Have you ever had a friendship fall apart in front of your face?

When You Were Everything perfectly captures the pain of losing a friendship. This novel by Ashley Woodfolk encompasses every messy detail of picking up the pieces and rebuilding trust after feeling left behind by the person you care most about.

This book had me in tears, remembering past friendships and rethinking where things went wrong. The characters had me questioning my own decisions while cringing at the choices they were making. The story is a great reminder of the importance of friendship, trust, and keeping an open mind and heart in the most difficult times.

*Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Layla entered her life at time when Cleo really needed her, and now, as her family was falling apart, she was gone. Once she was Cleo's everything, but now, they were veritable strangers.

I am so happy to be seeing more and more of these friend breakup stories. I bet many people have experienced a painful end to what they thought was a lifelong relationship, and therefore, many will be able to relate to what Cleo was going through. In fact, my heart ached, often, as I read this book, because I have been there, and it wasn't any easier watching it happen to someone else.

Cleo was this "old soul", who I instantly loved. She adored The Bard, and was often found listening to classic jazz due to the influence of her beloved grandmother. Cleo was happy living in her bubble with Layla, but unfortunately, Layla was changing, and wanted to expand her social circle. This was a case of two people growing apart, and though there's no crime in that, both Layla and Cleo had quite a few missteps, until their friendship reached a rather irreparable point.

I loved the way Woodfolk took me back and forth, between the past and the present. I watched as, bit by bit, this once solid friendship unraveled until the bond was lost forever. Present Cleo spent a lot of time reflecting on what had happened, and what she did wrong, as she tried to rebuild her life without Layla. I felt like I was going through the stages of grief with her, which seemed really appropriate, as the death of a friendship can be such a profound loss for many.

I found myself more sympathetic towards Cleo, since I was always the one left behind, but I also understood Layla's need to stretch her wings. Needless to say, Cleo's loss was deep, but it also led to some wonderful new things for her.

Without Layla to rely on, Cleo also began forming new friendships. She found people, who shared her passions, and appreciated her view of the world. She began to push herself, to put herself out there, working in the diner, and even finding some romance. This was not a smooth journey for Cleo. She was wounded and gun-shy. She was struggling with trusting and understanding why these people would want to be her friend. It was parts like these that pained me, but I understood her need for self preservation.

I read another friend breakup story not too long ago, and I feel like Woodfolk's was more successful for me, because of the amount of time spent on the post mortem part of the relationship. It was also more hopeful, and acknowledged that, though, a relationship had ended, it could still be an important part of your life.

Overall: A relatable story of the demise of a relationship, which was painfully honest, but hopeful.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars!

"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."

I took a chance on Netgalley. Fully thinking that I wouldn't be accepted, because my ratio still isn't at an 80%, and doesn't really look like I'd get accepted to anything. But imagine my surprise, when I got an email notification saying that I was accepted into reading an ARC of this book.

This book was good-but I did have some issues with it-towards the end. I liked the overall message it sent that sometimes actions can affect friendships for better or for worse. 

I saw something on Twitter like last year or what not about something giving brown eye people some love-and I do feel like this book does. The author mentions brown-eyed people a lot, and I think that's really cool.

The pain behind getting ghosted, and losing your best friend. That stuff is always painful and messy because you're confused. I was confused when all my best friends cut me off after 6th grade. Hell, I lost almost everyone in 5th grade because of rumors. So I do know how messy losing friends are.

You spend so much time with these people you call friends. And than, one day-they cut you off. You're left with no answers, and no one talking to you. Everyone cuts you off with no answers or if you're lucky you get blamed by toxic friends. Both are pretty shitty if you ask me.

There was this part that was completely shitty behavior if you asked me, but I understand where she was coming from. Her best friend was hanging out with people (which is just fine), but was purposely leaving her out. I understand the behavior, but what happens afterwards was still so shitty. How can you do that to your best friend?

I'm really loving this format though. I've only seen it once and that was with Monday's Not Coming, but this book just makes it entertaining. Highlighting both Cleo's feelings of jealously to her friend and trying to move on from the pain that was involved in the breakup. 

I think it was nice, but it does show what people do out of anger and jealously. It doesn't excuse their behaviors, but we all make mistakes-some just cost their friendship.

I kinda just want to add this side-note. Can we talk about the girl-on-girl hate in this book? Honestly, I just want to applaud that because it is realistic. Girls are often really petty to each other, and it does seem what girls could do to each other. Wreck not only one, but more lives involved if they wanted to.

The characters were really gray especially Cleo. I liked her a little bit, but she did made terrible decisions that overall affected her. All the characters were grey, and seemed to be developed.

