How to Lose a Best Friend

by Jordan K. Casomar Narrated by Tyla Collier, Zeno Robinson

Overview

This “important and necessary book for our time” (Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be) confronts the myth of the friendzone as a boy in love with his best friend feels he's owed a chance at romance-and she's the only one in their lives who disagrees.

For as long as anyone can remember, Zeke Ladoja and Imogen Parker have been best friends. Their classmates, their parents, and even the school custodian think that they're meant to be together. And that's exactly what Zeke wants: for Gen to be his girlfriend. Now that she's about to be sixteen (and allowed to date), Zeke is finally going to tell her how he feels-in front of everyone at her birthday party.

Imogen loves Zeke with all her heart, but only as a friend. The pressure to be with Zeke has sometimes been overwhelming, but up to this point, she's been able to manage it. Then she falls for the new boy, Trevor Cook, and she knows the news will devastate Zeke. The last thing she wants to do is hurt her best friend, but she also resents the fact that no one seems to care about what she wants.

The night of Gen's party, everything goes wrong. There's backlash, most of it directed at Gen, and Zeke feels emboldened. He isn't about to give up on his feelings, and he'll do whatever it takes to prove that she made the wrong choice...even if it means destroying their friendship. But Gen isn't about to give up on fighting for herself and the freedom to love the boy she wants, not the boy she's expected to be with.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

06/10/2024

Via penetrating prose, Casomar’s fresh debut depicts a teen’s refusal to accept his best friend’s lack of romantic interest. Baseball star Zeke Ladoja—who’s secretly working to help his family pay the bills while his father navigates a cancer diagnosis—schemes to confess his love for his best friend Imogen at the 16th birthday bash he’s planning. But Imogen doesn’t share Zeke’s feelings; instead, she’s begun swooning over Zeke’s nerdy Texan teammate Trevor, who recently moved to Chicago. When Zeke announces his affections for Imogen despite warnings from a peer, she panics and kisses Trevor in front of the whole party. Embarrassed, Zeke begins engaging in uncharacteristically cruel behavior, causing friction with his and Imogen’s mutual friends. As Zeke’s demeanor worsens, Imogen’s attempts to go back to how they were before founder amid the taunts directed at her for rejecting Zeke and for her budding relationship with Trevor. In this sure-footed portrayal of contemporary teen romance, Casomar utilizes Zeke and Imogen’s alternating POVs to candidly capture the social systems that uphold the inherent entitlement of the friend zone myth as well as the costs of railing against its toxic messaging. Main characters are Black. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jess Regel, Helm Literary. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

A refreshing and honest exploration of the pressures a culture of toxic masculinity places on teenagers that tenderly portrays its effects, not only on young women, but also the negative impact it has on young men. An important and necessary book for our time.” —Amber Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The Way I Used to Be

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191602899
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	09/10/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged