• Age: 12
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12

It's junior prom night. Andrea is grounded for getting her older brother to buy booze for her, Paul is having panic attacks, Roemi has been stood up by his Internet date, and Candace is busy tagging a building (before she gets collared by a particularly tenacious cop). By happenstance, the four near-strangers end up together, getting into more trouble, arguing and ultimately helping each other out over the course of eight madcap hours.

Tom Ryan is the award-winning author of several acclaimed books for young readers. He has been nominated for multiple awards, including the White Pine Award, the Ann Connor Brimer Award and the Amy Mathers Teen Book Award. His YA mystery Keep This to Yourself was the winner of the 2020 ITW Thriller Award for Best YA Thriller and the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Best YA Crime Book. Two of his books were Junior Library Guild selections, and three of his young adult novels, Way to Go, Tag Along and Keep This to Yourself, were chosen for the ALA Rainbow List, in 2013, 2014 and 2020. He was a 2017 Lambda Literary Fellow in Young Adult Fiction. Tom, his husband and their dog live in Nova Scotia.

Tom Ryan's profile page

• Short-listed, White Pine Award nominee
• Short-listed, CCBC Best Books
• Commended, Stellar Award nominee
• Commended, OLA Best Bets Honourable Mention
• Commended, Rainbow Top Ten list
• Commended, Resource Links "The Year's Best"

"In this The Breakfast Club­-esque novel, four teens with little in common find their destinies intertwined on the night of their junior prom...Readers will enjoy this feel-good story."

School Library Journal

"A quick read with some of the antics being laugh-out-loud funny. Most teens will identify with one of the main characters, though they each have their quirks. This could also spark discussions about loyalty, friendship, and being true to yourself."

VOYA

"It’s prom night, and four teens’ plans for the evening are about to get hijacked...They all manage to meet, get connected and ultimately have a prom night that is far more memorable than their original plans. Ryan never goes over the top as he unfurls the story, alternating the voices of the four teens, but exciting events occur, and the gradual jelling of the group is completely believable. A regular kid’s prom, minus the limo but with enough drama to satisfy."

Kirkus Reviews

"Ryan must be given lots of points for style...Junior high teachers who put this fun and entertaining novel in the hands of reluctant and struggling readers are sure to be thanked by their students."

CM Magazine

"A novel of rites of passage, experience, and teenage angst, Tag Along captures the teen audience with well-written narrative, rich with emotion and spicy with the complications of life. The story is a page-turner with humour, angst, anger and joy breathing life through the momentous events of the evening. Truly entertaining and delightful. Highly recommended for leisure reading."

Resource Links