The Way I Used to Be Series Review

The Way I Used to be Series Review offers a recap and my thoughts on this moving series about sexual assault and its aftermath. The final book in the trilogy, The Way We Become, is out now.

The Way I Used to Be Series Review and Recap of The Way I Used to Be, The Way I Am Now and The Way We Become

You can’t just read one! This entire series is a must read on a tough but very necessary topic.

The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith

• The Way I Used to Be by Amber Smith
• Published on March 22, 2026 by Margaret McElderry Books

What Happens in The Way I Used to Be: 

Eden is almost fourteen when it happens. She’s asleep in bed and suddenly her brother’s best friend comes into her room and violently assaults her. 

Eden doesn’t tell anyone. And she isn’t able to tell the reader exactly what happened either. Not until the very end of the book. That’s what made The WY I Used to Be such a moving and realistic story. The reader is taken through Edy’s entire high school experience as she tries to process what happened, to forget, to block it out, to dissociate. 

Different circumstances trigger terrible memories for her. Things like sleeping with another guy. Like the horrible rumors that spread about her. Like the terrible moment she realizes that Kevin, her rapist, has done it again. Circumstances force her to tell her story, which ends with MAYBE. Maybe she can get closure. Maybe she can get justice. Maybe, just maybe, she can learn how to be happy again.

My heart broke for Eden, but at least she’s not carrying her pain and trauma alone anymore.

And then there’s Josh. He was the first guy Eden slept with after her assault. But she doesn’t tell him that, or anything about what happened to her. She claimed to be sixteen. She was only fourteen. When Josh, who is several years older, found out Eden’s actual age, he flipped out and they didn’t see each other again. Until Eden is forced to talk about her assault. During her subsequent breakdown, she calls him, re-establishing their connection.

What I Thought:

The Way I Used to Be is unique. It’s not trying to be educational, or political, or, angry, or reassuring. 

The book felt like Eden’s unfiltered four year diary. It was heartbreaking and hard to read, as you are right there in her head. But the book ended with uncertainty. What was next for Eden? Then came:

The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith

• The Way I Am Now by Amber Smith
• Published on November 7, 2023 by Margaret McElderry Books
• Thanks to the publisher for the advance copy
• My review of The Way I Am Now

What Happens in The Way I Am Now:

Eden is trying to move on with her life. She’s dating Steve, a very nice guy who clearly loves her. Working as a barista. Then one night, at a concert, she runs into Josh.

Josh has issues of his own. His dad is a recovering alcoholic, which has impacted his family.. 

When Eden gets accepted to the same college Josh attends, he offers her a room in the house he shares with two other friends.

At the same time, Kevin’s legal case moves forward. Eden agrees to testify about what Kevin did that night. 

What I Thought:

The Way I Am Now was half Josh’ story, as this was a dual POV book. I appreciated the chance to get to know him better. I think it improved the story to make him not just a perfect book boyfriend, but a person with his own difficult family dynamics and personal struggles.

However, I did think including his POV meant less space and time for showing Eden’s journey, both psychologically and through the justice system.  I always liked the way the author continued to allow Eden to be unlikeable and hard to understand. She is angry, she pushes people away, and often acts counter to her self-interest in an attempt to protect herself from being re-traumatized.

We have met three Edens: the happy and carefree thirteen year-old prior to her assault, the Eden who tries to hide and push down her shame and guilt over what happened, and a third Eden who is in therapy, trying to have a healthy relationship with Josh, and dealing with the trauma and flashbacks she’s having as a result of being involved in Kevin’s legal case.

The Way We Become by Amber Smith

• The Way We Become by Amber Smith
• Published on October 6, 2026 by Margaret McElderry Books
• Thanks to the publisher for the advance review copy.

What Happens in The Way We Become:

We now have three narrators: Eden, Amanda (Kevin’s younger sister) and Gen (Kevin’s former girlfriend.) Gen’s rape accusations bolstered the DA’s case against Kevin. 

Each woman is facing a lot as Kevin sits in jail, awaiting sentencing.

Amanda’s parents are upset that she wants to speak at his sentencing. Her father is angry at her for “ruining her brother’s life.” She’s worried that Gen and Eden are going to back out of speaking at the hearing.

Eden is feeling the pressure. Josh wants her to move in with him and she’s feeling like it’s all too much. Plus, the sentencing is bringing up painful memories of her past.

Gen’s assault was recent, and she’s struggling and can barely function.

All the women have to face the deeply hurtful, misogynistic, and threatening comments that a sexual assault case inevitably dredges up. 

What I Thought:

I thought getting the perspective of all three women was both interesting and incredibly moving.

Amanda going public and speaking out about what Kevin did to her is tearing her family apart. Eden had the most time to process what happened to her, but still faces new pain and fear as she tries to move forward with her life and find happiness. The emotions of Gen, Kevin’s most recent victim, are raw, fearful, and angry.

The ending of The Way We Become, which is presumably the end of the trilogy, was NOT what I was expecting. But I found it cathartic. I’m curious to see what others think.

This trilogy is something unique and special. It started with the story of one girl, showed how her assault affected her over four years. By adding in the stories of Amanda and Gen, the series offered different experiences and perspectives on the physical and emotional trauma endured by sexual assault survivors, the difficulties they endure whether they speak out or not, and a look at their journey through the criminal justice system.