History is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera

OCD-afflicted Griffin has just lost his first love, Theo, in a drowning accident. In an attempt to hold onto every piece of the past, he forges a friendship with Theo's last boyfriend, Jackson. When Jackson begins to exhibit signs of guilt, Griffin suspects he's hiding something, and will stop at nothing to get to the truth about Theo's death. But as the grieving pair grows closer, readers will question Griffin's own version of the truth both in terms of what he's willing to hide and what true love means.

OH MY GOSH!! This book is just... I mean, it's just so... Wow!

Adam Silvera has done it again. More Happy Than Not, his brilliant debut, is raw, emotionally complex, and heartbreaking in the best possible ways. And History is All You Left Me kicks it up a notch.

I feel like Adam enjoys making people cry and become emotionally scarred by his books, because he gets me EVERY. FREAKING. TIME! This one starts out with a funeral and ends with... well, I won't spoil anything for you, but it's definitely an ending that will make you think. What could easily have become a tale of melodramatic emotional sappiness instead becomes an examination of loss, first love, physical and emotional connections, and so much more.

Griffin is a terrifically developed character, and his OCD is treated thoroughly and with great respect. While many books these days use OCD as a quirk or a slur about perfectionism, this one shows the reality of the disorder. Jackson, as well, is a thoroughly broken character who seems at first to be the big bad "other guy," but as the narrative continues, revelations shake up this assumption.

The narrative alternates between past and present, exploring Griffin and Theo's early days together, and then the developing friendship between Griffin and Jackson as they attempt to deal with their loss. Readers are also slowly but surely exposed to the story of Griffin and Wade's friendship and how Griffin's relationship with Theo eventually alters the dynamics of the group.

There's a lot going on and I don't want to ruin any of the revelations that Silvera weaves into the overarching plot, so instead I will simply say that I Highly Recommend this book. Check it out!!!

(NOTE: This review is from an Advance Reading Copy - Out Jan. 17, 2017)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius - Stacey Matson

Image
My name is Arthur Aaron Bean, but I normally just go by Arthur. I spent the summer at my grandparents' house in Balzac. It was a long summer. I actually live in one of the apartment buildings pretty close to the school. I like to knit and watch movies, sometimes at the same time. I'm a very good multi-tasker. I like creating writing, so I hope that we will do that and that I didn't miss it. I was probably the best writer in my elementary school, and I plan on getting rich as a novelist when I'm a grown-up. I don't have any siblings, but my cousin Luke is kind of like my twin brother. And thus begins the story of Arthur Bean, a wonderfully honest (if not slightly delusional) young boy writing a letter to his new teacher before attending school after being away for a time. Though really (and it's not just because I know her) the true genius in this book is the author herself. Arthur Aaron Bean is a totally real kid. He is multi-dimensional, full of exaggerat
Read more

The Crossover - Kwame Alexander

Image
Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm WAAAY behind on reviewing this title. But now that I've had a chance to get to some books that I want  to read as opposed to those that I have  to read, I had the chance to read this gorgeous book! In case you haven't heard about it everywhere (it just won this little award called the Newbery!), here's a synopsis, courtesy of the interwebz: "With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . .The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. Cuz tonight I'm delivering," announces dread-locked, 12-year old Josh Bell. He and his twin brother Jordan are awesome on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood, he's got mad beats, too, that tell his family's story in verse, in this fast and furious middle grade novel of family and brotherhood.   Josh and Jordan must come to grips with growing up on and off the court to realize breaking the rules comes at a terrible price, as their story's heart
Read more

The Living - Matt De La Peña

Image
The Living  recently received an Honor from the Pura Belpré committee. The award recognizes of a work which best portrays the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for children or youth. As I was at the awards announcements, and having known people who served on the committee in the past, I was intrigued. I had read the winning title and the other honor titles, and was impressed with the choices. So here's my review of The Living : The novel begins with Shy, a young guy working for a snazzy cruise line, offering water to people on the Lido Deck of the ship to combat the heat. Everything is going pretty well until an older gentleman comes out and starts spouting of weird, disconcerting phrases: "You have seen the face of evil."Shy doesn't quite know what to think, so he moves on to a couple of ladies on the other side of the deck. Just as he's handing them their water bottles, he sees movement out of the corner of his eye and realizes the old guy h
Read more