We Used to Be Friends

Written by Amy Spalding

Narrated by Cassandra Morris and Julia Whelan

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781980060932

Reviews for We Used to Be Friends

[Jewelry Bonney · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book has a compelling storyline and was actually hard to put down. By the way, there is a competition happening right now till the end of May on the NovelStar app, I hope you can consider joining. If you have more stories like this, you can also publish them there just email the editors [e-mail], [e-mail] [e-mail].

[latisha Brown · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Was not a fan the over use of the word nerd and dork made me think this was written by a child

[lynild · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book was okay but not great.
The characters, to me, seemed kinda shallow, and the story got really tired somewhere along the way.
While skipping back and forth in time in the story might work well in some stories, I don’t think this one work great, because it didn’t seem to have a real point to why it skipped from one time to the next.
The skipping also imo didn’t work very well with the media of an audiobook, because it made it harder to remember when you were in the story and every part didn’t necessarily touch base on the relationships between the leads.

That being said, the story was about how easily two people can slide apart if they don’t keep working on not doing so by communicating and being honest. And both sides kind of blames each other in some way or another.

[bibliovermis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Friendships can be intense in adolescence, when young people are struggling to define themselves. Friendships can be a tool for one defining themselves in relation to their close friends, but it can also turn into a barrier to struggle against. This book explores a best friendship that is struggling to accommodate the changes two young women are experiencing. Using the alternating chapter perspective that's really popular in YA romance was an interesting and insightful choice.

[edgoldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

We Used to be Friends tracks the unraveling of Kat and James (both girls) friendship during their senior year in high school. James tells her story in reverse, beginning in August after graduation and Kat tells her story in chronological order beginning September of senior year. The story is told in alternating chapters.It is a sad but true story. A new love (Kat and Quinn) can take time out of long time friendships (Kat and James). Family breakups (James') can cause stress and a usually silent person becomes more silent. With Kat preoccupied with Quinn, James has no outlet for her feelings and feelings get hurt, on both sides.While the book ends on a hopeful note, it is sad how 10 years of friendship can be strained and fall apart. But, as I said, it ends on a hopeful note.