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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
This book was fine, and I liked how it dealt mostly with friendship rather than romance. But the main character was literally a horrible person and I don’t blame her best friend for bailing. It was hard to sympathize.
“Somehow I am a girl who makes all the wrong choices, but I am also a girl who aches in every way to be wanted despite my mistakes. ”
When You Were Everything features a topic that books don’t generally talk about – Friendship Breakups. I think the author did an amazing job by choosing this particular plot, since people tend to forget that losing a best friend hurts just like losing a person you’re in a relationship with; sometimes it hurts even more. This book was refreshing in a lot of ways - mainly because YA books tend to be more romance-centered , and When You Were Everything talks about friendship as the focal point.
Ashley Woodfolk’s writing style is simple, yet so beautiful. The book was perfectly paced, and I literally flew through it. Cleo’s struggles as she adjusted to a life without her best friend, Layla was so heart-breakingly described. I felt really sad for her at times, and wanted to hug her endless times throughout the story. Friendships are over-romanticized most of the time, so I really appreciated how the theme of friendship and losing a best friend wasn’t sugar-coated in any way by the author.
When You Were Everything swiftly changed between two timelines – before and after the breakup, but for me, it felt more like the first half of the book featured Cleo’s trauma and the second half showcased her healing process. I loved seeing Cleo finding happiness outside her “Layla Bubble” and form new friendships. She gradually learnt to accept the fact that some things are never meant to be, while figuring out a way to appreciate the past without clinging into it forever.
I loved how wonderfully written the romance between Cleo and Dom was, even though it was the secondary focus of the book. It was cheesy and sweet, just like Cleo deserved. Sydney and Willa, Cleo’s new friends, were the best additions to her life, and it was so heart-warming to see their friendship bloom throughout the story.
I got annoyed with Cleo a few times throughout the story, and I wanted more contribution of her mother in the storyline. These were the only things that I didn’t like about the story – which explains the rating. I loved everything about When You Were Everything otherwise. It is a very important book, one that everyone- specially teenagers should read. <3
These are some of my favorite quotes from When You Were Everything –
1) If you love someone, it’s always worth it….to try. You only get a few truly priceless people in your lifetime. You should fight like hell to hold on to them.
2) You kinda have to go through the dark to be sure you’re okay. Why not just make brand-new memories instead of overwriting old ones? You don’t have to erase the bad things to be happy. Besides, the dark shit is important to remember too.
3) Time had taught me that kids weren’t kind to girls like me : Girls who were dreamy and moony-eyed and a little too nice. Girls who wore rose-tinted glasses. Girls who thought the world was beautiful, and who read too many books, and who never saw cruelty coming. But something about this girl felt safe.
4) Love and life are fluid. Even heroes can make choices that fall into shades of gray.
5) The thing about snow-globes, is that they’re pretty to look at, but they’d be awful to inhabit. People are like that. Lives too
6) There’s still so much good in the world, you know? There’s still a chance for things to be amazing even if your life didn’t start out so great. But it’s kind of up to you to build the life you want.
7) I want to love the people I love with my eyes wide open.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House International and Delacorte Press for the review copy. <3
When You Were Everything features a topic that books don’t generally talk about – Friendship Breakups. I think the author did an amazing job by choosing this particular plot, since people tend to forget that losing a best friend hurts just like losing a person you’re in a relationship with; sometimes it hurts even more. This book was refreshing in a lot of ways - mainly because YA books tend to be more romance-centered , and When You Were Everything talks about friendship as the focal point.
Ashley Woodfolk’s writing style is simple, yet so beautiful. The book was perfectly paced, and I literally flew through it. Cleo’s struggles as she adjusted to a life without her best friend, Layla was so heart-breakingly described. I felt really sad for her at times, and wanted to hug her endless times throughout the story. Friendships are over-romanticized most of the time, so I really appreciated how the theme of friendship and losing a best friend wasn’t sugar-coated in any way by the author.
When You Were Everything swiftly changed between two timelines – before and after the breakup, but for me, it felt more like the first half of the book featured Cleo’s trauma and the second half showcased her healing process. I loved seeing Cleo finding happiness outside her “Layla Bubble” and form new friendships. She gradually learnt to accept the fact that some things are never meant to be, while figuring out a way to appreciate the past without clinging into it forever.
