A review by readingthestars
Late to the Party by Kelly Quindlen

5.0

"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."

I don't say this often, but I wish I had had this book when I was younger. I wish I had read it sooner. This story makes my head and heart ache, knowing that someone else understands. It's as if the author went right into my brain, took my thoughts and feelings, and based a book around it. I can very much relate to feeling stuck in your role and predictable day to day life and wanting something more spontaneous while also knowing that that's not inherently you. It reminds me a lot of these AJR lyrics:

Is this all that life's about,
tryna love how you turn out?

Which is very true, and also very tough to think about. You spend your time wondering if this is all you'll ever be, if you'll ever grow or be "normal". One of the quotes that hit me the hardest was this simple one:

"Grant? Don't you think Maritza and JaKory and I are kind of - losers?"
"Losers? Who said you were losers?"

God, excuse me while I cry. We all have this skewed perspective of ourselves, something that's explored in this book, and we never know how other people see us. All we see is ourselves from our own perspective, and then we go down the rabbit down and only see the faults and flaws and never think to acknowledge anything else. But others see the whole picture, not just the things you choose to focus on. This quote was sort of like someone snapping fingers to shock you to your senses - you're in your head, believing yourself to be a loser, but who said that? Was it yourself? Is it even true?

The premise of this book is very simple: it's a coming-of-age story following a gay teenager trying to come into her own and get out there more. The characters all feel so real, and the plot moves along swiftly and at a good pace. The dialogue is authentic and relatable, and everything about this story was powerful, at least to me, someone who has essentially been in Codi's position before. It's a coming-of-age story that isn't often told, as it targets the often overlooked introverted teenager. But it's such an important story to have available, and I'm very happy seeing so many other people in the reviews relating to this book and finding part of themselves in it.