I LOOOOOOVED Carter's debut, "I Stop Somewhere." To this day I still feel the lingering effects of its intensity. So to say I had high expectations for her second novel would be a gross understatement. Which is why its so saddening to admit how disappointed I was in "All We Could Have Been." I feel like all the elements of a truly excellent story were there - but for some reason, they just didn't seem to fit. Throw in a maddening case of instalove (with the "bad boy" cliche to boot) and I was about ready to toss up my arms in frustration. I'm not sure if my review is more harsh because my expectations were so high and I can't help but compare it to Carter's debut or if there really is just some magic missing. That said, there are some very positive elements and while they may not have been able to save the book in its entirety, I still believe this book deserves a place in YA collections and I look forward to more of Carter's books..

Rounding up to 4/5 because I may have been expecting too much from this one.

I loved Carter's first book I Stop Somewhere. It was the kind of book that made you feel something, and kept you on an emotional roller coaster from start to finish. Because of that, I expected this book to be equally enthralling if not as dark.

I liked this book. The story was interesting and the emotions were real. My only real hangups were Ryan's severe and totally selfish reaction to her secret, and her subsequent dependency on Marcus. It all felt a little juvenile and unrealistic (this coming from someone who reads almost exclusively YA).

This book was a solid 3 or 3.5, but I'll admit my high expectations of this book may have colored my judgment, so like I said, rounding up to a 4/5.

T.E. Carter's <i> I Stop Somewhere </i> was striking and intense, and also the reason I highly anticipated <i> All We Could Have Been </i>. I didn't expect a replica of Carter's first novel, but something that evoked the same feelings. Something that made me stop and think. <i> All We Could Have Been </i> did the opposite.

Alexia moves in with her aunt after five years of living with different relatives. Her brother committed a heinous crime when she was 12, and it shattered their family. Her parents sold their house and moved into a condo, her brother went to jail, and Lexi temporarily lived with a family member until someone discovered her secret at school and the harassment started. Then she vanished, relocating to a different state with a new relative and a new name.

She's determined to remain in one place for her senior year and knows her aunt is her last option before heading back to her parents. She meets two boys on her first day of school and is instantly attracted to both for different reasons. Marcus is the dark and brooding bad boy who has class with other lost causes at their school. Ryan is quiet and sweet and instantly chauffeurs Lexi into his world of drama club with his voracious friends Rory, Lauren, and Chloe. From here the repeated cliches start that I've read hundreds of times. Chloe likes Ryan but Ryan doesn't like her, despite the two of them dating in the past for a short time. Rory is an advocate for injustice with a second passion for drama. Lauren doesn't have any attributes, she's just a placeholder that is initially friendly to Lexi.

Lexi and Ryan grow closer as the months progress while Chloe simmers in the distance, shooting daggers at Lexi for moving in on her territory. Except Lexi realizes she doesn't like Ryan that way. She likes Marcus despite hanging with him twice in a matter of two months. Ryan informs Lexi one day that he's told all their drama friends that they're dating, without Lexi's consent. Lexi doesn't seem to care, and agrees to fake date him so everyone thinks they're a pair when in reality Ryan is asexual and wants Chloe to leave him alone while Lexi is sleeping with Marcus.

Months pass, Lexi hangs with her new friends, earns a small part in a play, and life is good. She hangs with Marcus and they both talk about their horrible lives and past memories. Then Lexi decides to tell her new friends about her past and what her brother did; something she's never done before. The results are the same despite Lexi calling all the shots; her so called friends ditch and turn against her and so Lexi retreats to Marcus who remains faithfully by her side.

The story was okay up until this point. After she tells everyone her secret, Ryan becomes angry that Lexi never told him first since they're best friends. He claims that his life has sucked for years and now the student body is going to focus on him and the last thing he wants is for his secret of being asexual to get out. When did Lexi's secret have anything to do with Ryan and his sexuality? It didn't. Ryan manipulates Lexi into being ashamed for not thinking of him before she bravely told everyone her past. I lost all respect for Ryan at that point. He needed to grow up, push his problems aside, and be the "best friend" he claims to be to Lexi after she just confessed something difficult. Instead he makes it about him because apparently the school is going to harass him and somehow discover he's asexual and then bully him despite Lexi only telling everyone the awful crime her brother committed. I'm still not sure how that relates to Ryan. No one is going to give him the time of day when they're gossiping about Lexi.

Like Ryan, Rory's true colors also come out from hiding as she turns on Lexi, belittles her every chance she gets, and harasses her by sticking news articles and flyers on Lexi's locker and everywhere in the school. Why didn't the principal interfere at this point? Why didn't he put a stop to Rory's bullying? The whole school turns against Lexi and I don't understand why. Lexi was a kid when her brother did what he did. She had no part in it. She and her family live with enough guilt, shame, tragedy, and depression everyday because none of them knew what their son/brother was capable of. Lexi is a different human being than her brother. Why did no one get this? Even Lauren asked Lexi why she wasn't suffering and sad enough after knowing what her brother did. That is none of Lauren's business. She shouldn't be making assumptions and judging based on her own limited knowledge. How dare she tell someone how they should feel in the wake of trauma.

The next issue is Lexi latching onto Marcus and making him her anchor. Sure, he supports her and understands who she is because of her past and that's wonderful, but that's the thing. Lexi shouldn't place him on a pedestal and make him her reason to get up each day and live. Relying on someone else isn't going to heal you. You have to heal yourself and not base your emotions on a person that could disappear the following day. Marcus can be there for Lexi and support her, but the story would have been stronger if Lexi had been more independent and found a healthy method of coping instead of turning Marcus into her rescuer.

Life isn't a fairy tale. No one is going to rescue you when you're kicked down to the ground and screaming for mercy. You have to learn to put on armor, sharpen your sword, stand back up, and fight for yourself.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

T.E. Carter does it again! I loved I STOP SOMEWHERE, and while ALL WE COULD HAVE BEEN is very different in subject matter, both have really engaging protagonists, perspectives and storylines.

This book is complex. We make assumptions about the characters in the story, who turn and surprise us as we continue to read. The narrative doesn't cleanly fit any genre expectations, and is all the better for it. Whatever you expect when going in, be prepared to be surprised!

I love the perspective in this book, that the protagonist is not the one who killed others, but the sibling of the killer. There is no information about the crime--the crime itself is not what the story is about, but how the crime has impacted Alexia, the protagonist. It's about the baggage we carry that's been given to us by others. Even though readers are not likely to be in that same literal position, the need for control and normalcy, and the feelings of guilt and grief are incredibly relatable and powerful. One of my favorite releases of the year--highly recommended!

Family choices, grief, pain, romance, despair; this new book by TE Carter has it all. Interesting premise and surprisingly more than I was expecting. I feel like this story will hit with it's target YA audience and it is one that is thought provoking. Thank you netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

TE Carter achieves the seemingly unachievable: teen thrillers that are legitimately surprising. I couldn't have called the mid-book twist if you paid me. Just like I Stop Somewhere, I found this book un-put-down-able. I loved the characters, the psychology, the pacing, everything. Also, a believable and developed ace/aro character! That's a rarity! It did get a bit bogged down in teen drama sometimes (boy drama), but that's to be expected as the target audience seems to eat that stuff up. Also, I felt her parents were weird pod people. They seemed to not know how to human. Otherwise, this was fantastic!

Wow! I truly was not expecting to like this one as much as I did! I have no idea why though because it was unlike anything I've ever read before. Yes it is a contemporary, but not a romance heavy or mental health heavy one. It wasn't a thriller, but has thriller-like elements? Point is, it is hard for me to categorize it because it pulls from a lot of different themes instead of focusing on just one.

When I first read the synopsis, I was thinking there would be thriller elements because of the crime that was committed and then I thought maybe there would be a lot of criminal justice work present as well. I was wrong on both accounts and I am so glad.

What really made this book unique is it focused on the girl that was left behind in the aftermath of an incredible crime that was committed by one of the people she loved the most in her life: her brother. The book did not focus on the crime itself or the people that the crime directly affected, but solely on the sister and family of the criminal. I was so so fascinated by Alexia's story that I just could not put it down. It made me ask myself questions like: How would I act in the aftermath? Would I still love my brother? Would I ever be able to move on?

Carter meshed crime, guilt, depression, self harm, bullying, romance, and high school drama together and created a beautiful book about how to accept things that are out of our control and how to move forward once we do.