The fact that Cleo loves Shakespeare? I find that really awesome and I love that she makes all these Shakespeare references. It's just really cool and the way she describes on why she likes it. It's just so hard not to love. I'm not a Shakespeare fan, but I think it's cool that she does.

I didn't really like the ending. It was nice and all, but didn't really fit with the book. I'm talking about the one specific part that was brought up. Like what was the point in that, besides bringing up the closure on why Cleo's parents got divorce? Though, I did appreciate the ending-ending. It was really satisfying about Cleo no longer holding onto her old friendship, and simply enjoying the new ones.

Just about everyone has gone through an awful friend breakup, but no one ever talks about it. Reading this book felt so validating and it was so fresh to read about these feelings that are so rarely spoken about. The writing and story was so realistic and emotional and was way too relatable. Also it was so nice to see that the main character could admit that she did wrong too. I was ready to have to read an annoying, can-do-no-wrong MC, so I was relieved that this book went deeper than that. Also, I loved having a main character with a speech impediment, I've never read a character struggling with that and it was so nice to see.

It’s been twenty-seven days since Cleo and Layla’s friendship imploded.

Nearly a month since Cleo realized they’ll never be besties again.

Now, Cleo wants to erase every memory, good or bad, that tethers her to her ex–best friend. But pretending Layla doesn’t exist isn’t as easy as Cleo hoped, especially after she’s assigned to be Layla’s tutor. Despite budding new 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.

Alternating 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.- Goodreads

This book was written fantastically. However, HOWEVER, it needs to be known that Cleo is not exactly the victim. Here is why.
She is a terrible friend. Layla meet new people (who weren’t that great but that is not the point) because Cleo left her alone at a party. When Layla begins connecting with these people Cleo gets extremely jealous and begins saying hurtful things to Layla, privately and publicly. She expected Layla to see that she was jealous despite these horrible things and act like nothing happen.
It didn’t work that way and through out the entire novel, Cleo repeatedly makes it seem as if it is Layla’s fault for wanting new friends. Cleo is selfish from the beginning to the novel to the end. The people that she surrounds herself with only encourage that mindset.
It is extremely possible that their friendship would have just faded out on good terms or Layla would have seen what type of friends her new friends were and just stayed isolated with Cleo but Cleo screwed up on multiple times and tried to ruin peoples’ lives.
This is not to say that Layla was the perfect angel. She didn’t give her friendship with Cleo the time it deserved and although she tried to include Cleo in her new friendship, Layla didn’t take Cleo’s word when she noticed certain things and that could be since she knew Cleo didn’t like her being with new people. Did Layla do something messed up? Yeah (ish) She did something out of her character, but I do not feel that it was THAT messed up.
As much as I hated the fact that this book glorified a selfish, entitled, vindictive girl and made her seem as if this break up was not her fault, I loved the fact that it pulled emotions from me and kept me reading. It took some time for the book to get going but once it did, it was great.
I would have loved or love to see Layla’s viewpoint. But then again, I don’t see that happening specifically if this book is based on some truth.
Overall,
4 Pickles

This book kept me guessing at just the right pace to keep my interest. I knew Cleo and Layla's friendship had imploded, that was clear from the beginning, but I didn't realize the full extent of the drama. I am a sucker for drama, which this book fulfilled in the best possible way.

The story line alternates back and forth between Cleo post friendship break up and Cleo pre friendship breakup. Woodfolk balances this perfectly, weaving the friendships and story line back and forth more fluidly than almost any split timeline book I've read before. It's rare to read a YA book that masters this element so easily.

As I am also a sucker for character development in addition to relationship drama, this book really sailed straight into my wheelhouse. The whole book is a story about Cleo's personal development, meted out through various interactions with people in her life. I loved how much we got to see of her friendships, her relationships with her parents, and her relationships with the boys she dates/has dated. It's ideal that the relationship this book focuses on the most is her friendship with Layla, a friendship that came to a crashing halt following a series of events, as this gives her other relationships more room to breathe and therefore to feel more genuine. I have a hard time reading a book that's solely about parent drama or boyfriend drama, but because this centered first and foremost on friend drama, it made the others fall into place in a very relatable way.

Of course every teenager feels like their life is imploding at one time or another. Sometimes we feel that consistently. What Cleo experiences, is the feeling that one after another relationships are falling like dominoes, and she's wondering if it's outside of her circle of control. In fact, she's hoping it is, because then she can at least be justified in her unlike-ability and miser-ability. It can be hard for us all to find our places where we feel comfortable but also in our growth phase, and that's especially true during high school. This book highlights those feelings well, and I felt deep empathy for Cleo even as I acknowledged the areas in which she were failing herself.

