The Way I Used to Be
by Amber Smith
★ Top 25 book of 2016 · #14 on Best Books of 2016
After a brutal assault by her brother's best friend, Eden hides what happened and buries her former self. Across four high school years, the novel follows her trauma, relationships, and gradual discovery of her own resilience.
Best for: Readers of serious teen fiction about trauma, survival, and healing, in the vein of Speak
The Way I Used to Be is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016, out of 68 2016 books that cleared our data bar.
What The Way I Used to Be is about
Eden has always been good at being good. Then, on the night her world tips over at the start of high school, her brother's best friend rapes her. She knows she is supposed to tell someone, but she can't, and so she buries it and tries to carry on.
The novel follows her through four years, one part each for freshman, sophomore, junior and senior year. Along the way come first love, first heartbreak, and friendships that break and are rebuilt, all shaped by what she cannot say aloud. Amber Smith's debut is raw and emotionally intense, in the tradition of Speak. The Boston Globe called it a heart-twisting but ultimately hopeful look at how pain can lead to strength. It suits older teens and adults ready for a painful but honest story.
The Way I Used to Be on the Best Books of 2016
The Way I Used to Be came out in 2016. Of the 68 books first published in 2016 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #14 on our Best Books of 2016 list.
Why it made the list: 1,433 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (30 ratings); 64 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2016 list
- Scythe Neal Shusterman, #12
- Ego Is the Enemy Ryan Holiday, #13
- Culpa Tuya Mercedes Ron, #15
- A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles, #16
See all Best Books of 2016 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2015 Best Books of 2017.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 1,329 want to read it, 64 are reading it now and 40 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.9 out of 5 from 30 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 88 | 55% |
| Reader love | 31 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 88 | 20% |
Questions about The Way I Used to Be
When was The Way I Used to Be published?
The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith was first published in 2016.
Was The Way I Used to Be one of the best books of 2016?
The Way I Used to Be is #14 on BookWard's Best Books of 2016, out of 68 2016 books that cleared our data bar. 1,433 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (30 ratings); 64 are reading it right now.
Why is The Way I Used to Be on the Best Books of 2016 list?
1,433 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (30 ratings); 64 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2016
- It Ends with Us Colleen Hoover, #1
- Dog Man Dav Pilkey, #2
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson, #3
- Never Split the Difference Chris Voss, #4
- The Hidden Oracle Rick Riordan, #5
- Born a Crime Trevor Noah, #6
See the full Best Books of 2016, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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