At times, growing up means growing apart, and friendship break-ups are a memory of loss that many of us share. Falling out with a friend you thought you’d have forever hurts — but, thankfully, the aftermath doesn’t need to be an experience you face alone, and the book recommendations below might offer some comfort. These reads will make you cry, no doubt, but they will also remind you that it’s possible to move forward. If you’ve lost a friend, take the time to grieve — and remember that you can and will heal eventually.
When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk
27 days after Cleo and Layla’s friendship shatters to pieces, Cleo knows they will never be best friends again. She wants nothing more than to forget that Layla ever existed, but this proves to be more difficult than she had hoped when she’s assigned to tutor Layla despite their turbulent falling out. Even as new friendships and a crush bloom in Cleo’s life, her ex-friendship with Layla continues to haunt both girls and erasing their past may not be easy.
When You Were Everything flashes forward and back in a tense dual timeline as it reveals the secrets of what tore Layla and Cleo apart. However, it is also a narrative of cautious healing and tentative self-forgiveness — and promises new beginnings in spite of heartbreak and loss.
Here We Lie by Paula Treick DeBoard
In October 2016, Megan Mazeros comes forward in a press conference to share the unspeakable truth of her past. Fourteen years earlier, she was the proud best friend of Lauren Mabrey, one of the starring roles in Megan’s memory of the devastating night that changed everything and tore the two apart. Megan and Lauren couldn’t have been more different when they first met, but that only drew them closer to each other in an unlikely, unbreakable friendship — or so they thought before the secret of one night destroyed it all.
Here We Lie, also uncovered through a dual timeline, is a timely narrative of how the consequences of the past never quite manage to stay buried. Bittersweet and captivating, it captures the weight of secrets and invites the question: what would you have done if it were you?
When We Were Them by Laura Taylor Namey
At fifteen, Willa knew that she would never lose Britton or Luz and that they would stand by one another no matter what the world demanded of them. At eighteen, Willa knows she has lost them both — and she’s responsible for destroying their friendship. The week of graduation, she retraces her steps, reflects on how one action led to another, and wonders if she can ever repair the friendship that once defined her. To do so, she must confront the truth of her own betrayal of both friends — but that would mean facing the past she’s been trying desperately to forget.
When We Were Them is a powerful narrative of growing up, making mistakes, and living with their consequences. However, it also offers the possibility of surviving grief and refusing to let it define you, providing hope in the aftermath of loss and pain.
Here’s a hug for you all, whether or not you’ve recently grown apart from a friend. Remember — take your time, and you will be okay in the end.
If you’re in need of some uplifting book recommendations, check out Straightening Her Crown: Best Female Friendships in Heartwarming Books!
Take a look at Bookstr’s Bookshop for more reading recommendations.
