History Is All You Left Me

This book gave me the same vibe that Lies My Girlfriend Told Me by Julie Ann Peters when I read that two years ago. Griffin's heart is broken when Theo dies and he seeks answers in Jackson, Theo's current boyfriend who was with him when he drowned. Griffin broke up with Theo when he achieved an early acceptance into college across the country. Griffin felt it was best for Theo to start fresh because he felt him and Theo would be the end product, Griffin never expected for Theo to find someone to start a new relationship with. I liked how the story spent time switching between Griffin's life after Theo died and their life together before. This story really looks into Griffin's life, his behaviors and decisions that lead him to where he currently exists. I wouldn't mind seeing a continuation of Griffin: the college years.

I knew that reading this book would bring me to tears. Bu I never expected to laugh. "History is All you've left me" is a story of first love and relationship; of grief and the long way you must take after losing your loved one.
For Griffin, who also has OCD, this is a horrible play from the universe. Since losing Theo he can't find a way to reason with everything, until Jackson, Theo's boyfriend. Together they'll try to find reason behind their grief and try to move on with tiny steps every day.

The funny part with this book was the alternative timelines: we move back and forth, from the moment Griffin and Theo become a couple to the events after. One chapter makes you laugh hard, like the scene with the boys and Griffin's father in the store, and the next makes you cry like a baby. Another part I liked in this book was how supportive both families were to their sons, who despite having already aknowledged their sexuality, their parents wants them to be happy; a contrast to Adam Silvera's first book.

There's nothing cheerful in the ending, only a bittersweet feeling that everything will be well and Griffin will slowly move on. But still, this book was one of the most emotional I've read so far. I don't know if I'll survive Adam's next book, "They both Die in the End", though.

I'm actually very proud of myself for not crying while reading this.
Not to imply that it wasn't an incredibly emotional experience (IT WAS!)

I think it's best to go into this novel without much of an idea of what it's about, aside from the basic premise, so I won't go too into specifics.
I just felt that this was a very special contemporary novel because of the complexity of the characters. There really were no cliches or obvious plot points.
Everything made sense and connected, but I still felt like each twist and turn was pleasantly unexpected.

The characters were all seriously so messed up, but in a very realistic way that I think a lot of teenagers can relate to. This is not to say that there was necessarily something wrong with any of them, but I just think their questionable actions and impulsive choices were so accurate to the emotional rawness that one would naturally experience if one was put in the place of these characters' complex, frustrating relationships and intense extended moments of loss and grief.

I would strongly recommend reading this book, especially if you're looking for something that goes by relatively quickly and will actually make you think and feel feels!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year (I adored Silvera's first novel, MORE HAPPY THAN NOT), and I was definitely not disappointed! This is a gut punch of a novel, with a protagonist who is engaging and likeable while still being deeply flawed in many ways. Griffin doesn't always do the right thing and doesn't always make the best choices, and the narrative does call him out on that. I loved how Silvera works in his OCD (which, if I understand correctly, is based on Silvera's own experiences) and shows how they both shape Griffin's personality and have the potential to hinder him if left unchecked. The book is told in two alternating timelines, before and after Theo's death, and they weave together to create a gut-punch of a story. Be sure you're ready for what you're getting into, but this is a beautiful story that everyone should read.

Another beautifully written novel by Adam Silvera. Heartbreaking, hopeful, beautiful story about love, healing, forgiveness and about those puzzle pieces that sometimes don't fit and it is maybe better to leave it this way. "People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished. Sometimes that’s for the best." Griffin learns about death of his best friend and ex boyfriend and he feels that his world collapsed. It collapsed again. Before he felt that it's the end, when he learnt that Theo is going to California. It collapsed, when Griffin decided to break up with Theo, for the best. It collapsed when Theo found a new boyfriend. And it collapsed again when Theo died.
Griffin tries to understand it all. Put the pieces together. He wishes there was an alternative universe, where Theo was alive, when they never broke up, when Theo didn't move to California to study.

Can time heal? Can you fall in love again after huge loss?

You guys...this book REALLY surprised me.

I wasn't a fan of Adam's first book, More Happy Than Not- so I was pretty hesitant going into this one because I was almost positive I wouldn't like it. Well...I was SO wrong.

This book captured me from the beginning, from the first page I was on the edge of tears and it's rare that I have to hold back tears in any book at all, let alone the FIRST page.

