History Is All You Left Me Hardcover – January 17, 2017

I don't even know how to go about reviewing this book. So, prepare for rambling. As anyone who follows my blog or reviews probably knows by now, Adam Silvera is one of my favorite authors, and this book is an excellent example of why he holds that place at the top for me. I felt so many emotions while reading this book, and I didn't want to put it down. There is just something about the way Silvera writes that oozes emotion. I was in tears not long after starting the book, and it just got even more emotional from there. For the first half of this book, it felt like the raw essence of depression and grief had bled all over the pages and somehow been transformed into words. The juxtaposition of the grief-filled chapters with the alternating chapters highlighting the history of the young love between the main character and the boy who died was genius writing. It was such a punch to the gut every time the focus returned to the funeral/grief reminding me that the vibrant young boy from the chapters on their history was laying in the coffin.While I was largely overwhelmed by grief during the first half of the book, my emotions changed drastically as the book progressed. As more information about the characters came to light, the strongest emotions I felt were frustration and pity. The exploration of Griffin's anxiety, OCD, and guilt was super messy in a relatable, realistic way. He made so many horrible decisions, and the information about him and many of the other characters that came to light completely changed my opinions of them. The experience of reading this book felt like slowly falling further and further into madness while at the same time getting a sense of how out of touch with reality some of the earlier, seemingly straightforward content, was likely to be. By the end, I can't say I really liked many of the characters, if any, but I walked away impressed by Silvera's ability to create compelling descriptions of mental illness and the effect it can have on one's life and one's relationships. His writing was, as always, utterly human with devastatingly flawed characters front and center.The mark of a great book (for me at least) is not being able to stop thinking about it even after I put it down. This one has left me thinking about love, loss, and my own struggles with depression and anxiety. In that way, it has been intensely triggering but in a good way that has been quite cathartic. I doubt this book will be for everyone, but if you've liked some of Silvera's other work and don't mind incredibly messy characters and depressing content, you will probably like this one too. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.

I loved reading History is All You Left Me. This is Adam Silvera’s sophomore novel and this book just absolutely blows me away. The story is told beginning from two sides – from the past and the present. The before and after. I knew I was in for a real heartbreaker of a novel when I started tearing up reading the first paragraph on the very first page of this book. This story is told from Griffin Jennings POV, a boy who fell in love with Theo McIntyre, and how he lost him.There’s a three-man squad made up of Theo, Griffin, and Wade in NYC. But when Theo leaves for college in California, and starts seeing another boy, Jackson, Griffin is still very much in love with Theo. A tragic accident takes Theo’s life and this book explores the grief left to his friends and his family, the people who now have to live without him.This book is raw and nothing gets left out. These feel like real teens when I’m reading it. There are many themes in this book that are tough to read. From the ‘History’ parts where you see Griffin’s growing awareness of his OCD slowly taking over his daily functions, to the ‘Today’ chapters where Griffin tries to work out his grief with the only other boy he feels can understand his loss – Jackson.I loved these characters. These are flawed characters. They’re not perfect, but I loved seeing their growth. I loved that there are gay and bisexual boys in this story and that their friends and family are very accepting when they do come out. I loved seeing the way the ‘History’ and the ‘Today’ chapters weave together. The writing is engaging and lets you see through Griffin’s eyes and experience the grieving process with him.This story is emotionally draining, but in a good way, I think. This isn’t a long review. But there’s really not much more to say about this book without spoiling anything. I loved everything about this book and it’s already one of my favorites for 2017.

I really loved this novel by Adam Silvera. I think I liked this almost more than I did More Happy Than Not. It had all the aspects of More Happy Than Not, but still retained its own identity as a novel. I loved the themes it touched on. I loved the characters. I loved the writing style. It was emotional and heartwarming in all the best ways. My only complaint is with towards the ending, I didn't jive with all the decisions made by the main character, even though he was grieving. And much like More Happy Than Not, I just felt like the additional chapter was unnecessary for me. Not that I didn't appreciate it and understand where Silvera was going, but I appreciate the sort of not-so-happy ending.

My relationship with Adam Silvera’s books has gone quite a long way so far, and I have to admit that, as always, he did a really good job. History Is All You Left Me, as several other books of his, taught me important life lessons. Lessons that not even self-guide books would teach. The idea of having two different times of events, in every other chapter changing Griffin’s point of view, really got me in love with the book – and curious as well. Also, like every other Silvera’s book I read so far, several parts made me laugh or feel pain or go through my life choices or close the book and hit pillows, and I consider all of that as a win for the author. Oddly enough, despite this book being so tragic from the very beginning, I didn’t shed a single tear – I guess reading They Both Die at the End three times made me invulnerable of doing so. In sum, this book is simply an extraordinary piece, once again, as every other Silvera’s book. And here’s a lesson I took from this book: grief may be hard to go through, but having the right people around will make it less painful to do it. I highly recommend this to anyone (having been through a loss or not).

Tutto OK grazie!!!!!

Ya lo había leído en digital y me gustó mucho, por eso fue que quise comprarlo para temerlo en físico y es hermoso.

Uma história escrita quando alguém já partiu… original…

Ce livre est incroyable, tant dans la construction que dans le scénario. Les personnages sont tous attachants et sont de très loin les stéréotypes des ados américains au lycée. D'ailleurs, l'histoire des ados au lycée y est très peu abordé. Ce qui m'a plu le plus, c'est la valse des émotions des personnages qui donnent de la profondeur au livre.