Arden Grey

Written by Ray Stoeve

Narrated by Sophie Amoss

Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning, I imagine that day is the day I start over. I’m going to walk into school and be someone else, someone loud and funny, with a posse of friends …

Sixteen-year-old Arden Grey is struggling. Her mom has left their family, her father and younger brother won’t talk about it, and a classmate, Tanner, keeps harassing her about her sexuality—which isn’t even public. (She knows she likes
girls romantically, but she thinks she might be asexual.) At least she’s got her love of film photography and her best and only friend Jamie to help her cope.

But when Jamie starts dating his first girlfriend, suddenly he isn’t so reliable.

Arden starts feeling insecure about their friendship. She starts to wonder if she’s jealous or if Jamie’s relationship with Caroline is somehow unhealthy—and it makes her reconsider how much of her relationship with her absent mom wasn’t okay, too.

Filled with big emotions, first loves, and characters navigating toxic relationships, Ray Stoeve’s honest and nuanced novel is about finding your place in the world and seeking out the love and community that you deserve.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781705066027

Reviews for Arden Grey

[sennebec · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you're a teen, one place you look to for answers and support are your parents. When Arden's parents separate, she's conflicted about how she feels. Fortunately, she has Jamie as her best friend, but when he enters his first romantic relationship, it strains things right at the moment when she needs him the most. Much of what ensues is messy and awkward, but ultimately very hard not to follow, while silently cheering for almost all the players involved. Arden's younger brother is in as much emotional pain as she is, but deals with it in a much different way. Their dad manages to pull himself back from an apathetic darkness just in time, while Vanessa, the girl who is attracted to Arden, hangs in there when she could as easily bail. Altogether a very satisfying story, and one well worth considering for any library collection where LBGTQ+ YA fiction is important.