History is all You Left me is so important because it deals with topics so well. This book deals with anxiety, ocd, depression and LGBT issues. This book is own voices (Silvera is gay and has OCD) and I haven't read a book that dealt with OCD so well since Every Last Word by Tamera Ireland Stone.

Adam Silvera's books always find a way to touch my heart and "History Is All You Left Me" was no exception. The parallel structure between Griffin's life with and without Theo keeps you flipping pages as you wait for details that complete both halves of this moving story.

Already suffering through the trails of heartbreak, Theo's death adds a confounding element to Griffin's healing process and adds an extra layer of grief to an already emotional separation between him and his ex.

The book calls attention to the difficulties of navigating any kind of relationship, whether it be friendly, romantic, sympathetic, or familial and I found that many of these connections felt deeper and more intriguing than that of Griffin and Theo, our two romantic interests. As Griffin's character develops throughout the novel, he leans heavily on others to help him manage and comply with his OCD compulsions and (though I have no experience with OCD) it seemed as if the representation was done subtly and well. Griffin's development throughout the story was evident and I found the ending very refreshing; a conclusion in every important sense, yet leaving enough doors open to feel realistic and honest.

Overall, "History Is All You Left Me" was an enjoyable and emotional read that definitely has me excited to check out more of Adam Silvera's works.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera is a Teen & Young Adult (YA) LGBT Romance. As if any high school love affair isn’t problematic enough, Griffin and Theo have to come to terms with finding true love in a same-sex relationship. We learn that Griffin has OCD, but in the context of their love affair, I didn’t see it to be much of a factor. It’s there, but it’s impact on the relationship isn’t presented with much depth. The more universal story of grief, and its transformative impact on Griffin, is the book’s bigger draw in my opinion. Also, the way the story moves between past and present, is thought provoking and appealing. Griffin’s growth, his acceptance, are strong aspects as well. I didn’t find the book to be as profoundly sad or unique as others, but it was a good read.

This was a really hard read because it's filled with so much grief and confusion. But that grief is shown so well, as is OCD, and I really like the feelings of community (or sometimes lack thereof) in the groups of family and friends.

I liked the relationships among all four of the main boys, but my favorite arc was Griffin and Jackson. It was messy and difficult and non-monotonic, but it also felt so necessary.

The nonlinearity worked really well.

This hit me way harder than More Happy Than Not for various reasons.

LIKES:

-The writing was phenomenal! Within the first few sentences of the book I was already feeling a rush of emotions.
-The chapters were written in alternate times in Griffin's life, and it helped to give full context of Griffin's feelings about Theo's death, and also it shows just how complicated their relationship/friendship was.
-Silvera writes grief so well! The character's emotions felt so raw and gritty that it was hard to read at times. It also made the characters seem more realistic.
-I loved Griffin. He is such a complex character. He made mistakes and was selfish, but he also had such a good heart and I felt for him.
-Silvera wrote Griffin's OCD in a realistic way that didn't feel stereotyped or demonizing (at the same time, I don't have OCD, so I'm not an authority on this subject).
-I liked how Silvera didn't demonize Jackson (Theo's current boyfriend), and while I felt weird about Griffin's friendship with Jackson at times, I also realize how important it was for them to grieve together.
-The ending was so satisfying, it wrapped everything up perfectly, and made me feel hopeful.

DISLIKES:

-I loved Warren so much and I wish he would have been more fleshed out, and I wish his friendship with Griffin would have been more fleshed out as well.
-This book deals with a heavy topic and it hurt to read. At times it was hard for me to pick up this book after I put it down because I wasn't sure if I was ready to delve back into Griffin's grief. I'd really suggest having a fluffy book on hand to read at the same time because of this.

Overall, I felt that this was such a beautiful--albeit sad--book and I can't recommend it enough!

After being the only person in the world who didn't flail all over MHTN, I was excited to try this new book.

Sadly, I didn't care for Griffin. I get that he was grieving, but there was just something about him that I couldn't connect to. Something that kept me from being 100% immersed in the story. I did enjoy the back and forth between the present and past chapters. I liked the overall story and the secondary characters and the ending.

I know with certainty that I will be in the minority, that this will be another book that everyone raves about. I'm clearly missing something and I wish I could see it.

