When You Were Everything

You can't rewrite the past, but you can always choose to start again.

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 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.

"Breathtakingly beautiful....Woodfolk has a way of making words sing and burst with light." --Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday's Not Coming and Let Me Hear A Rhyme

“PRAISE FOR WHEN YOU WERE EVERYTHING : "This book has everything I want and gave me a few things I didn''t understand I needed. Wise and melancholic, gorgeously nostalgic, Woodfolk''s stories pummel your heart and make you stronger for it." --Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always " A stunning story that speaks to the deeply human need to love and be loved in myriad ways--and to the power we each wield over those closest to us." --Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Jackpot "A deeply nuanced portrait of friendship, growth and the intolerable discomfort of change, When You Were Everything may be a story about a fight but it''s one where you find yourself on everybody''s side. This is a heady, heart-squelching book. I loved it." -- Mary H.K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record " A breathtakingly beautiful and intimate story that drills into the complex layers of friendship and loyalty. Woodfolk has a way of making words sing and burst with light." --Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday''s Not Coming and Let Me Hear A Rhyme "A hugely evocative and deeply relatable elegy to friendship, heartbreak, and love, this book is gorgeous in every way ." --Jennifer E. Smith, author of Windfall and Field Notes on Love "This book has everything I want and gave me a few things I didn''t understand I needed. Wise and melancholic, gorgeously nostalgic, Woodfolk''s stories pummel your heart and make you stronger for it." --Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always "When You Were Everything digs in to what makes a friend break-up feel life-shattering. Exquisite, intimate, and vulnerable, this story will surely stick with readers long after they finish it." --Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of Anger is A Gift "Ashley Woodfolk''s When You Were Everything is a nuanced view of the complicated layers of teenage friendship. In gorgeous, evocative prose, Woodfolk explores the different types of love that feed, wound, and heal us." --Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of Little & Lion and The Revolution of Birdie Randolph PRAISE FOR THE BEAUTY THAT REMAINS: " The Beauty that Remains is a stunning, heart-wrenching look at grief that will stay with you long after you put it down. Be prepared to be broken, be prepared to feel whole again ." --Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give "This book hurts so good. With three distinct narrators and lyrical prose, Ashley Woodfolk stakes her claim as a fresh new voice to follow in the world of young adult literature." --Julie Murphy, author of Dumplin'' and Ramona Blue "Woodfolk''s debut cuts deeply, and then wipes your tears away. Wrenching, heartfelt, and vividly human ." --Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda " The Beauty That Remains is haunting, heart-wrenching, and powerful . A tale of grief that grapples with what''s next after you lose a loved one, this book will remind you to hold fast to those you love, share your heart while you have time, and find the music that makes this wild ride of life better. A tearjerker must-read for teens!" --Dhonielle Clayton, author of the Belles series and coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things series "Burns warm and bright with the fires of loss, love, and longing, and hums with poetry and song. This is the sort of book that pieces a broken heart back together, stronger than before. --Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King "If you''re looking for a book that truly hits the heart strings , The Beauty That Remains is it." --Seventeen " An emotional, must-read story of the way music connects us, the way tragedy threatens to break us apart, and the way life can change, for better or worse, in an instant." --Bustle "The self- and life-defining nature of grief and loss captured so well by authors such as John Green is explored here with humor, intelligence, and grace ."-- School Library Journal , starred review”

PRAISE FOR WHEN YOU WERE EVERYTHING "This book has everything I want and gave me a few things I didn't understand I needed. Wise and melancholic, gorgeously nostalgic, Woodfolk's stories pummel your heart and make you stronger for it." --Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always

"A stunning story that speaks to the deeply human need to love and be loved in myriad ways--and to the power we each wield over those closest to us." --Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Jackpot

"A deeply nuanced portrait of friendship, growth and the intolerable discomfort of change, When You Were Everything may be a story about a fight but it's one where you find yourself on everybody's side. This is a heady, heart-squelching book. I loved it." -- Mary H.K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record

"A breathtakingly beautiful and intimate story that drills into the complex layers of friendship and loyalty. Woodfolk has a way of making words sing and burst with light." --Tiffany D. Jackson, award-winning author of Monday's Not Coming and Let Me Hear A Rhyme

"A hugely evocative and deeply relatable elegy to friendship, heartbreak, and love, this book is gorgeous in every way." --Jennifer E. Smith, author of Windfall and Field Notes on Love

"This book has everything I want and gave me a few things I didn't understand I needed. Wise and melancholic, gorgeously nostalgic, Woodfolk's stories pummel your heart and make you stronger for it." --Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always

"When You Were Everything digs in to what makes a friend break-up feel life-shattering. Exquisite, intimate, and vulnerable, this story will surely stick with readers long after they finish it." --Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of Anger is A Gift

"Ashley Woodfolk's When You Were Everything is a nuanced view of the complicated layers of teenage friendship. In gorgeous, evocative prose, Woodfolk explores the different types of love that feed, wound, and heal us." --Brandy Colbert, award-winning author of Little & Lion and The Revolution of Birdie Randolph

"A satisfying coming-of-age friendship story." --Publisher's Weekly, starred review

PRAISE FOR THE BEAUTY THAT REMAINS:

"The Beauty that Remains is a stunning, heart-wrenching look at grief that will stay with you long after you put it down. Be prepared to be broken, be prepared to feel whole again." --Angie Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give

"This book hurts so good. With three distinct narrators and lyrical prose, Ashley Woodfolk stakes her claim as a fresh new voice to follow in the world of young adult literature." --Julie Murphy, author of Dumplin' and Ramona Blue

"Woodfolk's debut cuts deeply, and then wipes your tears away. Wrenching, heartfelt, and vividly human." --Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

"The Beauty That Remains is haunting, heart-wrenching, and powerful. A tale of grief that grapples with what's next after you lose a loved one, this book will remind you to hold fast to those you love, share your heart while you have time, and find the music that makes this wild ride of life better. A tearjerker must-read for teens!" --Dhonielle Clayton, author of the Belles series and coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things series

"Burns warm and bright with the fires of loss, love, and longing, and hums with poetry and song. This is the sort of book that pieces a broken heart back together, stronger than before. --Jeff Zentner, author of The Serpent King

"If you're looking for a book that truly hits the heart strings, The Beauty That Remains is it." --Seventeen

"An emotional, must-read story of the way music connects us, the way tragedy threatens to break us apart, and the way life can change, for better or worse, in an instant." --Bustle

"The self- and life-defining nature of grief and loss captured so well by authors such as John Green is explored here with humor, intelligence, and grace."--School Library Journal, starred review

Ashley Woodfolk has loved reading and writing for as long as she can remember. She graduated from Rutgers University with a BA English and currently works in children's book publishing. She wrote her first book, The Beauty That Remains, from a sunny Brooklyn apartment where she lives with her cute husband and her cuter dog. When You Were Everything is her second novel. Find her online at ashleywoodfolk.com and on Twitter and Instagram at @AshWrites

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