We Used to Be Friends
Buy Now
By using these links, you support READO. We receive an affiliate commission without any additional costs to you.
Description
Told in dual timelines—half of the chapters moving forward in time and half moving backward—We Used to Be Friends explores the most traumatic breakup of all: that of childhood besties.
At the start of their senior year in high school, James (a girl with a boy’s name) and Kat are inseparable, but by graduation, they’re no longer friends. James prepares to head off to college as she reflects on the dissolution of her friendship with Kat while, in alternating chapters, Kat thinks about being newly in love with her first girlfriend and having a future that feels wide open.
Over the course of senior year, Kat wants nothing more than James to continue to be her steady rock, as James worries that everything she believes about love and her future is a lie when her high-school sweetheart parents announce they’re getting a divorce.
Funny, honest, and full of heart, We Used to Be Friends tells of the pains of growing up and growing apart.
“Amy Spalding knows that best friendships are love stories, and this one is complex, earnest, and unflinching. A must-read for anyone who’s ever had or lost a friend.” —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Book Information
Posts
2.5/5 We Used To Be Friends tells the very intriguing story of a friend break-up. Something that has been terribly overlooked in young adult contemporary; especially quieter break-ups, that don't go out with a bang, but are more or less a slow progression. That is somehow the story of Kat and James. The two girls grow up, and while they were inseparable since a young age, they suddenly realize that they have different interests. The conversations get quieter and they might have not much to say to each other. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I like the concepts, the characters and the discussion about friendship, love and what changes when you grow up. The author makes clear that both girls are at fault here - Kat who falls in new love and somehow overlooks her best friend and James who just doesn't really talk about her feelings with and thus forgets what friendship is all about, or should be all about. For older teens, this book can be important and I would recommend it for them. But for me, these characters felt very detached from reality and the story almost too mundane. The writing was good and engaging, the story interesting enough so I kept going, but once again a Young Adult contemporary doesn't really catch me. Even I get older and the genres that were once a comfort to me don't do anything anymore. But this is by no means a bad book. Of you like slice of life contemporaries and stories about love that not only concentrates about the romantic aspect of it, this book is probably for you.
This is a cleverly told YA novel about two childhood friends falling out of friendship with each other while dealing with college choices, love and family issues. I'm sure everyone has lost at least one friend over time and Amy Spalding beautifully captures the hurt and confusion that comes with it, that can feel worse than a break-up.
2/5 stars. This book was a mess. I honestly was super excited for this novel. I loved the idea of different timelines, break up of a female friendship and a bisexual main character. Most of us have probably gone through a break up of a friendship, and that topic is sadly not very represented in the literature world. But the time line thing which was something I was so excited about in the first chapters, quickly became the reason I can only give this book 2 stars. I quickly lost the overview and never knew at what point of the timeline we actually were. I honestly can't even re-tell you the story, I don't know what colleges they chose or what their recent partners are or at what points of the story they were friends/ weren't anymore. The characters felt a bit flat, and Kat and her partner didn't have any chemistry at all... I am still giving this 2 stars (debated between 1.5 and 2), because there were some important themes mentioned in the book (like bi visibility, divorce, loss of a parent, and break up of a friendship obvs). Maybe if I had the actual physical copy of this book, it would have been easier to just go back a couple of pages and look at the date/month of the chapter again...
Description
Told in dual timelines—half of the chapters moving forward in time and half moving backward—We Used to Be Friends explores the most traumatic breakup of all: that of childhood besties.
At the start of their senior year in high school, James (a girl with a boy’s name) and Kat are inseparable, but by graduation, they’re no longer friends. James prepares to head off to college as she reflects on the dissolution of her friendship with Kat while, in alternating chapters, Kat thinks about being newly in love with her first girlfriend and having a future that feels wide open.
Over the course of senior year, Kat wants nothing more than James to continue to be her steady rock, as James worries that everything she believes about love and her future is a lie when her high-school sweetheart parents announce they’re getting a divorce.
Funny, honest, and full of heart, We Used to Be Friends tells of the pains of growing up and growing apart.
“Amy Spalding knows that best friendships are love stories, and this one is complex, earnest, and unflinching. A must-read for anyone who’s ever had or lost a friend.” —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Book Information
Posts
2.5/5 We Used To Be Friends tells the very intriguing story of a friend break-up. Something that has been terribly overlooked in young adult contemporary; especially quieter break-ups, that don't go out with a bang, but are more or less a slow progression. That is somehow the story of Kat and James. The two girls grow up, and while they were inseparable since a young age, they suddenly realize that they have different interests. The conversations get quieter and they might have not much to say to each other. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I like the concepts, the characters and the discussion about friendship, love and what changes when you grow up. The author makes clear that both girls are at fault here - Kat who falls in new love and somehow overlooks her best friend and James who just doesn't really talk about her feelings with and thus forgets what friendship is all about, or should be all about. For older teens, this book can be important and I would recommend it for them. But for me, these characters felt very detached from reality and the story almost too mundane. The writing was good and engaging, the story interesting enough so I kept going, but once again a Young Adult contemporary doesn't really catch me. Even I get older and the genres that were once a comfort to me don't do anything anymore. But this is by no means a bad book. Of you like slice of life contemporaries and stories about love that not only concentrates about the romantic aspect of it, this book is probably for you.
This is a cleverly told YA novel about two childhood friends falling out of friendship with each other while dealing with college choices, love and family issues. I'm sure everyone has lost at least one friend over time and Amy Spalding beautifully captures the hurt and confusion that comes with it, that can feel worse than a break-up.
2/5 stars. This book was a mess. I honestly was super excited for this novel. I loved the idea of different timelines, break up of a female friendship and a bisexual main character. Most of us have probably gone through a break up of a friendship, and that topic is sadly not very represented in the literature world. But the time line thing which was something I was so excited about in the first chapters, quickly became the reason I can only give this book 2 stars. I quickly lost the overview and never knew at what point of the timeline we actually were. I honestly can't even re-tell you the story, I don't know what colleges they chose or what their recent partners are or at what points of the story they were friends/ weren't anymore. The characters felt a bit flat, and Kat and her partner didn't have any chemistry at all... I am still giving this 2 stars (debated between 1.5 and 2), because there were some important themes mentioned in the book (like bi visibility, divorce, loss of a parent, and break up of a friendship obvs). Maybe if I had the actual physical copy of this book, it would have been easier to just go back a couple of pages and look at the date/month of the chapter again...