ashley woodfolk when you were everything

This story has a lot of foreshadowing, macbeth references, quotes and ways of thinking that involve more than just friendships.

Spoiler alert: I bawled my eyes out and could not stop crying I was scared to read this because I have lost multiple of my friends because of different reasons and was terrified of getting emotional. This isn't a romance story but a story about falling apart and losing your best friend. But overall I think this is a book that everyone would be able to relate to and one that offers a lot of insight into the pain of friendship breakups, but also how to go forward from that, especially after losing a relationship as long lasting and strong as Layla and Cleo's. It's a very character driven story and the plot didn't really come in until the last third or so of the book so there was a point where I wanted the story to be tightened up a little bit. I do think that the middle of this dragged a bit. There was a cute romance added, but the real focus was the platonic relationship and the difficulties of loss. I enjoyed that the story alternated between then and now portions to give a fully rounded look at the story. Bullying was a prevalent topic and I felt like it was realistic, especially regarding the danger of rumour spreading. Friendships end for all sorts of reasons and it's a really hard loss and I think this book covered it tremendously well. You got to see a lot of development, growth, and healing from the main character. It offered just the right amount of reconciliation that I hoped for. I've said it pretty much every time I talk about wanting to read this book, but the loss of friendship is something so prevalent in all stages of life and it's a topic I wish was covered more. Despite budding friendships with other classmates - and a raging crush on a gorgeous boy named Dom - Cleo's turbulent past with Layla comes back to haunt them both.Īlternating between time lines of Then and Now, When You Were Everything blends past and present into an emotional story about the beauty of self-forgiveness, the promise of new beginnings, and the courage it takes to remain open to love. But pretending Layla doesn't exist isn't as easy as Cleo hoped, especially after she's assigned to be Layla's tutor. Now Cleo wants to erase every memory, good or bad, that tethers her to her ex-best friend.

Nearly a month since Cleo realized they'll never be besties again. It's been 27 days since Cleo and Layla's friendship imploded. You can't rewrite the past, but you can always choose to start again. 'Stunning.' (Nic Stone, best-selling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out) For fans of Nina LaCour's We Are Okay and Adam Silvera's History Is All You Left Me, this heartfelt and ultimately uplifting novel follows one 16-year-old girl's friend breakup through two concurrent timelines - ultimately proving that even endings can lead to new beginnings.

Ashley woodfolk when you were everything