Asking for a Friend -- Ronnie Riley, Hardcover

Eden Jones has exactly three friends. And they're all fake.

From a web of lies and anxiety to true friendship and queer joy; this is the wonderful second book from the author of the Indies Introduce and Indie Next List pick, Jude Saves the World.

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?

Author Ronnie Riley creates a world full of queer joy and all the ups and downs of true friendship. This book is perfect for fans of Guts or Forget Me Not.

Author: Ronnie Riley
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 06/04/2024
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.84w x 0.94d
ISBN: 9781339027647
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2024
Booklist 05/01/2024 pg. 48
School Library Journal 06/01/2024 pg. 79

About the Author

Ronnie Riley (they/them) is many things: fat, queer, trans, nonbinary, demisexual, lesbian, neurodivergent, disabled, Canadian. They're an event coordinator who lives with their partner in Toronto, Ontario. They collect books, friends, and cats. They love ice cream any day of the year, birds with long legs, and messy reality TV.

Their queer contemporary middle grade debut, Jude Saves the World (Scholastic, 2023), was an Indies Introduce and an Indies Kids' Next List pick. Asking for a Friend (Scholastic, 2024) is their sophomore book. They write books they wish they had as a kid.

Find them on social media @mxronnieriley or online at mxronnieriley.com.