History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera | Book Review

"This book will make you cry, think, and then cry some more."  --Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything 
From the New York Times bestselling author of More Happy Than Not comes an explosive examination of grief, mental illness, and the devastating consequences of refusing to let go of the past.
When Griffin's first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he's been imagining for himself has gone far off course.
To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin's downward spiral continues. He's losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he's been keeping are tearing him apart.
If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera is his sophomore book and proves More Happy Than Not is not a fluke. Silvera has got writing chops. I am glad to say that this book was completely worth the time invested reading it. I borrowed it from the library. So, I have zero regrets about putting all the other irons I had in the fire on hold to read this.

Okay, so as you probably have surmised from the reviews and the summaries, this book is about grief. History Is All You Left Me follows main character Griffin as he comes to terms with the death of his ex boyfriend, Theo. Also, just a sidebar, I am proud of myself for getting through this book without breaking down. You see, I read this while pregnant with my child who we are naming Theodore. And well, it’s not easy to read about a kid who has the name of your future kid who dies. ANYWAYS okay. So, back to the review of THIS book. Essentially this is the story of Griffin’s eventual healing. The way it all spools out is perfect, just FYI if you were curious.

Griffin, the main character, is a little bit younger than Theo. He lives on the east coast in New York City with his parents. At the time of his death, Theo was living in California for college. He was dating this new guy, Jackson, who is a lot like Griffin. Anyways, so Griffin is taking Theo’s death hard, and rightfully so. However, we get to see Griffin before Theo’s death. We see the history of their relationship – from beginning to end, and even after the end of their romantic relationship. In addition, not only is Griffin dealing with grief, he also has being OCD on his plate. I won’t speak to the accuracy of the portrayal but I did like that we get to see him actively attempt to get treatment for this. Just yay for therapists not being maligned.

History Is All You Left Me has a unique portrayal of romance. I mean, you would think it is the end of the world for Griffin with the death of his first love. Also, with the full history that we get. However, that’s not entirely what happens here. We see Griffin interact with other guys and maybe even have a chance at love again. I liked that this book shows that maybe the person you are with as a teenager isn’t the person you will be with for life and that is okay. It was nice to see not only the grief, but the resilience and recovery take place.

Of course, Silvera is quite the word smith. I felt that this book was beautifully written. It feels so heavy in parts with the grieving and the feeling of loss. But then, we get these happy memories and eventually hope. I think this book will shatter you and then put you back together. It’s very, very good. I’d absolutely recommend clearing some space in your schedule to get around to reading it.

Other reviews of History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera:

• Lambda Literary – “the story is an exploration of intimacy“
• YA Bibliophile – “I simply loved this book“
• Bookmark Lit – “super emotional and raw“

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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