We Used to Be Friends
Ratings2
Average rating3.3
Two best friends grow up—and grow apart—in this innovative contemporary YA novel 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.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
3.5 stars. didn't hate, didn't love. I think people closer to the age group could feel more connected to the story!
Likes:
- this is YA that truly feels like YA.
- female/female relationship & bisexual rep
- the story is important to this age group - losing friends can feel like an intense break up and isn't something that is really talked about.
- all the characters felt very realistic to me!
In the middle?:
- both James and Kat were super frustrating to me - they both played a part in their friendship kind of falling apart but neither really wanted to own up to it. all of their issues could have been solved if they just communicated better BUT isn't that just a part of being young, a little selfish, and not having relationships completely figured out yet? I think this was a pretty good representation of friendships and how they can fall apart when you're young & dumb.
Dislikes:
- the non-linear narrative (James' chapters are told from end > beginning while Kat's are from beginning > end). it was pretty confusing at first and to me, didn't add anything to the story.
- this felt a little too long for what it was.
- the ending was way too ambiguous for my liking.