Despite the turbulence in Cleo's relationships, there's a certain stability running throughout the book as well. There are plenty of healthy relationships running throughout the story, and plenty of healthy coping skills that both Cleo uses and the other people in her life use. It's clear that Woodfolk understands emotions and is able to write about them in a way that does not come across as imposing, but lends a self-awareness to her characters that is perfectly suitable for a YA (and adult) audience learning to manage their inner emotions. I'm so excited for more people to read this book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This was a good, heartfelt book. Usually you read about relationships and breakups, but not friendship breakups, and that's something a lot of us, teens and adults alike, can really relate to.

This novel is told in alternating timelines, a then and now, of Cleo and Layla. You get the story over time, and find out what happened between them. The ending was okay, nothing that really "wowed" me. But I think this was a great book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC of this emotional yet uplifting tale of a girl attempting to piece her world back together after a best friend break-up. This isn't a topic that I see explored very often, and if it is, it isn't ever in this kind of unrelenting detail. I think people are inclined to be incredibly understanding about romantic relationships falling apart, but the loss of a platonic love can be just as devastating. We meet a plethora of people as we grow, and some are destined to stay while others are put in our lives for a season; to help us in some way before moving on. These transitions are never easy but are, unfortunately, a fact of life.

We learn this and more from our protagonist Cleo, who we see in two timelines: one where she and Layla were still friends, and the present. I so enjoyed the slow reveal of what went wrong between the two friends through this storytelling device, and the gut punches waiting in each. We watch a relationship die but have hope woven into each downswing as Cleo starts to make new memories and new friends. When her favorite teacher pushes Layla back into her life, things get messy again and ends up begging the question-- how much can you forgive? Ashley does an impeccable job of not placing blame too heavily on one side or the other; there is bad blood spilled that reminds us actions have consequences and all people are fallible in their own way. This is not only limited to the friendship but also Cleo's mom and dad as they separate, the new boy Dom who seems interested in Cleo, and a new friend named Sydney who has the potential to hurt her just as much as Layla did.

This is a story of loss, but of rebirth and self-discovery too. A running theme through it all is change. We change, our loved ones change, and sometimes after this change people no longer fit. I think Ashley wants us to see that the shedding of our skin as we age is normal, and although you do eventually find people who will follow you to the end of the line, you have to let some connections go. I believe all of us have a long lost friend that we think about often and want to reach out to, memories that might bring us to tears, and new relationships that scare us to our core. When you make a bond like that, having it sever will leave a scar on your heart, but it's okay to carry it with you. Deal with it however you need to, but know you're never alone, and that there's hope. Just never stop letting people in, and be yourself through it all. That's what this book relayed to me.

What do you do when your best friend, the person who has always been there through everything, suddenly... isn't?

That's the premise of Woodfolk's latest: Cleo, a teen girl with a love of Shakespeare, finds herself growing apart from her best friend Layla. At the same time, she's dealing with the dissolution of her parents' marriage, overtures from the new guy in school, and the possibility of achieving her deepest dream.

This book hit me in the heart. Just like most, I've had those experiences of feeling like I'm growing apart from someone I care about, and I love how Woodfolk approaches it. It's not a subplot while Cleo chases a boy or saves the world. This is what she's going through, and it makes all the other challenges of her life that much harder. It's an incredibly vulnerable feeling, and I love how she focuses on that.

At the same time, Cleo ends up meeting new people and making new friends in her new social position. It's wonderful how Woodfolk shows how new opportunities can arise out of challenges and heartbreak. So many of us, adults as well as teens, forget that, but Cleo ends up creating a whole new support network. By the end, she finds herself stronger than she would have predicted.

Some of the conflicts did stray into that, "why don't they just communicate better?" territory. I can't argue that too much, because that is reality sometimes. Regardless, I really enjoyed this, and I would definitely recommend it.

When You Were Everything

"Somehow I'm the girl who makes all the wrong choices, but I am also a girl who aches in every way to be wanted despite my mistakes "

I requested this arc on a whim and it turned out to be something that came to me in the perfect time in my life. If you have been through a friendship breakup, toxic friendship, or even questioning whether you should cut someone out of your life, definitely check this book out.

The story follows our main character Cleo who has broken up with her best friend, and we go back and forth from what caused the breakup and how she deals with it.

I loved this format and how it keeps you on the edge. You see throughout the novel that Cleo is guilty and Layla ( her best friend) sounds awful but when you see the actual events you see that they are both just flawed complex people. Like any incident, there are always two sides to the story and to be able to read from such a frankly unreliable narrator was so fascinating.

