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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I heard a podcast that featured the author of this book and hearing her speak to friendships and friends lost was really beautiful and tragic. Her book was bittersweet and realistic. It’s always hard for me to read cruelty from children/teens and some characters were truly unlikable. I enjoyed that the primary relationships explored were friendships.
I quite enjoyed this book, about the dissolution of a close female friendship. That's a hard situation for anyone to go through, especially when you're a teenager, and I appreciated that Woodfolk acknowledged how both of the main players in this drama were at fault. Both behaved poorly, both suffered hurt feelings, and the reality is that maybe they've just outgrown each other. It's a bittersweet, realistic, and very touching story.
My only real complaints were that a) it ran a bit long, and some of the twists and turns near the end began to feel a bit like piling on, and b) I kind of wish the romantic storyline had been excised so that we could focus solely on the friendship. Not that I disliked the romantic story or anything, just that I loved how Bechdel-y this book could be and I felt like the love story wasn't necessary.
My only real complaints were that a) it ran a bit long, and some of the twists and turns near the end began to feel a bit like piling on, and b) I kind of wish the romantic storyline had been excised so that we could focus solely on the friendship. Not that I disliked the romantic story or anything, just that I loved how Bechdel-y this book could be and I felt like the love story wasn't necessary.
4.5 stars! This was so good. Sometimes I struggle with multiple timelines, but this one was done well and was easy to follow. I loved seeing a book centered on female friends, instead of focusing heavy on relationships (though there are some) and this was just the kind of contemporary that I would love to see more of. Plus I really enjoyed the diverse cast of characters.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
This story cover a topic that isn’t portrayed quite often enough, the loss of platonic friendships. Not all are meant to last a lifetime but know when to move on isn’t something that is shared openly by many. The reminder, woven through this story, of trusting oneself is so important.
Truly a heart wrenching book about female friendships. It made me so introspective on all of my friendships, past and present, and totally broke my heart. It’s introspective and has a lot of layers, some clever devices but at its core is just a really well written story.
This was a refreshing YA story and I feel like it was very relatable for any girl who's gone through high school. Some parts were overly dramatic but I had to remind myself that these are high school sophomores. I appreciated that above all else it was a book centered on self discovery and growth.
“But girls cling to their friends for dear life as they wade through the rough waters of learning who they are while everything around and inside them is changing minute by minute. And aren’t we all a little bit in love with our best friends?”
even though this book has a lot of great stuff, i wanted to bring to this review what friendship meant here. layla was everything to cleo. she would do anything for her best friend, to protect and be there for her—but layla wouldn’t do the same for cleo. this perception put a wound in my heart while reading it. at the same time, i do understand what happened. people change. you’re not the person you were when you had 10 years, and you’re probably gonna change from now on. we put ourselves and others in boxes. we think that those who doesn’t relate to us are wrong—that we did something bad to them. when in most of the cases, this isn’t the truth.
i know it hurts, but friendship in high school are made to end. we’re going through a bunch of stuff, including growing up/meeting new things/starting to not like the things we used to. as lorde said “cause all the music you loved at 16 you’ll grow out of”, but it’s not about music. i still love the music i loved when younger, in the meantime, i lost a lot of friends. couldn’t find myself. discovered a lot. learned so many things.
‘when you were everything’ is an excellent story for those who are trying to get used to changing. it’s for all the people who’s shy, tired of themselves, passing through shit. this is a sensitive portrait of losing someone you love and yourself. making peace with your past and present. forgive and move on. ashley woodfolk has this outstanding delivery with words. thank god for authors like that. (of course i’m going to read everything she does)
even though this book has a lot of great stuff, i wanted to bring to this review what friendship meant here. layla was everything to cleo. she would do anything for her best friend, to protect and be there for her—but layla wouldn’t do the same for cleo. this perception put a wound in my heart while reading it. at the same time, i do understand what happened. people change. you’re not the person you were when you had 10 years, and you’re probably gonna change from now on. we put ourselves and others in boxes. we think that those who doesn’t relate to us are wrong—that we did something bad to them. when in most of the cases, this isn’t the truth.
i know it hurts, but friendship in high school are made to end. we’re going through a bunch of stuff, including growing up/meeting new things/starting to not like the things we used to. as lorde said “cause all the music you loved at 16 you’ll grow out of”, but it’s not about music. i still love the music i loved when younger, in the meantime, i lost a lot of friends. couldn’t find myself. discovered a lot. learned so many things.
‘when you were everything’ is an excellent story for those who are trying to get used to changing. it’s for all the people who’s shy, tired of themselves, passing through shit. this is a sensitive portrait of losing someone you love and yourself. making peace with your past and present. forgive and move on. ashley woodfolk has this outstanding delivery with words. thank god for authors like that. (of course i’m going to read everything she does)
emotional
funny
hopeful
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