Book cover of Late to the Party

Book description

From author Kelly Quindlen comes a poignant and deeply relatable story about friendship, self-acceptance, and what it means to be a Real Teenager. Late to the Party is an ode to late bloomers and wallflowers everywhere.

Seventeen is nothing like Codi Teller imagined.

She’s never crashed a party, never stayed…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Late to the Party as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

A contemporary YA novel, this book will still appeal to all the adults who can remember what it was like trying to figure out who you were as a teenager, how your friends fit into your life, and what it means to shake things up but still maintain who you are at your core. Main character, Codi Teller, is lucky to have two very close friends by her side through it all, but she develops an additional, unexpected friendship with cool kid, Ricky, when she stumbles upon him kissing another boy at a party. Ricky brings Codi into his world…

From Darby's list on celebrating strong friendships.

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These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

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