All That Was

Ever since they became best friends in preschool, Sloane and Piper have been two peas in a pod, dressing alike, fixing their hair the same way, and doing everything together. But now Piper is dead and Sloane believes that she is to blame. In this gripping novel, the events leading up to Piper’s death are vividly and painfully replayed in the minds of Sloane and Piper’s boyfriend, Soup. A sinister undercurrent permeates the story, hinting that the friendship between the girls’ wasn’t quite what it appeared on its surface. There were times that Piper was too dependent on Sloane and times that Sloane failed to break free from Piper, even after Piper started dating Soup (whom Sloane loved) and pushed Sloane into a relationship with a boy—a man, really—whom Sloane couldn’t stand. Although Rivers (Before We Go Extinct) leaves some questions unanswered, Sloane and Soup realize some important truths about the past and present as they tentatively reach out to each other. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (Jan.)