I loved how wonderfully written the romance between Cleo and Dom was, even though it was the secondary focus of the book. It was cheesy and sweet, just like Cleo deserved. Sydney and Willa, Cleo’s new friends, were the best additions to her life, and it was so heart-warming to see their friendship bloom throughout the story.
I got annoyed with Cleo a few times throughout the story, and I wanted more contribution of her mother in the storyline. These were the only things that I didn’t like about the story – which explains the rating. I loved everything about When You Were Everything otherwise. It is a very important book, one that everyone- specially teenagers should read. <3
These are some of my favorite quotes from When You Were Everything –
1) If you love someone, it’s always worth it….to try. You only get a few truly priceless people in your lifetime. You should fight like hell to hold on to them.
2) You kinda have to go through the dark to be sure you’re okay. Why not just make brand-new memories instead of overwriting old ones? You don’t have to erase the bad things to be happy. Besides, the dark shit is important to remember too.
3) Time had taught me that kids weren’t kind to girls like me : Girls who were dreamy and moony-eyed and a little too nice. Girls who wore rose-tinted glasses. Girls who thought the world was beautiful, and who read too many books, and who never saw cruelty coming. But something about this girl felt safe.
4) Love and life are fluid. Even heroes can make choices that fall into shades of gray.
5) The thing about snow-globes, is that they’re pretty to look at, but they’d be awful to inhabit. People are like that. Lives too
6) There’s still so much good in the world, you know? There’s still a chance for things to be amazing even if your life didn’t start out so great. But it’s kind of up to you to build the life you want.
7) I want to love the people I love with my eyes wide open.
Many thanks to Penguin Random House International and Delacorte Press for the review copy. <3
Finally, FINALLY, a book where the friendship is the main plot and the romance is the side plot. I have never read a book like this before, that treats friendships like the beautiful (and sometimes heartbreaking) relationships they are.
This is a book about a friend break- up, about all of the painful ways you restructure your world when you lose someone you once thought you'd have forever. The characters in this novel feel so fleshed out and real. I especially loved the exploration of how trust issues manifest once one important relationship fails.
This book is heartbreaking at times but extremely validating for anyone who has had a friend break up. A strong recommend.
This is a book about a friend break- up, about all of the painful ways you restructure your world when you lose someone you once thought you'd have forever. The characters in this novel feel so fleshed out and real. I especially loved the exploration of how trust issues manifest once one important relationship fails.
This book is heartbreaking at times but extremely validating for anyone who has had a friend break up. A strong recommend.
this was beautiful. and it hit really hard at home for me. i've lost friends and been left behind so i really felt like i could relate to cleo while reading this. i also really loved that this book was focused on friendship and that the romance really took a backseat, i feel like that's quite unusal, especially in a contemporary. anyway, this was beautiful but also a bit heartbreaking. a good mix of both.
3.5 stars
I love reading stories about friendship break-ups that shatter my heart into a million pieces and then slowly put it back together. And while this book wasn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed it a whole lot!
This is a dual timeline story that follows a girl named Cleo, who grew apart from her best friend over the course of the last year and is now trying to come to terms with that fact and make new memories to get rid of the memory of her ex-best friend.
My favorite thing about this book is the way it leaves the reader with a feeling of melancholy, but also with a feeling of hope. It really shows that there is a way out, even after something as drastic as losing your best friend happens to you. I loved the way Ashley Woodfolk delivered this message. I also loved that Cleo got to have closure with her ex-best friend, which I think is really valuable.
I thought the way the plot was structured in two timelines really worked well for this story! The two storylines really complimented each other and I thought they worked together really well! I do wish that we had gotten a bit more of Cleo in “present day”, making new friends and that we had gotten to know those friends a little better than we did. That said, I loved what we did get and also the romance in this was adorable.
I also would have liked Cleo’s relationship with her parents, particularly her mom, to be explored a bit more because we got a couple of glimpses of that, but nothing more detailed and I was really intrigued by what we did get!
Finally, I really loved how much of a realized character Cleo was and how deeply she feels things. Not only was that very relatable for me, but it also added so much to her character. I just thought the way Cleo’s character was developed was really well-done and I loved her development. I’m definitely very attached to her.
