When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

The summer of 2020 has begun, which means more time for me to read YA books!  This summer, my plan is to read more diverse books, books with characters of different races, cultures and religions.  I've been doing lots of searches and looking for recommendations.  This book arrived earlier this week and it was the first one I grabbed yesterday.

When You Were Everything is the story of two best friends who are no longer best friends.  Cleo and Layla have been best friends for years, they have navigated middle school together and the beginnings of high school.  When Layla looks to branch out from their tight knit duo by joining the school chorus, Cleo isn't sure how to deal with it.  Layla begins to spend more time with the girls from the choir and things at home start to fall apart for Cleo.   The only way for Cleo to deal with the loss of this friendship is to wipe out all the good memories she had with Layla with the help of a new friends and a budding romance.

I loved this story- I actually couldn't put it down and had to stay up quite late to finish the story.  As a female, I connected with the loss of a close friend.  As a teacher, I've witnessed the pain girls who were once friends inflict on one another.  When you tell someone your deepest secrets it gives them the power to hurt you when that trust is gone. I've seen one person 'steal' another person away and the pain that causes.    Layla and Cleo deal with all of these issues in a real way and I can see this story being very popular with many of the grade 7 & 8's at my school.

There was a little bit of swearing in this story, but nothing inappropriate and nothing that would stop me from having this in an Intermediate classroom.   Ashley Woodfolk  is a new author for me, but I've got her first novel in my shopping cart already- she writes books that are relatable, realistic and a must have for classrooms!