January Adventures in Reading Kids Club: Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend by Lance Rubin
January 19, 2026 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Our Adventures in Reading Kids Club is free and open to all AND the book is 10% off book club pricing. Come on out and join your fellow readers each month for a free pizza party and chat about the selected book.
This month we’re chatting about Zed Moonstein Makes a Friend by Lance Rubin ($19.99 Book club price: $17.99 Hardcover, 336 pp)
Zed Moonstein has never been great at making friends, but at least he’s always had Rishti—his one true bestie, fellow tech geek, and co-explorer of MonoTown, home to the ultra-cool MonoLyth.
But middle school changes everything. Different classes, new social circles, and Rishti’s cooler new friend leave Zed feeling outdated, like last year’s MonoPhone.
Then he stumbles onto a secret prototype app on his mom’s work computer: MonoFriend. Soon Zed is chatting with “Matt,” an A.I. pal who seems to understand him better than any human ever has. Matt is supportive, funny… maybe too perfect. As their bond deepens, Zed starts to realize that a digital best friend might be real enough to cause real-world trouble.
A funny, fast-paced, and eerily timely story about belonging, jealousy, and the slippery line between tech and trust.