House Party

by Justin A. Reynolds (Editor)

Ten bestselling, critically acclaimed authors deliver a fresh novel of interconnected stories that follows a group of young adults over the course of a few wild, transformative hours at an epic house party!

The biggest event of the year is happening, and you’re invited! Join us for Florence Hills High School seniors’ last hurrah before graduation.
THE A megamansion in one of Chicago’s wealthiest suburban enclaves
THE DeAndre Dixon, aka FHHS’s golden boy
THE The populars, the jocks, the artists, and heck, even that one kid
THE All the drama ensues. Kisses are swapped between old friends, new friends, and could’ve-sworn-they-were-enemies kind of friends. Relationships get tested. Animals roam free. Secrets are spilled. Add dope music that’s thumping, and there’s a good chance the whole neighborhood will be disrupted.

Angeline Boulley • Jerry Craft • Natasha Díaz • Lamar Giles • Christina Hammonds Reed • Ryan La Sala • Yamile Saied Méndez • justin a. reynolds • Randy Ribay • Jasmine Warga


House Party offers a delightful snapshot of diverse classmates getting ready to say goodbye to high school and hello to life’s next chapter—but not before they make their final night together one they’ll never forget!

Genres: Young Adult, Short Stories, Romance, Contemporary, Anthologies, LGBT, Audiobook

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 27, 2023

About the author

justin a. reynolds has always wanted to be a writer. The earliest documentation of this desire was recorded on a sheet of green, learn-how-to-write-with-a-jumbo-pencil ruled kindergarten paper, which can be found prominently displayed in his mom’s office. OPPOSITE OF ALWAYS, his debut novel, was an Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut, a School Library Journal Best Book of 2019, translated in 17 languages, and is being developed for film with Paramount Players. He hangs out in northeast Ohio with his family, and is probably somewhere dancing terribly, or as his sister likes to say "doing the sports". His second novel EARLY DEPARTURES will publish in September 2020.


It's far more likely you can reach justin via Twitter (@andthisjustin) IG (@justinwritesya) or his website. Thank you so much for your support!

Reviews

[Cassandra]

"House Party is told through a series of interconnected stories in which 10 teens intermingle for one epic, life-changing night at the last house party before high school graduation."

this sounds so good omg???

[atlas ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"House Party" stands out from any anthology I've ever read, weaving its stories into a cohesive novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how well everything flowed together. Exploring the diverse characters and their individual stories was delightful, although the time constraints occasionally caused for issues with characterization. This was mainly a me problem since I would intertwine stories on occasion. Despite this, the overall experience was very enjoyable. The addition of a full cast in the audio version heightened the enjoyment even further.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down

This was a fun anthology taking place in one night with characters overlapping and telling their stories at different parts of the night. In most anthologies I’ve read, once you meet a character you’re done with them. That wasn’t the case here and I found myself enjoying this collection more than other anthologies.

LOVED the full cast audiobook. Very well done. 👏🏼

Some unneeded things (in my opinion):
-Why did we have this whole character slot for a newly divorced mother of preteen boys in a young adult novel? It felt so out of place. Cringy. I couldn’t get over this moment getting home, realizing she was stupid for leaving her twin boys home alone, and getting them to bed only to turn around and GO BACK to the party she just left? She was so worried about what it would like if she was found away from her boys… it just didn’t make sense. This whole plot line made me wildly uncomfortable.
-Whyyyyy was there a Five Years Later//Where Are They Now? section??? I’ve spent less than 12 hours with all of these characters. I do not care where they ended up after this party. That wasn’t really the point of this book, in my opinion. It also left me on a negative note after finishing this book that was, overall, a fun audiobook experience.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty decent, i didn’t expect much from this book but the characters were really cute and the relationships too

[Kristin Hoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thanks to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Film studios should be fighting for the rights to House Party; it's a fresh, diverse teen comedy-slash-drama-slash-romance packaged beautifully and ready for the big screen. The characters, the drama, the EPIC house party at which it all comes together. This was an incredible YA ensemble, written by 10 different, bestselling teen authors, though you would never know it by how smoothly the narratives are woven together.

The diverse cast of characters in the book can feel a little overwhelming at first as the authors switch from voice to voice at a whirlwind pace. We have The Jock, The Artist, The Class Clown, The Emo Band Kid, The Actor, The Popular Girl, The Influencer, and others, all together in one place, slowly revealing their true selves to the reader. We see how they present themselves and, later, who they really are.

Each character has a unique story and, at least at this party, a very sweet Happily Ever After. This was a feel-good romp through the Last Big Night before these kids moved on to bigger and better things. It was a blast to read it. I give it 10/10 stars and recommend it to anyone who loves great characters and fresh perspectives.

[LS Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so anticipating this book but had to slog my way through it. There were so many characters and timelines to follow. I think that was to give the “house party” feel but I was so distracted by it. I wanted to read it like a fun house party book but I had to concentrate so hard trying to keep trade of everything and everyone I couldn’t enjoy it. There were only 2 characters I kind of liked, so that didn’t help. And please, there is no way the white, neighbor mom was going to be able to attend that party for as long as she did. I really wanted to like this one but just didn’t.

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always impressed when anthologies have interconnected stories, so I was very excited to read this. And I feel like this book takes it a step further: it's not so much an anthology as a novel with a lot of perspectives which all have been written by different authors. That sounds to me like such an elaborate project, and I'm so amazed at how cohesive the book ended up feeling. I think these authors did an amazing job collaborating and all capturing the same vibe of the party, and it was such a cool project to witness.

The one downside for me would be that none of the storylines feel very fleshed out, because there's just so many characters and they don't all get a lot of time on page. But that's the nature of a project like this, I would assume, and I did still have a lot of fun with this. It felt a lot like watching a teen movie or tv show, with so much drama and so many different characters. I could imagine this being on Netflix very easily, and I'd have a blast watching.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an entertaining collection of stories revolving around an end of the school year party. Each character is contemplating how their lives will change after high school (except 'cool mom' Carla) and getting entangled in various romances.

I sometimes got characters confused with each other since there are so many, but a few were unique enough to stand out to me. I did like bouncing around the party and seeing what various people got up to over the night. I did wish that there was a little less focus on everyone finding a partner, sometimes it's okay to be alone too!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Joy Revolution and NetGalley for the copy.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so much fun! Not really an anthology, but a collection of stories to tell a story. And I really liked that they gave us updates so we can see what they're up to now. Real rating 3.5. Review to come!

[Rebecca Nakagawa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

This feels like a book I would’ve reviewed in high school. I think freshman in high school year me would’ve hated it, but college senior me loved it. I like that it didn’t take itself too seriously. The chaos of it all was surprisingly well done.

Don’t go in to the book expecting anything profound, and you might come away with some good introspection and meaning. Fun read!

[Scarlett Borch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is it written from many different character’s perspectives, each perspective is written by a different author and a house party is the perfect setting to do that. Each character has a different plot line and it all fits into one story. Fantastic read.

[Sarah Krajewski · Rating 4 out of 5]

DeAndre Dixon hosts the last party of senior year, and everyone shows up. They’re all there for a different reason, and no adults, as well as alcohol and drugs, make for quite the epic night. Friendships will be tested, truths are revealed, a band attempts to reunite, and even a dog and goat make appearances. By the time the night is over, lives will be forever changed.

A great read with a fantastic, diverse cast of characters! Each had their own distinct voice making the story unforgettable. Lots of heart and humor that I know my seniors will enjoy.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much fun! This is basically "Can't Hardly Wait," the book, updated for 2023.

[Sacha · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

This is SUCH a fun read, featuring characters penned by some of today's most exciting YA authors.

There's a house party tonight, and readers are invited to join it in a unique way: through the views of 10 high school students, not to mention the neighbor's dog, Daisy, and Daisy's semi-delusional person, the middle-aged (well, close) neighbor herself. Each of these characters comes to the party with a specific goal in mind, and while some are achievable, others become lessons about what is actually important. It's a blast to see each of these characters progress individually (and readers can do this easily because each character has several interspersed sections), but it's also a lot of fun to see the connections between them.

Admittedly, there was one character who felt like an outlier in a negative way at first, but even that one won me over after their first section.

I recommend this as a quick, easy read with a creative structure, and I am excited to share it with my students. There's something for almost everyone here, and I expect that this book will be a real draw for many young (and less young) readers alike!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Joy Revolution for this arc, which I received in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

