ASKING FOR A FRIEND

A nonbinary middle schooler experiences the highs and lows of friendship.

Twelve-year-old Eden Jones is lonely. Even after switching schools, they haven’t made any friends, but they’ve been lying to their mom to keep her from worrying. This ruse works fine until Mom excitedly announces she’s throwing Eden their first birthday party with other kids. Now, socially anxious Eden, who’s white, must approach the classmates they’ve claimed were friends and invite them to the celebration. Outgoing Duke Herrera, a popular Filipino American basketball player, befriends Eden right away, bonding over being trans, while white lesbian Tabitha Holt and genderqueer Jackie Marshall, who’s Black, take a little more effort to grow close to. Even trickier to approach is pansexual Ramona Augustus, whom Duke warns Eden against. Eden finds themself with a group of friends for the first time, but as their lies pile up, their newfound social acceptance is threatened. The book’s depiction of social anxiety rings true; Eden refuses to raise their hand in class and uses breathing exercises to cope. The characters are lovable if a bit smooth around the edges; even when they mess up, each has good intentions, and conflicts are handled in a textbook-perfect way. But Riley’s fictional world is one in which queer joy always triumphs, and that alone is a breath of fresh air.

A slightly saccharine deep dive into queer friendship.