**Huge thanks to SoHo Teen and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**

I don't have the words to describe the beauty and the pain in this book. I laughed, I cried, I cringed, I felt warm inside, and I cried some more.

The writing is truly a thing of beauty. This is a story of what happens when your love dies. Told through a series of flashbacks and in the present day, we see how Griffin deals with the pain of losing someone he loves and how their relationship evolved before he died.

I'll be honest, this was hard to read, but I could not put it down. I wanted the anguish of what I was reading to stop, but the only way I could see to do that was to trust that the author would give me peace by the end of the story. He did.

Dang, but this guy can write. History Is All You Left Me is a heartwrenching story of love and loss. Beautifully written. Wasn't so enamored in the way the author handled a character's OCD (not one thing I could put my finger on but it just didn't seem to fit) but, beyond that, this story made me cry. Definitely happy to add this book to my classroom bookshelf.

This book really lacks interesting prose. There are some nicely constructed sentences but they are few and far in between. The writing borders on sentimentality. It comes across as a gay answer to John Green's fiction, which is also guilty of the latter trait - thus Silvera's book seems passe. Even, in some points, stale.

The lead characters are not particularly involving and the story they are encapsulated in is sometimes lacking in credulity. The protagonist is a sufferer of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which is portrayed as endearing and sometimes romanticised.It is not particularly subtle, and it doesn't evoke much of a lyricism or an evocation of location which I enjoy in a novel.

I had to pass on this one. It was a let down.

This was heartbreaking, if still hopeful. Silvera is skilled at how he balances the flashbacks, or "history", with the contemporary action. The pacing always feels natural and truthful to the story. And I was truly invested in these characters and their heartbreak. Theo's death did not feel cheap, and it did not feel like a device. Which is so hard to do. My heart does feel like it's been stomped over now though.

Oh, that title, that title gives me all the feels. It promises a book that will envelop me and take me through a beautiful journey of love, loss, and redemption.

That is not what I got.

What I got was a selfish MC who continually hurts other people, a love interest who we’re told is a mesmerizing genius but never actually feels like it, and some side characters who deserve a lot better than what they get.

The narrative structure—interweaving past and present timelines—seems to serve to hide the fact that there is very little plot; if told in linear fashion it would be very clear how thin the plot actually is. The present tense and POV choices also seem to make it very tell-not-show, so I could never get swept up in actually feeling any of the relationships.

I’ve seen this book referred to as a “feel-bad” book and that’s true, it definitely will make you feel awful, but I didn’t get any of the uplifting aspects that you need to justify the feeling bad. Just wallowing, more wallowing, bad behavior, and then a rushed ending where we are supposed to feel like things are looking up, even though it doesn’t really feel earned.

There’s no doubt the author is extremely talented and very good at describing crippling grief. Anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to the feelings that the author evokes, but that alone isn’t enough to propel a 300+ page book (which got especially boring in the middle).

It’s a perfect title—I just wish the book lived up to its promise.

Whoa. What a roller coaster. The book switches between the past where Griffin and Theo were in love and the present where Theo has passed away and his current boyfriend, Jackson, comes to town for the funeral. Heartbreaking yet hopeful. You’ll only understand if you read.

Adam Silvera has such a wonderful writing style that I honestly don't think I could not like this book. I will admit that I did not find it as sad as I was expecting and I'm an easy crier but that did not make it any less great or beautiful.

Overall there are so many wonderful parts of this story and I love the way Silvera writes relationships and characters. I know I said this but his writing style is so excellent and it's so easy to get lost in this book and to feel for ALL his characters.

(There was ONE part of this book that I did not like, but it's not necessarily that I did not like it, it was more like I didn't want to happen, even though I knew it was inevitable.)

When i first started reading this book i could not put it down. The passion behind this book is so strong that i could feel it with every page i read. I could feel myself feeling Griff's thoughgts throughout my expierence while reading this. Although i am not a crier, i cried multiple times. This book was written so well, plot twists got me. Whenever somebody wod asks me what my favorite book is or asks for a book recommendation i always answer with the same book, History is all you Left Me.

Thoughtful, well written book. It is sad but it doesn’t hit you over the head with it. You really are taken on a journey with griff and how he copes with everything that happens him, often times by way of talking to Theo. Just started reading lgbt fiction again after ten years or so and it’s great that everything isn’t focused on coming out. There’s a place for that, but it used to be large proportion of the genre. Highly reccomend.

