Sunday 25 June 2017

History is All You Left Me- Adam Silvera BOOK TALK

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This was such a profound and poignant read... but it was a bit of a downer, if I'm being honest.
I'm all pumped for the summer, just finished exams and ready to read as much as I want and... this book gets me all depressed! I mean, it shows talented writing for the author to make me feel just as grieved and depressed as the protagonist feels but... I just wish I didn't feel so depressed afterwards.
This story follows Griffin who has just lost his first love, Theo, to a drowning accident. He begins to bond more with who Theo's current boyfriend was but things get super complicated.
This book gave me The Rest of Us Just Live Here vibes but that may be just because I've recently just read that.
I've always wanted to read an Adam Silvera book- More happy Than Not being the book I've wanted to read the most- and I can safely say that I will read more of his in the future.


SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD- SPOILERS AHEAD
I really liked being able to see the 'History' as well as the present in this book. It made everything so much more heart-breaking as we got to see Griffin and Theo's relationship start and end completely. They were always so cute together and it had me totally ship them. 
I got The Rest of Us Just Live Here vibes simply because of the gay couples, the wrong person being endgame for Theo (!!!) and the elements of OCD throughout.
I immediately disliked Jackson- through no fault of his own. It's just that I physically felt Griffin's jealously and rage and bitterness towards the guy and I couldn't get past that feeling. I got so frustrated that Griffin became just a fading memory to Theo because Jackson was with him- it sort of made me hate Theo for completely ditching Griffin and leading him on when he was all happy with Jackson. I hated how he lead Griffin along and I just couldn't get over it. 
I also didn't like the idea of Jackson pitying Griffin- it made me so angry for Griffin. But I grew to like Jackson a bit more- I do realise that it wasn't his fault he fell in love with Theo. When Griffin asked him to stay, I kind of knew what would happen but wasn't totally on board... I did really appreciate how supportive and accepting Jackson was to Griffin in terms of the OCD though.
Griffin then decided to go to California with Jackson and I kind of loved the act of defiance against his parents... 'It would have been nice to leave with their permission. Oh well.' I loved it.
When Jackson and Griffin has sex... it didn't sit well with me. It was all too aggressive and they were just trying to replace Theo so it wouldn't hurt as much. Griffin basically did it just to get back at Theo for sharing their personal kiss thing!
It was quite a shock that both Jackson and Griffin were at fault for Theo dying... I mean, obviously it wasn't their fault but they both played a part in how it took place.
Curveball!!! Wade is gay? And he'd been having sex with Griffin! From the moment I found out, they were my new endgame. Wade was always there for Griffin and constantly tried to help. It made me want to re-read every scene with Wade in all over again- especially the scene where Wade was angry that Jackson was staying at Griffin's house- there's a completely new context to it now!
I also think that Wade is better for Griffin because he challenges him. Obviously, it was great that Theo could accept Griffin's OCD and the like but... Wade tries to help Griffin. He purposefully stands on Griffin's left side and plays songs in odd numbers- he tries to challenge and support Griffin which I love. Wade was a much better fit- was always there for him- and I'm happy with their endgame.
So, while this book made me feel very depressed, I totally enjoyed it and will definitely dive more into Adam Silvera's books. 

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts! Stay amazing!
Chloe

3 comments:

  1. Ah yeah. I tried to read this and is really bummed me out. I had to stop and DNF.

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  2. Good job I didn't read this when I was feeling down as I am crying even in a good mood!

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