UPDATE: 01/07/2021 - Reread and review added

CW: marriage break-up of parents, mention of inappropriate staff student relationship, emotional cheating, bullying

3.5 Stars rounded up to 4

Well I may have teared up a little at the end!

What a fabulously painful story looking at the slow demise of a friendship.

Some parts were so brutal I actually gasped out loud as this once solid pair were torn apart by jealousy, resentment, and revenge. I loved that it was told in a dual timeline from Cleo's perspective. We move back and forth between 'Then' and 'Now' and slowly learn about the events that started the downward spiral. The pacing is a bit slow at times and a good edit to reduce some of the less engaging parts would have made this a more enjoyable read for me. The end had me a bit emotional because sometimes, as in this story, the damage and hurt are too great for a friendship to recover from. I listened to this as an audiobook which was fabulously read. It is filled with high school teen drama but underneath it all is a story I think most people can relate to.
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3.5 RTC
This is my third review to come. Going back to work in the real world is ruining my Goodreads life ( )

A refreshing YA read where female friendship takes center stage rather than a romance. It’s a bittersweet book but yet also a hopeful one just like with any ending of a relationship. An ending that’s just as much a new beginning. ( )

In a now-and-then narrative, readers are introduced to Cleo, who has had a horrific breakup with her best friend, but at first, we don't know the details. Cleo now navigates school without Layla; Cleo has no protection from loneliness at school, and no one to talk to about her parents' separation. Cleo hesitates to trust overtures of friendship from Sydney, who she tutors for English class, and treads carefully with handsome new boy Dominic. There's romance, but at its core, this book is about friendship, especially the intense friendship between teenage girls, and what happens when people change.

Outstanding.

Quotes

Everything feels like a memory in a city when it snows. (first sentence)

I didn't want her to. But what I wanted more was for her not to want to. (70)

But it was starting to feel like all the things we used to do together weren't as important to her as they once were. (125)

"No such thing as too brave. Only brave enough." (Syd to Cleo, 167)

But girls cling to their friends for dear life as they wade through the rough waters of learning who they are while everything around them and inside them is changing minute by minute. And aren't we all a little bit in love with our best friends? (197)

That's the thing about words: they can leave you both unscathed and completely gutted. (250)

"We were changing, or maybe we'd already changed. And I don't think either of us was willing to make the kinds of compromises and sacrifices the newer version of the other person needed." (Cleo's mom, 316)

Somehow I am a girl who makes all the wrong choices, but I am also a girl who aches in every way to be wanted despite my mistakes. (339)

"Things you can't control happen all the time. But you can control what you do next." (Dom, 348)

...every friendship is an island. (370) ( )

audiobook diverse teen fiction (15-y.o. girl at an ethnically diverse school breaking apart from her best friend). This audiobook version is narrated by the talented [a:Imani Parks|15103578|Imani Parks|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png].

I had trouble connecting with any of the characters and felt like the plot was very "middle school drama." I did think the scene with Cleo and her dad building a snowman was sweet (despite my aversion to Frozen and Olaf), but after that everything sort of went flat--teens getting mad and making a fuss over stuff without really discussing what's really going on, blah blah blah. I'm sure this will resonate with other readers somewhere (perhaps some middle schoolers), but it didn't stand out to me. ( )

Lovely. This story was very high school in all aspects, friendships change, emotions and hormones make everything feel a 100 times bigger, and new realizations comes like, for example, parents are actual people who don’t have all the answers. The split timelines were mildly annoying because I wanted so badly to have the full picture. Also, I have said this before, but I adore Woodfolk’s ability to make us care about characters in a few lines.

I felt for Cleo and Layla. Cleo’s so honest with her feelings (to an extent) that, sometimes, I wanted her to stop putting her heart out there to be stomped on. I guess I felt second-hand embarrassment that Cleo could be so vulnerable and hopeful no matter what. The progression of their fight/distance was full of frustration and sadness and pettiness. It’s utterly draining, so gold star for realism.

I almost read this in one sitting (I had to run errands in between chapters), the writing is so easy to read. ( )