History is all you Left Me is a decent read about friends and relationships, death, sadness, and healing. The characters Griff and Theo, Wade and Jackson are well developed. The plot was good, but I felt it dragged just a bit. There is hope for happier lives at the end of the novel. Ending on a positive note is excellent.

I really wanted to like HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME. The plot looked like it was for me: first love and friendship, grief and healing. But for all of the things it offers, I struggled with this one mightily.

The narration goes back and forth between the past (when Griffin, our narrator, and his friend Theo first become a couple) and the present (where Griffin is mourning Theo, who has died in an accident). I liked seeing these glimpses of then and now. I liked that Griffin and Theo were best friends and true partners. I liked that they were both flawed. Griffin's love for Theo shined from the pages, and his grief became my grief. Griffin also has OCD, and after Theo's death, it's become significantly worse. This was where I really struggled with the novel. Grieving is one thing, but I felt like HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME was trying to tackle too much. This should have solely been about Griffin and Theo's relationship.

Also, for some reason, I could never fully connect with Griffin. I put the book down a few times, thinking about why, and I still can't pinpoint a reason behind it. It was so easy to feel his sadness. At the end of the day though, the true connection between me and him never took root.

This is a good read, it just wasn't what I was hoping for.

I liked this book but it felt too long, I made it 65% through before I realized I had no desire to finish the book. I’m sure the rest was a good read but the material was a heavier read than I wanted in my life right now.

A tear-jerker about first loves -- and first losses. Griffin's love for Theo is so wild, in the way that only those first foundational feelings are, but what he finds along the way, in remembering that history, is something full of hope.

Hand this one to those who love a good love story, good writing, and queer characters.

This book is an amazing one. It tackles themes like grief, love, self discovery, coming out, and forgiveness. The writing is so well done and the story is such a roller coaster of emotions that by the end of the book you feel like you've gone through the same events as our main character Griffin. Highly recommend it!

I don't hate it but I don't love it as much as everyone else seems to. I think the depiction of OCD and anxiety was very well done. The romance was weird, everyone was in love with everyone. I just didn't connect with it the same way I did MHTN.

I loved Adam Silvera’s debut, More Happy Than Not, a one-of-a-kind blend of speculative fiction and coming-of-age tale, so I was extremely eager to get my hands on his sophomore effort – History is All You Left Me.

Unfortunately, the flaws that I was willing to overlook in his first novel because of its uniqueness completely overshadow the storyline in this one. Basically it’s about two NYC high school sweethearts who are separated when one gets an early acceptance to a university in California and then drowns within his first year away…but not before finding a West Coast boyfriend. Griffin, the boy who’s been left behind in New York narrates the story by speaking directly to Theo, his dead ex-boyfriend. The narrative structure is probably the best and most unique thing about the book. As it moves back and forth between the present day (late 2016 – after Theo’s death) and “history,” (from 2014 up through Theo’s death), the reader sees how Theo and Griffin went from friends (part of a three man “squad” of high school nerds) to lovers to ex-lovers/friends to grief-stricken survivor and his deceased beloved.

The problem isn’t the plot, per se, nor the structure, but with the characters and the strenuous way in which Silvera tries to manipulate the reader’s feelings. There’s way too much telling and not enough showing. The reader is told that Theo is a genius, but there’s nothing to illustrate that on the page. We are told that Griffin’s OCD is nearly debilitating but, with the exception of some internal dialogue involving his obsession with even numbers, his need to be on everyone’s left side and the occasional nervous palm-scratching, it never feels like a serious issue. We are also told, over and over, that Griffin and Theo are meant to be together but there is little real evidence of that either. And, much like in his first novel, the boys' pursuits and conversations seem more juvenile than nerdy. I mean, seriously, how many male high school kids (gay, geeky or otherwise) put together jigsaw puzzles (and make up stories about the images) and use coloring books? Nothing about any of it rang true for me.

On top of that, at nearly 300 pages the book seems padded and desperately in need of an editor to trim out much of the redundancy. The story seems to frequently meander, with the boys bickering and making up and falling out again. And rather than being simply an unreliable narrator, Griffin struck me as childish, inconsistent and difficult to care about. The author kept hammering home how sad it all was, but somehow it didn’t translate.

