Asking for a Friend

About this book

Why go through the stress of making friends when you can just pretend? It works for Eden and their social anxiety . . . until their mom announces she’s throwing them a birthday party, and all their friends are invited.

Eden’s “friends,” Duke, Ramona, and Tabitha, are all real kids from school . . . but Eden’s never actually spoken to them before. Now Eden will do whatever it takes to convince them to be their friends — at least until the party is over.

When things start to go better than Eden expects and the group starts to bond, Eden finds themself trapped in a lie that gets worse the longer they keep it up. What happens if their now sort-of-real friends discover that Eden hasn’t been honest with them from the very beginning?

Nominated for a Silver Birch Award, Asking for a Friend creates a world full of queer joy and all the ups and downs of true friendship.

Reviews

“Riley’s fictional world is one in which queer joy always triumphs… A breath of fresh air.” — Kirkus Reviews