When You Were Everything

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Since this book discusses both fate, inevitable decision as well as decisions made because of certain emotions, there is a wide range of different theories in this book, not directly related to the friendship between the two, that gives us quite a lot of foreshadowing of what will happen. 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. Few things are more traumatic for teen girls that losing a best friend. In When You Were Everything, we witness the pain and sorrow and rage that occurs when besties forever, Cleo and Layla, fall apart.

A stunning story that speaks to the deeply human need to love and be loved in myriad ways—and to the power we each wield over those closest to us.” Cleo is smart and driven, but she also makes some poor choices, lashing out in hurtful ways when her own feelings are hurt. And while I felt that Layla was more to blame for the friendship break-up, Cleo isn’t blameless either. Maybe Cleo doesn’t need to eradicate her old friend from her new life, but she creates new memories with new friends, as well as with old ones. Perhaps he doesn’t know how it feels…to break in this particular way. Or perhaps it’s different for boys? 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?”The self- and life-defining nature of grief and loss captured so well by authors such as John Green is explored here with humor, intelligence, and grace.” If you've ever wanted to read a story about friendship breakups - the messiness, the bitterness, the yearning - then I cannot recommend this splendid book, When You Were Everything, enough. Would this even be a Rather Random Review™️ if things did not get awkward and slightly uncomfortable? A breathtakingly beautiful and intimate story that drills into the complex layers of friendship and loyalty.Woodfolk has a way of making words sing and burst with light.” Bonheur wrote: "Thank you for this review & recommendation! I’m excited to try this. I’ve also had intense friendship break ups in the past, and the fall out was devastating to me.. glad there are books out there ..."

Cleo’s parents announce that they are getting a divorce. As her life at home is falling apart, so is her life at school. Florence Bernice wrote: "Thanks as well for your vulnerability, Thomas. I can see this book will carve a hole in my heart. My first heartbreak was the falling out with my best friend of almost two decades. Like you, I also..." A hugely evocative and deeply relatable elegy to friendship, heartbreak, and love, this book is gorgeous in every way.” 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 sixteen-year-old girl's friend breakup through two concurrent timelines--ultimately proving that even endings can lead to new beginnings.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. This book was super relatable, and hit me in the feels. The pain that Cleo felt losing Layla; I felt that pain in my bones. 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.