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carrotstikz21's review
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
x_jxna_x's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pandelise's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
ashction's review
5.0
This was such a pleasant and surprising read today!
I ended up diving into this one as my daily work book (I'm starting to run through them in 1-2 days, and this one was a quick, breezy read!) since Quindlen is going to be doing a Q&A for my work and I wanted to have some good questions prepped. I picked it up, settled down with it, and then didn't really move again until I'd finished. Late to the Party is a delightful, real look at what being a teenager is really like, capturing every aspect of the uncertainty and soul-searching that comes along with growing up and growing into yourself. Bonus points all around for this being an Own Voices novel with TONS of queer and nonwhite characters - seriously, representation is endless here, in the best way - and for Quindlen's writing, which easily leads readers through the tangled web of Codi and, truthfully, all our past teen selves' thoughts as teenagers, always feeling a bit out of sync.
Quindlen does a phenomenal job of playing delicately with labels and the way they restrict us in ways I haven't seen before in a YA book. Having queer, diverse characters only further exemplifies her work here, and gives readears - teens and adults alike - a panoramic view on how all these little parts of yourself seem complicated and clashing, but actually just make up you. That's the love song in this novel: your identity is just you, all the little pieces coming together to form something that may seem imperfect and jagged to you (as we are typically our worst critics), but is something loved and appreciated by those in our lives. Because no one is perfect. And yet no one feels that more intensely than our teenagers, who bear perhaps the most heavy label of simply belonging to that age group. Quindlen does a great job explaining that in the first pages of the book, bringing us into Codi's head as she describes having never really grown into that label of teenager. But by the end of it, Codi's friends - new and old - and her brother, Grant show her that the opposite is true. Because the truth of it is that there is no one type of teenager, nor is everyone one shade on a palette. You look at white enough, and you see there's shadows of blue, hints of yellow. (Maybe I'm harping on the art thing because Codi does art... but my point stands!)
I would have loved to have a book like this when I was a teenager. In a lot of ways, I still haven't had a lot of those firsts associated with being a teenager, and I'm twenty-two. That's okay, too. Quindlen does a marvelous job of assuring readers of all ages that yes, they were teenagers, and yes, it's okay if their experience was typical or nontraditional or like Codi's or something completely different. Whenever the day comes that I'm back in my building, and Late to the Party arrives, I can't wait to put it on display for all my tweens and teens to get a hold of. I hope they get to read this story and learn there's nothing wrong with feeling out of place, but - more importantly - that there's nothing wrong with them. Just like Codi, they're all doing just fine being who they are.
I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley and Roaring Book Press in exchange for an honest review.
I ended up diving into this one as my daily work book (I'm starting to run through them in 1-2 days, and this one was a quick, breezy read!) since Quindlen is going to be doing a Q&A for my work and I wanted to have some good questions prepped. I picked it up, settled down with it, and then didn't really move again until I'd finished. Late to the Party is a delightful, real look at what being a teenager is really like, capturing every aspect of the uncertainty and soul-searching that comes along with growing up and growing into yourself. Bonus points all around for this being an Own Voices novel with TONS of queer and nonwhite characters - seriously, representation is endless here, in the best way - and for Quindlen's writing, which easily leads readers through the tangled web of Codi and, truthfully, all our past teen selves' thoughts as teenagers, always feeling a bit out of sync.
Quindlen does a phenomenal job of playing delicately with labels and the way they restrict us in ways I haven't seen before in a YA book. Having queer, diverse characters only further exemplifies her work here, and gives readears - teens and adults alike - a panoramic view on how all these little parts of yourself seem complicated and clashing, but actually just make up you. That's the love song in this novel: your identity is just you, all the little pieces coming together to form something that may seem imperfect and jagged to you (as we are typically our worst critics), but is something loved and appreciated by those in our lives. Because no one is perfect. And yet no one feels that more intensely than our teenagers, who bear perhaps the most heavy label of simply belonging to that age group. Quindlen does a great job explaining that in the first pages of the book, bringing us into Codi's head as she describes having never really grown into that label of teenager. But by the end of it, Codi's friends - new and old - and her brother, Grant show her that the opposite is true. Because the truth of it is that there is no one type of teenager, nor is everyone one shade on a palette. You look at white enough, and you see there's shadows of blue, hints of yellow. (Maybe I'm harping on the art thing because Codi does art... but my point stands!)
I would have loved to have a book like this when I was a teenager. In a lot of ways, I still haven't had a lot of those firsts associated with being a teenager, and I'm twenty-two. That's okay, too. Quindlen does a marvelous job of assuring readers of all ages that yes, they were teenagers, and yes, it's okay if their experience was typical or nontraditional or like Codi's or something completely different. Whenever the day comes that I'm back in my building, and Late to the Party arrives, I can't wait to put it on display for all my tweens and teens to get a hold of. I hope they get to read this story and learn there's nothing wrong with feeling out of place, but - more importantly - that there's nothing wrong with them. Just like Codi, they're all doing just fine being who they are.
I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley and Roaring Book Press in exchange for an honest review.
trouut's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
milenagallo's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this one and found parts painfully relatable. Some books that focus on character flaws frustrate me but the author did a great job I getting me to give compassion to the main character and I liked how everything was resolved!
kiraprst's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75