When We Were Them

Ages 12 And Up, Grades 7 And Up

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?

About the Author

Laura Taylor Namey is the New York Times bestselling author of Reese Witherspoon’s YA Book Club pick A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow, as well as The Library of Lost Things and When We Were Them. A proud Cuban American, she can be found hunting for vintage treasures and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.