682 reviews for:

When You Were Everything

Ashley Woodfolk

4.01 AVERAGE

the_locd_librarian's review against another edition

5.0

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This book is so authentically written. Though the characters are in high school, the story transported me back in time to one of the worst and loneliest times if my life: middle school. The cliques, the bullying, the desire to be accepted and approved of, all of it is touched on in some way in this book. I can tell the author must have lived this because it's so raw and honest and vulnerable.

anniii1711's review against another edition

4.0

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books like this are the reason I read.

ablotial's review against another edition

2.0

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I picked this up at a local Little Free Library based on the description on the back, which seemed interesting based on a certain friendship imploding in my own life. Of course, this book was nothing like mine. Cleo and Layla had the kind of friendship I have only dreamed of having in my life - true best friends for years who always did everything together and told each other everything and boost each other up. But as they transition to high school Layla, who is a talented singer despite her prominent lisp, decides to join the choir and falls in with a group of girls who dislike her best friend and are downright rude to her. The girls all become rude and jealous and petty and go out of their ways to hurt each other, on both sides, and in the end, the friendship cannot be salvaged. There's also a side story about the relationship between Cleo's parents involving her favorite teacher.

For me, the book won't be a game changer or be very memorable. A lot of it felt forced and over the top and an exaggeration of what could happen in real life. Its most redeeming quality to me was the relationship between Cleo and Dom, which was cute and well written and evolved nicely. But maybe a big part of it is just that I just find it difficult to imagine the sort of friendship that Cleo and Layla had before the implosion and so the whole premise seemed hard for me to stomach. The things they were doing, the things Cleo thought ... has never been me. But I do know of friends in elementary and middle school who were inseparable, so maybe they would understand this book a lot better.

I put it in another Little Free Library at a local high school.

angiethedoll's review against another edition

4.0

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books like this are the reason I read.

kali_readsbooks4's review against another edition

5.0

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This story paints a perfect picture of how friendship breakups can be a complicated part of growing up and I think it is important to see a book about it! Definitely recommend!

nejla_mlc's review against another edition

4.25

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

krissi25's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

laurensands's review against another edition

3.0

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I almost didn't read this since I'm definitely not the age demographic this was written for, but after getting through the introductions I sped through it. It's a pretty decent coming of age story about finding yourself and reckoning with the actions of yourself and others and how you handle that. I imagined the high school as flashes of my own, but the story made me infinitely glad that I never went through what the main character did.

taylors_version1's review against another edition

5.0

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I’m fucking crying

arie123_'s review against another edition

3.0

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes