HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME

This book is easily one of the most amazing books I have read. Its beautiful and so much more than that. I loved the characters and their struggles seemed so real. I could feel the pain of loosing Theo. I could actually feel what Griffin was going through. Very few books have touched me in the way that this did. I would recommend it to everyone there is out there! It also gets bonus points for being pretty diverse!

“People sometimes make bad decisions, mess up pretty bad, but that doesn’t make them bad people.” PLOT: The story is told in two time-periods – History and Today. History tells us how Griffin and Theo’s relationship started and ended. Griffin and Theo have practically grew up together and been friends for long. Eventually they confessed their love for each other and started dating. Theo then moved to California for college, and it was Griffin’s idea to break up. Griffin was afraid of the whole long distance relationship, but he believed that they will be back together when time is right. Meanwhile Theo met Jackson there and fell in love with him. His love for Griff never faded. They stayed friends even when Griffin hated the whole idea of Theo & Jackson together. Griffin was waiting to finish school and move to California to get back together with Theo. The present(today) opens with Griffin losing his first love & ex-boyfriend, Theo, in a drowning accident. He is shattered when he hears the news and his world cease to exist. The whole future he’s been imaging for himself is gone forever. Grieving over Theo’s death, his OCD worsens and he has no one to turn to except Jackson, who is the only other person who can understand his heartbreak. Things get complicated when Griffin confides in Jackson. They come clean about all the secrets and guilt that they have been carrying. In order to find a way to pick up the pieces and move on with his life and to stop losing himself to his OCD, Griffin has to confront his history. CHARACTERS: There are 4 main characters in this story. Griffin – there are so many things that I can relate to with this character, including that he cried when Cedric dies in HP series. Griff, Theo and Wade have been together for so long and they share a special bond. Jackson is another interesting character. The way people help Griff with his OCD is so heart-warming to read. I believe this is an own voices novel and it was nice to see Adam’s personality through the characters. I would love to know more about the things running in Theo’s mind. We don’t have his POV because the story is told in Griff’s. We do learn a lot about his character through others. Not my favourite out of the four. Wade is another important character I ended up loving so much. He’s mature, practical and someone who respects other’s feelings. I just love him for that. What I love about Jackson’s character is that he is so adjusting. He tries his best to make Griff feel better about his OCD. I really liked Theo’s parents so much. They were so open and welcomed his relationship. Even after Theo’s death they consider Griff and Jackson as family and ask them to move on and fall in love again. I felt that was pretty incredible. Though I can’t speak for the accuracy of both LGBT representation and OCD, I felt all the characters felt realistic and well developed. At the end of the book there were few characters that I didn’t like as much as I liked in the beginning. I personally felt the character development was done well. They screwed up, I felt bad/disappointed but I didn’t hate them. Especially few of Griffin’s decision made me question his love but then grief makes them act in a different way. WRITING: I like the way that chapters go back and forth between History and Today. It brought about a balance and the both the stories kind of meet at some point. I’m happy that I read a book with such a positive representation. It’s a great diverse read. I liked how it did not have tropes like insta-love. The writing is so beautiful and there are about tons of quotes I enjoyed reading. Some of my fav quotes are.. Puzzles are sort of like life because you can mess up and rebuild later, and you’re likely smarter the next time around. You’re dead and I’m the worst kind of alive. If I can fly here for you, where will I go for me? What you don’t understand, Theo, is silence is sometimes better than someone speaking before they’re ready. This is how lies slip out. This is a beautiful story in a messed up way. It is heart-breaking and am sure you will end up crying your eyes out after reading this. I highly recommend it. This is a story about friendship, love, heart-break, grief, self-discovery and passion – and a really good one.

Amazing story line. The narrator is a boy named Griffin who was already suffering from OCD, which increases after the death of Theo,his best friend and love. The story is a really beautiful piece of art and can melt one's heart very easily. This novel will make you cry and at the same time will make you strong.

Love the book. It was a whole emotional rollercoaster. It made me cry and it made me laugh. Loved how it all turns out to be.

It's just amazing.

The writing was okay , a bit boring, couldn't finish it

There are absolutely no spoilers here. So at first I just thought it'll be a relatable book as I have struggled with OCD and still do but...the story is much more than just that. The characters are really well written. They have a lot of depth but leaves you with a light hearted feeling as you get to know them. It's also really interesting how the story revolves around this one person yet simultaneously provides you a wider perceptive on how the other characters lead their lives.Overall 'History is all you left me' is a book that you'd want to pick up when you want to find closure in your own grief and loss or maybe you just needed a good cry.

one of the best books i've read and came in perfect condition and time

History is all you left me (HIAYLM) is a wonderful book. Every chapter was filled with twists and turns, some that could be predicted, others not. I found this book emotionally depressing for the most part, as I really liked the storyline of Griffin and Theo, and found that I could only read a few chapters at a time before I would start crying or just be overcome with grief. However, I pushed through, and I am glad I did because the actual story between Griffin and Theo + the supporting characters was great. HIAYLM shows how individuals can set aside their differences when someone close to them passes away, and the emotions that attach itself to a person. Overall, I believe that this is an amazing book, and readers should read this but just make sure you are 1st in the right headspace (reach out to family/friends if it raises anything that should be spoken about to support networks) & 2nd have a lot of time to read this, so you can take breaks between chapters when it becomes too much.

