Rae's Reads and Reviews

I have some sad news y’all: My local bookstore is closing. I’ve tried supporting them online but they haven’t added any new selections and when I went to their physical location last week, there was a “for sale” sign on the window.

I’m sad to see it go and I’m pretty sure it’s in large part due to Covid-19. As someone who loves supporting small businesses, this hurts a little extra. I’m going to miss it a whole lot and I hope a good business replaces it.

All that being said, I was still able to buy a book from an independent bookstore for June. This time, I decided to buy one from a black owned bookstore. The shop I bought it from is called Cultured Books and it’s physical location is in Tampa, Florida. Seeing as I don’t live in or near Tampa, I bought this online.

So this month’s pick is:

When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk

Goodreads Synopsis: It’s been twenty-seven days since Cleo and Layla’s friendship imploded.

Nearly a month since Cleo realized they’ll never be besties again.

Now, Cleo wants to erase every memory, good or bad, that tethers her to her ex–best friend. But pretending Layla doesn’t exist isn’t as easy as Cleo hoped, especially after she’s assigned to be Layla’s tutor. Despite budding new friendships with other classmates—and a raging crush on a gorgeous boy named Dom—Cleo’s turbulent past with Layla comes back to haunt them both.

Alternating between time lines of Then and Now, “When You Were Everything” blends past and present into an emotional story about the beauty of self-forgiveness, the promise of new beginnings, and the courage it takes to remain open to love. 

When You Were Everything has been on my TBR for a little while now. It came out earlier this year and I’ve been eyeing it ever since I heard about it. I’ve wanted to read a friendship story for the longest time so I’m really excited to get into this one. It’s not something discussed enough in YA so I’m excited to see When You Were Everything getting so much attention.

Have you read When We Were Everything?

What books did you buy in June?

What are you looking forward to reading this month?

Let me know in the comments below, let’s chat!