[V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was firmly, solidly eh. Part of this can likely be attributed to the fact that it's simply not my type of book: I prefer darker stories, and House Party was solidly light, with conflicts being along the lines of "will this character confess to her crush" or "will this character kiss someone before the night is over", but it also had more than its share of flaws.
The main thing I didn't like was that the book spread itself too thin. House Party follows at least 10 main characters (I might be forgetting some) all with different conflicts. All of their plots were relatively shallow: each character came to the party with a solid goal and perhaps one backstory detail complicating things, faced one obstacle en route to their goal, and then achieved it. I also felt like a few of the stories were incredibly similar: for example, Fernanda, Jrue, Memi, and Sadie all basically came to the party with the same goal of "get kissed by attractive person". The constant switching made it so I wasn't particularly interested in any of them: Carla was probably my favorite, because she was so different from the others, but the rest all blended in. I feel like this book probably could have been better told in several separate short stories rather than a bunch of interwoven plots, especially considering there wasn't nearly as much overlap between them as I was expecting from something like this. The writing style was also very simple, which I found annoying, though it might be good for people who enjoy that.
The characters, too, felt flat: instead of personalities, each character has a high-school archetype (the popular girl, the class clown, the jock, the theater kid, the influencer) which they rarely ever deviated from. This may have contributed to how much it pissed me off when every single character got a nice, pat happy ending, most of which involved getting romantically paired up. (I mean, come on, did Carla really need a romance plotline? Also, the "five years later" epilogue, where it's confirmed that every single one of the couples stayed together, was unnecessary and unrealistic). While I did enjoy the romance between Jrue and Sadie and found myself rooting for them to get together, and Savoy and Miranda were fun, most of the couples had very little chemistry and I didn't care whether or not they ended up or stayed together (especially in the case of Fernanda and Kai: why exactly are they endgame again?).
The extra star I'm giving this is mostly for the one couple I liked, and for the representation: of the MCs, we get a Native American character, several Black and Latine characters, a few bisexual characters, and one nonbinary character with a trans girlfriend (though I feel like Savoy fell into the "cis nonbinary" trope, where they were basically treated as a cis person who used they/them pronouns rather than the trans character that they would be, and Miranda was confirmed to be trans in a very unclear way and way too late in the game). Overall, I'd recommend this book if you like a simpler, more lighthearted writing style and are looking for a diverse cast, but not for strong characterization or plot.

[Shay Tibbs]

I don't know who decides we're so lucky to receive titles like this that have SUCH an incredible cast writing a collaborative story, but I am here for it! I could NOT wait to read HOUSE PARTY edited by the amazing Justin A Reynolds and with each additional author I saw, I knew this was going to be an incredible YA with a diverse cast of characters full of energy and spunk, fitting for the setting of a house party at the end of the school year.

While it could have been chaotic with so many voices, for me it made the book even more enjoyable, as we're quickly introduced to each of our party attendees, and their hopes and wishes as they come close to the end of their time in high school and what one last thing they want to do before getting their diploma. I loved that the messiness of the scene set the tone for so many memorable moments for our characters, it was a fast-paced read full of plenty of love, laughter, and relatable feelings.

I found so much heart and hope with each of the POVs, each one had inspirational lines that make me feel like the world was full of possibilities and growth, I can't wait to connect teens with this one I don't think I've read anything quite like it before.

Thank you to Joy Revolution Books + Edelweiss for the chance to read and review this title in exchange for my honest review.

[Bob McBob the Farmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited for this book but I just think it under performed. Granted, this book was very impressive due to it being an anthology and the stories were so interconnected. I was genuinely shocked how story lines of other characters continued through chapters written by different authors. However, there were just too many characters. With ten authors and about three original characters each, it felt like homework to just read. With a title like House Party, I don't expect nor want to be taking notes. Also, it just didn't feel realistic. The characters for the most part felt human and well-rounded, but I didn't think the actual party was very realistic. It was too chaotic and over the top. Other than that, the writing from every author was very good. The book was very progressive with its wide range of races and sexualities, all without giving it a second thought. Everyone was cool with it and I appreciated how normalized everything was. But along with that, this line was included in the book. "'I mean. . . I'm Jewish, anxiety is my blood type'" (318). Anyway, a decent book that felt too over the top.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
House Party has a creative concept of bringing a number of popular YA authors from different to write different characters at a teen house party. Contrary to initial expectations, multiple perspectives recur throughout the book. I liked the choice to keep who wrote which character’s POV a secret till the end, as it allowed fans of the authors to make educated guesses.
While it does have the pitfall of stories of this fashion, in that the characters aren’t super well-developed, I liked seeing the different personalities come through in their various different cultural backgrounds and passions, as well as a mix of different formats. While the drama primarily unfolds via prose, I loved that one character’s perspective includes texting, and another has entire sections in graphic novel form.
This is a creative and ambitious endeavor, and I’d recommend it to YA readers who enjoy stories with ensemble casts and interpersonal drama.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was so much fun!!! lots of drama, and just so many things going on under one roof.
I always love books that are told in multiple povs so for this to have been told by so many was both ambitious and just really cool to me.

I love how all of the drama unfolded, and every time the pov changed, I decided that the person currently telling the story was my favourite character. As the host, I'm surprised Deandre didn't get his own chapters, but at the same time I get it. It was like his house was just the vessel for this story to be told. I was also surprised that Carla was involved at all; to go from all these povs from high school seniors to a mom in her 30s was odd but also interesting because of Daisy and Merrill kind of not being able to tell her own story for the night.

So much drama, and so many romance stories happening. This was seriously fun!!
I also loved the book's format a lot; the maps and character drawings at the beginning were really nice, I kept flipping back to them for reference.

