soaked up their compliments without saying anything, but in that moment, I felt like I'd swallowed the sun."
"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 it's your destiny to become one of them someday, but suddenly you're 17 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."
Through him she meets a girl who just might like her back. She also breaks out of her shell, trying new things, putting herself out there, and finally having the kind of teenage adventures she thought she might never have. The only problem? She never tells JaKory and Maritza anything, so you are just waiting for that shit to hit the fan as well as to see if the girl and Codi are ever going to kiss.
Late to the Party had a lot of beautifully complex relationships, some bright sparks of poignant writing that really brought to life a teenage mindset, and layered subplots including one for Ricky, JaKory, Maritza, and Grant, Codi's 14-year-old brother. There were many times when this book made me fondly remember high school and the great sometimes complicated friendships I had.
One quibble I had was that I had trouble picturing what a lot of the characters looked like since the author didn't give enough information early enough when they were introduced. Like it was very far into the novel when we learned what colour hair Codi's crush had! And with the secondary characters that were Ricky's friends, I couldn't picture them at all--like no indication even of their racial or cultural background. I don't think it's a bad thing to just say if so-and-so is Black, white, Latinx, etc if you're not going to describe in detail what they look like. Especially since there's a tendency to assume whiteness in the face of lack of details because of white supremacy!
Some favourite lines:
"When you had a crush and you knew you were going to see her again, especially for something that sounded exactly like a date, suddenly the whole world could never be big enough for you."
"I'd soaked up their compliments without saying anything, but in that moment, I felt like I'd swallowed the sun."
"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 it's your destiny to become one of them someday, but suddenly you're 17 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."
May 9, 2020
The more I think about this book, the less impressed I become.
For starters, the writing was abysmal. I was constantly agitated by the unnecessary detail, the flimsy descriptors, the odd, gratuitous placement of breaks. Why on earth is there a break between “I want to show you something on the deck” and then walking out onto the deck? The passive voice was exhausting. The first chapter has a baffling 7 “I guess”es in it. Somehow it was both too descriptive but not descriptive enough, and i don’t know how that’s possible.
Additionally, I couldn’t care less about Codi. She was boring, repetitive, and exhausting. How many times did she repeat her woes over and over? And how awful of a friend could she be? She was this supposed amazing painter, but how could I know that other than characters saying “wow this is good”? Side note, where the fuck are her parents??? They’re always either at work or in the living room. It’s as if they didn’t exist—convenient.
I didn’t care much for any of the side characters either, aside from Ricky and Lydia. And how could I, when there’s absolutely no fleshing out of the characters? What are any of these characters like outside of drinking beer and smoking weed? I wanted more of a real conflict here. What the hell was Ricky so upset about all the time? We never really find out, just have to guess. And Lydia...is bad at math. That’s it? Seriously?
Martiza was agitating. JaKory was...cute but a little weird. I couldn’t figure out what Grant’s whole deal was.
This book was, frankly, shallow. It never delved deeper. I kept reading, hoping that it would dig into these issues of identity and friendship and growing up and anxiety, but they all...existed. Never properly grappled. I felt like I was told all these problems without ever seeing it.
I’m incredibly disappointed, seeing as this book had such rave reviews and an LGBTQ focused plot line. But it was so utterly lackluster to me. I mean really, her biggest goal is to drink a warm beer with some football players? THAT’S what makes her feel like she’s making the most of her summer?
This book honestly just left such a sour taste in my mouth.
Sorry to anyone who genuinely enjoyed this, but I truly cannot relate.
For starters, the writing was abysmal. I was constantly agitated by the unnecessary detail, the flimsy descriptors, the odd, gratuitous placement of breaks. Why on earth is there a break between “I want to show you something on the deck” and then walking out onto the deck? The passive voice was exhausting. The first chapter has a baffling 7 “I guess”es in it. Somehow it was both too descriptive but not descriptive enough, and i don’t know how that’s possible.
Additionally, I couldn’t care less about Codi. She was boring, repetitive, and exhausting. How many times did she repeat her woes over and over? And how awful of a friend could she be? She was this supposed amazing painter, but how could I know that other than characters saying “wow this is good”? Side note, where the fuck are her parents??? They’re always either at work or in the living room. It’s as if they didn’t exist—convenient.
I didn’t care much for any of the side characters either, aside from Ricky and Lydia. And how could I, when there’s absolutely no fleshing out of the characters? What are any of these characters like outside of drinking beer and smoking weed? I wanted more of a real conflict here. What the hell was Ricky so upset about all the time? We never really find out, just have to guess. And Lydia...is bad at math. That’s it? Seriously?
Martiza was agitating. JaKory was...cute but a little weird. I couldn’t figure out what Grant’s whole deal was.
This book was, frankly, shallow. It never delved deeper. I kept reading, hoping that it would dig into these issues of identity and friendship and growing up and anxiety, but they all...existed. Never properly grappled. I felt like I was told all these problems without ever seeing it.
I’m incredibly disappointed, seeing as this book had such rave reviews and an LGBTQ focused plot line. But it was so utterly lackluster to me. I mean really, her biggest goal is to drink a warm beer with some football players? THAT’S what makes her feel like she’s making the most of her summer?
This book honestly just left such a sour taste in my mouth.
Sorry to anyone who genuinely enjoyed this, but I truly cannot relate.
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