Top Ten Tuesday: Friends Forever?

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Friends Forever?

I lack a lot of integrity when it comes to following the TTT topics. This week's topic is actually New-to-Me Authors I read in 2020, but since I covered this topic in one of my end of the year posts, I chose to take a pass. 

One thing I enjoy reading about in books is friendships, and I love that YA authors have included such a wide array of friendships in their books. Some feature #FriendshipGoals, while others explore unhealthy, changing, or ending friendships. The following are books I have read and enjoyed, which had some sort of friendship focus. Some filled my heart with joy, while others broke it into a million pieces, but all were valuable stories to me. 

• Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard - This book was ah-mazing! Not only did Barnard feature an incredible group of friends, but she also explored the topic of friendship from many angles. Healthy, unhealthy, real, fake, good, bad - I loved the contrast between the before and after friends so much. 
• Love is for Losers by Wibke Brueggemann - A big part of this story was a friendship that was going through some growing pains. One of the life-long besties was losing herself in her boyfriend, and the other felt abandoned. I think many people have probably experienced this in their lifetime, and Brueggemann did a brilliant job with it. 
• Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado - The failure to balance new relationships with old friendships seems to be a theme in many books, but here the author also explored what it's like to live in your friend's shadow.
• This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry - What happens when your friendship is built on lies, big or small? Again, another fantastic group of characters, who really help the main character differentiate between healthy and unhealthy relationships. 
• Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds - This was like a second chance friendship. After his former best friend dies, Jamal gets the opportunity to mend that bridge before having to say goodbye forever. 

• When You Were Everything by Ashley Woodfolk - This book broke my heart. Break-ups are never easy, and they are even harder when it's with your ride-or-die friend. Woodfolk did such a beautiful job capturing those feelings and emotions. I have tears in my eyes just recalling it. 
• We Used to Be Friends by Amy Spalding - Another one that broke my heart exploring the end of a friendship. The interesting thing about this book was that the two POVs started at opposite points in time - one before it all fell apart, and one once it was over. 
• Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian - I adored this book! There's a lot of rah-rah girl power, but there is also a rather toxic friendship. The main character was already struggling with her friendship post graduation, and events highlighting how much it had changed. The question of do you fight or cut ties comes into play, and I am sure many people could relate to being in that position. 
• The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord - That final year of high school provides so many issues for authors to explore, and one focus in this book is how a strong friendship will be affecting as they all start making plans to go their separate ways. Things inevitably change, and Lord did a superb job helping her characters navigate this tricky time of their lives. 
• Girl Defective by Simmone Howell - What happens when the friend you place on a pedestal starts to lose their shine? That's part of this story, as well as part of the character's coming-of-age. 

What are some of your favorite friendship books?
Let us know in the comments!