We Used to Be Friends

Reviews / Votes

"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 * "We Used to Be Friends chronicles the end of a friendship with a bittersweet authenticity balanced by Amy Spalding's trademark humor. This book will break your heart only like a best friend can." * Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know * "Amy Spalding spins a story of friendship, family, love, and longing as perfect and bittersweet as the last days of summer." * Rebecca Podos, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Like Water * In alternating first-person perspectives, James and Kat each tell their stories, and despite their flaws, both become deeply sympathetic characters throughthe course of their narratives. . . The nonlinear structure adds some suspense to what is otherwise a bittersweet and potent examination of friendship, its failings, and its worth. * Booklist * A good exploration of the heartbreak of losing a friend-and learning about oneself in the process. * Kirkus Reviews * The author effectively conveys the ways that a desire for perfection can keep people at arm's length, how not telling people things makes it harder to tell them later, and how silence can come to feel like a lie... Spalding shows with sensitivity how the pain of losing a close friend can seep into everything. * Publishers Weekly * Teens hurting from any breakup can find some solace here; while the book makes clear that sometimes splitting up is inevitable, it holds out hope that time apart and open conversations can bring people back together. * Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books * A captivating snapshot of a friendship that many teens will relate to. Spalding explores important questions while lyrically weaving the two stories together. * School Library Journal *