In addition to all of this, I loved Cleo's love for Shakespeare being sprinkled in and her friend Sydney. Sydney was the kind of friend everyone wants and deserves: loyal, adventurous and charming. I also adored Cleo's budding romance with Dom.

I give this book a 4.5/5 💫

I am so excited to read more of Woodfolk's work and cannot wait for other people to pick this up!!

I definitely enjoyed this book because it was more realistic than most of the books about teens I’ve read recently but it lacked a certain appeal. I could easily set it down and not read it for a few days but it definitely good enough to not DNF. The writing was great but I think the plot missed a certain spice.

AWhile I thought some of the general meanness portrayed as "common" contemporary teen behavior was pretty over the top, overall I enjoyed this book. There was a raw honesty to the collapse of Cleo and Layla's friendship and the ways in which they hurt one another while still missing one another that felt both genuine and born of lived experience.

Loss of friendship. Bullying. Family turmoil. Growing up. These are all events that occur in When You Were Everything. Many of us can relate to one or many of these events, and that is the reason that When You Were Everything is a book that needs to be read by everyone!

Told through the perspective of a high school student, Cleo, who recently lost her best friend, When You Were Everything takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that has you gripping on for dear life. Throughout the book, you feel all of the same emotions that Cleo endures (sadness, loneliness, anger, love, and hope) during and after the fall-out of her childhood friendship. As many of us have experienced while navigating high school, Cleo finds out that not everyone is who they seem and sometimes we must move on in order to rebuild.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book gave me a lot a feels, especially since I'm watching my teenage daughter go through it as well.

I've always been amazed at how many teen books do not talk about friendship breakups, but only love breakups. In my opinion friendship breakups are so, so much more harder then boyfriend break ups. The book is told in a then and now timeline. When Cleo and Layla were still besties but starting to lose their touch with each other and grow apart. Again, this was very emotional for me to read when you are watching someone you love to go through it.

I'm amazed at how well is was written. Its a book that teens and adults alike can relate to on so many different levels and I loved every minute of it.

Amazing book about losing a best friend and moving on. I really related to the main character. She handled losing a friend the way I imagine most teens would.

This book is told in dual timelines of then and now, and I think it works perfectly for the book. The “then” is when the MC Cleo and her ex-best friend Layla were still close but starting to drift. The “now” is Cleo moving on and trying to start a new life with Layla. I love the dual timelines and I love that you don’t find out everything that happens until almost the end of the book.

The only thing I didn’t love was the ending. It worked fine but it didn’t wow me in any way.

WHEN YOU WERE EVERYTHING so beautifully tells the story of Cleo and Layla's friendship, alternating between timelines. While I've read a number of books recently that don't alternate settings effectively, Ashley Woodfolk employs this tactic gorgeously. I needed something melancholic that would hit me in the feels and leave me feeling built up at the end, and this did not disappoint.

A sweet story about a topic seldom covered— the hurt and heartbreak when friendships come to an end.

A few issues, though:
Is there a high school in this country where AP Lit is offered as a course for sophomores?? MAYBE juniors, but it’s primarily something that seniors will take.
Sending an email to the entire student body from a library computer (after quickly creating a new untraceable account)?? It’s 2020, and I can’t imagine a school system that doesn’t have some kind of security in place to protect against this type of abuse.
Two-dimensional characters. Sloane and the other chorus girls are catty and superficial; Dom is way too good to be true; and the various storylines are wrapped up with so many feel-good ribbons at the end.

Overall, a strong start, but the contrivances and predictability put it firmly in the average category.

Thanks to Random House, Delacorte, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC.

A heart wrenching story a story of the all consuming friendship your absolute best friend.The sadness heartbreak when these friendships end.Highly recommend this emotionally morning book.#netgalley#delacortepress

This is an incredibly well-written book that tears at the heartstrings and gets the pain of a friend break-up just right. Woodfolk really captures just how devastating a friend break-up can be, and I love that this is one of two new books (alongside Spalding's WE USED TO BE FRIENDS) that take seriously this experience, which is almost as common as romantic break-ups but not nearly as frequently portrayed. I think this book will be so helpful to young people (and frankly, adults) who will see echoes of their own experiences in Cleo's.

I don't think I was mentally prepared for what this book put me through. I went through a friendship breakup so similar to Cleo and Layla's in the past and this hit so close to home.

When You Were Everything gives a look into the complications and the trials that friendships go through when you grow apart with someone. I am deeply impressed with how Ashley Woodfolk made it abundantly clear that both of the parties involved were both deeply flawed and ultimately both of their behaviors lead to their eventual "break-up".

I enjoyed seeing the character development of Cleo but I really wish that we would have been able to see a little bit of what was going through Layla's mind throughout the story.