An immersive story about Griffin's life since he came out to his friend Theo. Although the story can be a bit boring at the beginning it starts getting better and hook you up. It's frequent in Adam Silvera's book the characters with their own life with their own evolution. Anyway, due to the characters and due to the story this book gives you an amazing love story that everyone should read.

It is a sad story but I guess we all knew about that, well written, will make you smile, laugh and cry a little bit but that's what makes it worth every page.

History is All You Left Me has been outdoing my heart from the beginning. Every chapter is a gut-wrenching punch. I’m all bruised up and I ache all over. Please tape your heart for safety precautions. You’ll need it. The story follows Griffin Jennings, whose ex-boyfriend, Theo dies in a drowning accident. He’s broken and grieving and he turns to the person everyone least expected, Jackson. He’s the guy Theo was dating before he died. They are two guys who should hate each other, but instead they found resemblance that calls them to each own. It was grief. It was Theo. Griffin will resonate with readers. He’s nerdy, incredible, and easy to love. His arc will make you cry and hurt. You’d question his unfailing loyalty and love to Theo. The immortalize picture he painted of him. You’d see his spectacular self, the amazing moments. You’d also see his selfish side, the bad parts. It wasn’t glossed over. I love that. He has so much tale to unload. His compulsion is neatly infused and handled. It was another sucker punch to see him struggled. Silvera delivered it beautifully. I also love the supportive system of the main characters. To see a healthy and positive portrayal of coming out and seeing their parents guide them. Parents giving their gay son the “sex talk.” Life doesn’t get better than that. History is All You Left Me is mostly about pain. The main driving point is overcoming grief after all. But, it’s solely not just about that. There are little joys, too. Silvera stitched the readers with an uplifting conclusion. That’s how you write inclusively. You don’t only include the pain, but the joys too. I smile at him before looking ahead. There’s nothing wrong with someone’s saving my life, I’ve realized, especially when I can’t trust myself to get the job done right. People need people. That’s that. I’m sharing that specific quote in mind with a reason. I often see readers undermining the authentic portrayal of mental illness in YA. Of course, there are plenty that butchered it, but there are also plenty that tackle it in a respectful manner. Let’s give them credit. We forget that mental illness is something you can’t cure. YA stories tend to chronicle how teens learn to live with it in their own terms. And, there’s a lot of characters that help the protagonist reach that certain kind of peace, whether it’s their parents, siblings, inspiring adult figure, friends, or love interest. A person that needs “saving” and gets saved in return isn’t weak. Their pain isn’t less or diminished. Sometimes, you accept help from others and that’s perfectly okay. This book captured that essence that I was talking about. Griffin received a lot of help from people that genuinely care about him. He was reluctant at first, but he saw. I appreciate that.

I’m not crying, you are. This book was quite the gut punch. I finished it in two days and am still reeling, unsettled, and sad. Because it was good. Really, really good. It grabbed me by the throat, and there were numerous times i thought I couldn’t go on reading because on about every page my heart broke a little more. I had expected sadness, obviously, since the back blurb was so obvious about the loss of a loved one. I just didn’t expect it to grab me in such a way. Being introduced to a character (in flashbacks) you know is no longer alive in the present to me was a devastating experience. Even when the writing was about happy and fun times, about blooming love, I couldn’t forget the fact that none of it was going to last. And still, 5 stars, because you have to be a damn good writer to evoke all these emotions from me from start to finish. I absolutely loved the characters. Griffin was such an authentic kid, with his quirks, his grief, his confusion, all his hatred towards his ex’s new boyfriend that slowly turned into at least an understanding of why Theo liked him. Not that Griffin was faultless, far from it. And I can’t say I agree with all the things he did, but I can understand why he did them. He was madly in love with a boy who was hardly faultless himself, who had been put on a pedestal by Griffin, a place he was not entirely worthy of but that’s (young) love for you. It was good that Griffin could finally face Theo’s shortcomings over time, which seemed to open a window for him to try to move on. There is a shift in how he perceives Jackson, and Theo, and the world, and himself in all this, very gradually, very organically, and I loved that. I loved the writing, too. Silvera managed to crawl so deeply into Griffin’s skin, in the whole story, that I wonder if he managed to write this dry eyed himself. I’m so happy with the positive portrayal of gay / bisexual teenagers, the fact they do have sex (ya has come a long way, thank the gods), their environment which is a supportive one and not a hostile / gaybashing one (thank the gods once more). I am a sucker for positive endings. Happy ever afters feel forced to me and it was obvious this book could not end with fireworks. I was afraid though that it would end without even a sparkle of hope. I could not have dealt with that. There always has to be hope. I needed that assurance that Griffin, overtime, would be alright. And I believe that he is going to be.