Overall, I absolutely cannot recommend this book enough. It’s an exploration of friendship break-ups and how painful those can be, but it’s also a story about finding joy and love and friendship again and I absolutely love that.
I love reading stories about friendship break-ups that shatter my heart into a million pieces and then slowly put it back together. And while this book wasn’t my favorite, I still enjoyed it a whole lot!
This is a dual timeline story that follows a girl named Cleo, who grew apart from her best friend over the course of the last year and is now trying to come to terms with that fact and make new memories to get rid of the memory of her ex-best friend.
My favorite thing about this book is the way it leaves the reader with a feeling of melancholy, but also with a feeling of hope. It really shows that there is a way out, even after something as drastic as losing your best friend happens to you. I loved the way Ashley Woodfolk delivered this message. I also loved that Cleo got to have closure with her ex-best friend, which I think is really valuable.
I thought the way the plot was structured in two timelines really worked well for this story! The two storylines really complimented each other and I thought they worked together really well! I do wish that we had gotten a bit more of Cleo in “present day”, making new friends and that we had gotten to know those friends a little better than we did. That said, I loved what we did get and also the romance in this was adorable.
I also would have liked Cleo’s relationship with her parents, particularly her mom, to be explored a bit more because we got a couple of glimpses of that, but nothing more detailed and I was really intrigued by what we did get!
Finally, I really loved how much of a realized character Cleo was and how deeply she feels things. Not only was that very relatable for me, but it also added so much to her character. I just thought the way Cleo’s character was developed was really well-done and I loved her development. I’m definitely very attached to her.
Overall, I absolutely cannot recommend this book enough. It’s an exploration of friendship break-ups and how painful those can be, but it’s also a story about finding joy and love and friendship again and I absolutely love that.
Oh my lord Jesus this book was absolutely brilliant! The main character goes through trials of losing friends and gaining more. She goes through her family being separated but, it was written so beautiful! Ashley Woodfolk knew what she was doing when she wrote this book and it was absolutely amazing. It’s honestly leaving me speechless!
This book was beautifully written though the pacing was a little slow at times. Cleo and Layla have been best friends for years. But once Layla starts hanging out with the chorus girls she gains a little more confidence and starts hanging out with Cleo less; Not to mention Layla's new friend Sloane doesn't seem to like Cleo at all and turns the other chorus girls against her. And Sloane ends up starting a rumor which really hurts Cleo and her family.
While reading it I wanted to judge Cleo for how selfish she could be at times but then reminded myself that sometimes I have those same feelings of jealousy. I recognize that urge to not want to share a friend with everyone else. To feel a little possessive over them. But at the same time it seemed like Cleo wanted to hold Layla back. Like she couldn't handle Layla rising above her stutter and being the shining star for once.
I think this books does a great job exploring all different types of loss and the building of different relationships.
I received this book from Netgalley and Random House Children/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.
While reading it I wanted to judge Cleo for how selfish she could be at times but then reminded myself that sometimes I have those same feelings of jealousy. I recognize that urge to not want to share a friend with everyone else. To feel a little possessive over them. But at the same time it seemed like Cleo wanted to hold Layla back. Like she couldn't handle Layla rising above her stutter and being the shining star for once.
I think this books does a great job exploring all different types of loss and the building of different relationships.
I received this book from Netgalley and Random House Children/Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for an honest review.
This is the first book I've read of Ashley Woodfolk, and I was not disappointed. What a beautifully written book about friendship, loss, love, and all that in between. As someone who has lost her fair share of friends throughout my life, this book really touched me on a deeper level. I liked how we saw how both actions of both girls brought upon the end of their friendship. Some of the drama felt a little over the top (dad and the English teacher), but other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend this to someone once it's been released.
This is the first book I've read of Ashley Woodfolk, and I was not disappointed. What a beautifully written book about friendship, loss, love, and all that in between. As someone who has lost her fair share of friends throughout my life, this book really touched me on a deeper level. I liked how we saw how both actions of both girls brought upon the end of their friendship. Some of the drama felt a little over the top (dad and the English teacher), but other than that, I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend this to someone once it's been released.
Such a well written complicated friendship story. Highly recommend!