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Table of Contents
About The Book
From New York Times bestselling author Laura Taylor Namey comes a “lyrical and tender, authentic” (Kirkus Reviews) novel about friendship and the bittersweetness of growing up and growing apart.
When they were fifteen, Willa, Luz, and Britton’s friendship was everything.
When they were sixteen, they stood by each other no matter what.
When they were seventeen, they went through the worst.
And when they were eighteen, Willa ruined it all.
Now, it’s the week of graduation, and Willa is left with only a memory box filled with symbols of the friendship she destroyed: A book of pranks. Corsages from a nightmarish homecoming. A greasy pizza menu. Greeting cards with words that mean the world…
It’s enough to make Willa wonder how anything could tear her, Luz, and Britton apart. But as Willa revisits the moments when she and her friends leaned on each other, she can’t avoid the moments they leaned so hard their friendship began to crack.
As Willa tries to find a way back to Luz and Britton, she must confront the why of her betrayal, and answer a question she never saw coming: Who is she without them?
Why We Love It
“There are plenty of books about romantic breakups, but few capture the devastation of friendship breakup quite as well as When We Were Them. BFFs are supposed to be forever, after all—so what happens when forever isn’t as long as you thought it would be? And what do you do when the end of forever is all your fault? Laura Taylor Namey beautifully portrays the bittersweetness of growing up and growing apart as readers are left questioning, What did Willa do?”
—Alex B., Editor, on When We Were Them
Product Details
- Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (November 8, 2022)
- Length: 400 pages
- ISBN13: 9781534471283
- Grades: 7 and up
- Ages: 12 - 99
- Lexile ® HL720L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®
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Book Cover Image (jpg): When We Were Them
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Author Photo (jpg): Laura Taylor Namey
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