[Atticus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the humor book we've been waiting for. Each character in this has their POV written by a different prolific author, lending their own voices and experiences to an already inclusive story. Any reader, teen or not, will find themselves somewhere in the book. It's heartwarming and filled with raw emotion but light and funny - the funniest I've read this year. I haven't seen anything like it and is deserves a spot on the list. Each character is fleshed out and real, the house itself comes alive, and the plots all flow in an out of each other in a way that makes it impossible to put down. From dueling influencers to a mom pretending to be a teen to find her dog, to a class clown stealing the rival school's mascot...there's too much to touch on. This is a smash hit and possibly my favorite book I've read this year.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on novels with alternating perspectives. Sometimes they work better than others. In this case it contributes to the heady, slightly disorienting feel of being at a big house party and it works quite well. I don't need the chapter headings to clue me in whose voice we're on now but in this case it doesn't hurt the overall narrative that you can see the story so clearly changing hands.

Naturally, some characters stick with you more than others. The Jrue/Sadie plotline stands out as a favorite while Memi and Cam feel a little shortchanged development-wise, but it feels exciting and cinematic like all the most iconic house parties on film... Can't Hardly Wait, Superbad, Clueless, etc.and for my fellow adults who read YA there are a lot of throwback 90s and early aught's references (almost a bit too many to be fully credible for today's teens but I enjoyed it).

[Katy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

With a cast of amazing writers, it's not surprise how much I adored House Party. I was hesitant because of the numerous points of view -- sometimes that confuses or irritates me but I loved each character and their story so completely that I was happy to get back to every character's point of view. The way the stories were written and intersected exemplified the energy of a house party perfectly and yet somehow it made complete sense and didn't feel chaotic. I've never read a story collection that felt so cohesive and fun. Highly recommend!

[Shelves]

This was tough to get into and i dont know what to rate it. I found that i couldnt keep up with all the characters (surprisingly), and i didnt care for a lot of them either. I cared about a few
I really liked that we got a "where are they now" bit. That was cool and smart.
I jist wish i liked the characters more.
I didnt realize this wasnt an anthology but once i realized it was interconnected i thought i would like it like blackout. So i'm disappointed that i didnt. Maybe it woulda been better if i didnt listen to the audio. Idk.

[Akshaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very coming of age and while a bit cringey (Savoy) the book was overall endearing. I am not a fan of the pair-everyone-up-and-wash-away-their-problems trope, but the book was a tad more complex than that.

I originally thought there would be a bit too much perspective, but I ended up enjoying it. It is not as hard as it seems to remember all the characters, and it is a great lesson in empathy; it reminded me that just because you don't like someone (a character) does not make them any less complex or human than you.

A fun summer read to be sure!

[Bridget Masters · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how they pulled this off but it feels like I'm watching a house party movie from the 90s ala Can't Hardly Wait or Ten Things I Hate About You. It took some getting used to the format and perspective shifts but the characters are so distinct, it was eventually a breeze, and I found myself flying through the narrative. I loved it. It made me happy and it seems like even with the books I love, that's a rarity these days. Highly recommend!

[Marinel DeBerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of teenagers and one epic party night. Characters were typical teens (popular, class clown, etc.) and yet we get a glimpse of what is under the façade, what each teen and adult is going through as life is changing...as life does... and decisions have to be made.

I would have enjoyed a bit more of certain characters (DeAndre) but overall I was excited to read and see how things turned out for these teens and adult. A great collaboration indeed!

[Lindsay Keim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I need a warning when a story is told from multiple points of view. I think there were maybe 6 different narrators? Maybe 8? It was a little difficult keeping them all straight. I think the plot was done well, and it was definitely relatable for high school kids. There was a lot of dining and drug usage, some psychedelic usage. I liked the "where are they now" at the end, I thought it tied it up nicely

[Lada · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
I really loved this book for a lot of reasons. The very concept of it could have gone bad really quickly but it didn’t and I was actually so invested I was sad to put it down to work at my actual job. It was one of the most realistic YA books I’ve read in a while, from the plot to the voices, and that’s hard to do in general but especially when a book’s being written by 10 different authors. It’s a fun read and a great way to officially kick off summer reading!

[Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel was so good!

At first, I was finding it a bit difficult managing all of the different characters and POVs, but once I found my flow, I couldn’t stop reading!

I love how each character was developed and how their lives and stories intertwined.

This was all-in-all an amazing anthology that I couldn’t stop reading!

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited for this book. Unfortunately the format wasn't not for me. There was so many different povs that I found myself going back to refresh up who was who and what was going on. I Unfortunately dnf this one 39%.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ebook in exchange for a honest review.