{"id":37458,"date":"2020-08-21T21:15:36","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T01:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37458"},"modified":"2020-08-21T21:15:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T01:15:36","slug":"review-of-we-used-to-be-friends-by-amy-spalding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=37458","title":{"rendered":"Review of We Used to Be Friends, by Amy Spalding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We Used to Be Friends<\/em><\/p>\n

by Amy Spalding<\/p>\n

Amulet Books, 2020. 362 pages.
\nReview written March 23, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This is ultimately a sad book. It\u2019s about the Senior year in high school of two lifelong best friends and how by the end of the year, they weren\u2019t friends any more.<\/p>\n

However, although I\u2019m not generally a fan of sad books these days \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t have wanted to miss this one. The story is gripping and you get to understand who the girls really are and how this could have happened, even though it wasn\u2019t what either of them wanted.<\/p>\n

I hope that a lesson readers will take away from the book is that people who love you can\u2019t read your mind if you don\u2019t tell them what\u2019s going on, but also that you probably need to be receptive. Anyway, it\u2019s not a book about lessons \u2013 but it\u2019s a book with friendship dynamics that seem very real, so don\u2019t be surprised if readers pick up some insights.<\/p>\n

The story is told out of chronological order, in a way that makes you very eager to know how each part happened. The chapters alternate the perspectives of the two girls, and the book opens with James (one of the girls) headed off to college, wishing Kat were there to say good-by. And then we scoop back to the beginning of the year, when Kat found out her boyfriend had slept with another girl. It\u2019s not too many chapters in when Kat replaces him with a girlfriend.<\/p>\n

The skipping around keeps things intriguing. I was honestly amazed that the author pulled off the non-chronological order. I did go back and read the first chapter after reading the last one. Right at the beginning, James mentions that they wrote letters and put them in a time capsule four years ago \u2013 \u201cback before Kat\u2019s mom died, or my mom left.\u201d We find out more about those things later in the book.<\/p>\n

This is a novel about friendship in high school. And life. And pressures. And secrets you never meant to be secrets. And popularity. And how you care about people. It\u2019s refreshing and it\u2019s fun, besides being touching. And Amy Spalding tells a really good story.<\/p>\n

theamyspalding.com<\/a>
\namuletbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/we_used_to_be_friends.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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