I really wanted, and completely expected, to enjoy this book because More Happy Than Not was so refreshingly unexpected and unlike anything out there in the LGBT YA market. Perhaps the success of that one caused the publisher to rush this one to press before it was ready. Let’s hope this is just a hiccup in a promising career.

This book is about a teenager whose best friend\ex boyfriend dies and then he has to deal with the new boyfriend. Its that simple and like all the books I'm reading lately. No one is likeable. I'm not saying the books horrible by any means but its hard to feel bad for characters when they annoying. The only non crappy character is Wade and he really gets treated horribly by everyone so that doesn't help. Also, do all teenagers have sex so quickly? Am I officially an old woman? Eh I wanted to like this more.

This book is heartbreaking and wonderful! Adam Silvera really knows how to tell a story that you cannot put down. His details about OCD ring true. He has a way with writing that makes you want to cry but also fills you with wonder. BUY and READ this book!

Sadly this one was just okay for me. A lot of has to do with the fact that I have family members that struggle with OCD and I found this book didn't quite hit the mark with this disease. It didn't do a terrible job displaying certain aspects of it, but it didn't really do it justice in my opinion.

I loved the writing though which is why I am giving this three stars. Adam Silvera managed to pull me in even though I wasn't connecting with the characters or the story. I have to give him major credit for that one.

I think my other main problem is the characters. I just couldn't connect with anyone in this story. If I can't connect I can't ever really fall into the story and so this was a hurdle from the get go. Griffin wasn't a horrible character he just wasn't someone that stood out and I didn't like a few of his decisions.

Overall this book was just okay for me. Some things I liked some I didn't, but I do think it is worth a read.

Wow! This is the first book I've read of Adam Silvera's and it definitely won't be the last. He is now on my list of instant buy authors; on the strength of one book! This is a beautiful & heartbreaking story of love, lost, grief and healing.

I was full on sobbing before I really got more than a few chapters into this book. It seriously impacted me in ways I wasn't fully prepared for. The characters in this novel are all incredibly flawed, which makes them incredibly human. You can't help but root for them. There were moments where I wanted to scream at them for being terrible and other moments when I wanted to hug them and comfort them. I'm looking forward to reading more from Silvera.

Adam Silvera's books always find a way to touch my heart and "History Is All You Left Me" was no exception. The parallel structure between Griffin's life with and without Theo keeps you flipping pages as you wait for details that complete both halves of this moving story.

Already suffering through the trails of heartbreak, Theo's death adds a confounding element to Griffin's healing process and adds an extra layer of grief to an already emotional separation between him and his ex.

The book calls attention to the difficulties of navigating any kind of relationship, whether it be friendly, romantic, sympathetic, or familial and I found that many of these connections felt deeper and more intriguing than that of Griffin and Theo, our two romantic interests. As Griffin's character develops throughout the novel, he leans heavily on others to help him manage and comply with his OCD compulsions and (though I have no experience with OCD) it seemed as if the representation was done subtly and well. Griffin's development throughout the story was evident and I found the ending very refreshing; a conclusion in every important sense, yet leaving enough doors open to feel realistic and honest.

Overall, "History Is All You Left Me" was an enjoyable and emotional read that definitely has me excited to check out more of Adam Silvera's works.

Oh, that title, that title gives me all the feels. It promises a book that will envelop me and take me through a beautiful journey of love, loss, and redemption.

That is not what I got.

What I got was a selfish MC who continually hurts other people, a love interest who we’re told is a mesmerizing genius but never actually feels like it, and some side characters who deserve a lot better than what they get.

The narrative structure—interweaving past and present timelines—seems to serve to hide the fact that there is very little plot; if told in linear fashion it would be very clear how thin the plot actually is. The present tense and POV choices also seem to make it very tell-not-show, so I could never get swept up in actually feeling any of the relationships.

I’ve seen this book referred to as a “feel-bad” book and that’s true, it definitely will make you feel awful, but I didn’t get any of the uplifting aspects that you need to justify the feeling bad. Just wallowing, more wallowing, bad behavior, and then a rushed ending where we are supposed to feel like things are looking up, even though it doesn’t really feel earned.

There’s no doubt the author is extremely talented and very good at describing crippling grief. Anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to the feelings that the author evokes, but that alone isn’t enough to propel a 300+ page book (which got especially boring in the middle).

It’s a perfect title—I just wish the book lived up to its promise.