When You Were Everything

By: Ashley Woodfolk

Narrated by: Imani Parks

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.

"Stunning." --Nic Stone, bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out

You can't rewrite the past, but you can always choose to start again.

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 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.

"Breathtakingly beautiful....Woodfolk has a way of making words sing and burst with light." --Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday's Not Coming and Let Me Hear A Rhyme

Critic reviews

“A stunning story that speaks to the deeply human need to love and be loved in myriad ways.” —Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Jackpot

“This is a heady, heart-squelching book. I loved it.” —Mary H.K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record

"This book has everything I want.... Wise and melancholic, gorgeously nostalgic, Woodfolk’s stories pummel your heart and make you stronger for it." —Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always

“A breathtakingly beautiful and intimate story.” —Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday's Not Coming and Let Me Hear A Rhyme

“A hugely evocative and deeply relatable elegy to friendship, heartbreak, and love, this book is gorgeous in every way.” —Jennifer E. Smith, author of Windfall and Field Notes on Love

"Digs in to what makes a friend break-up feel life-shattering. Exquisite, intimate, and vulnerable, this story will surely stick with readers long after they finish it.” —Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of Anger is A Gift

“Ashley Woodfolk's When You Were Everything is a nuanced view of the complicated layers of teenage friendship. In gorgeous, evocative prose, Woodfolk explores the different types of love that feed, wound, and heal us.” —Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of Little & Lion and The Revolution of Birdie Randolph

“A satisfying coming-of-age friendship story.” —Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Skillfully voices the pain of unexpectedly losing a close friend and explores the choice to remain open despite the risk of future heartache…. A well-crafted story of resilience.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Loved it!!

This was a well written often story about things that truly happen sometimes in friendships

so good

so grateful for this book and narrator, it was pretty healing. definitely recommend it

Needed to listen to this

I’ve been going through a best friend breakup myself and, honestly, this was such a beautiful way to feel understood and listened to. I loved the way this book explored their friendship and how, everyone can make mistakes but, still, shows the beginning, the middle and the end of something or someone who was important to us and how, we have to move forward even if it’s hard and we miss them all the time. This was amazing and I will remember this book for a long time.

Must read

Don’t sleep on this book. It was so beautiful and heart-breaking. I’ve never felt so connected with a character. Lovely story

I thought the then and now was.

I honestly thought the book was amazing and I could relate to a lot of things and I feel like she got into so much detail on how it actually felt and I could so relate to it.

I definitely recommend reading this book because if you had a hard time fitting in sometimes or you just lost a best friend of yours because it really just gets into the details on how it feels.😁