Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen / young adult LGBTQ novel

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

I think Late to the Party was definitely a #thecovermademepickitup, but then the blurb got me hooked. It’s only my second sapphic novel so far, but both times the author did a marvelous job.

This post contains affiliate links. That means I receive a small commission from any purchases you make through these links. 

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.

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

MY THOUGHTS

Late to the Party was the quintessential coming of age story.

The heroine goes from being a late bloomer and wallflower to finding herself, thanks to wonderful friends. The love story is a slow burn, a new friendship that develops into more. In the end the book is all about falling in love for the very first time.

Overall the novel is well written, and has a beautifully diverse cast. The character driven plot is a bit slow at times, but otherwise it’s an endearing story. For many other readers it might bring up old memories. I enjoyed it for what it was, a wonderful young-adult novel.

It’s interesting that the biggest feeling I took away from this book was me feeling OLD – lol. I don’t know why, especially since I’ve read many young adult novels that focused on all the feelings that come with first love before and never felt this way before. Maybe it was the author’s writing style. Whatever it was – I couldn’t shake the feelings of!

Nevertheless is think it’s the PERFECT book for the younger spectrum of YA readers.

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS TBR || GET THE BOOK

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review.
My opinions have not been influenced by the publisher or the author.

Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen