This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. Last year, I bought Adam Silvera's debut novel "More Happy Than Not," which is one of the depressing books I have ever read. I assumed that his second book would be equally, if not more depressing. The synopsis starts out with the main character's ex-boyfriend/first love being dead, so went in expecting to cry.
"History Is All You Left Me" by Adam Silvera is a novel from the point of view of Griffin talking to his, as I mentioned, dead ex-boyfriend, Theo. While Theo never responds, Griffin truly believes that Theo is listening to him and watching everything he's doing. This leads to an interesting story of Griffin hiding a lot of secrets that us as readers don't find out until he's ready to tell Theo.
This entire book was a crazy emotional roller coaster. One moment, I would be feeling heartbroken and sad, then I would be laughing by the next chapter. Through this sensitive and wild emotions, I came out of the book feeling hopeful and dare I say happy. A pleasant surprise for me!
Theo goes through a really amazing character development. While his character comes off as him being an asshole, you really start to understand where he's coming from. His flaws make him realistic, even if they would frustrate me at times. His going through a lot of devastating things, which can really suck for a teenager. It sucks for anyone, but you know what I'm saying. He progresses really well for a character in grieving, and it makes me proud of him. Don't get me wrong, he does a lot of really stupid shit. I managed to forgive him, though.
I do wish I could see a bit more of the side characters and how they are feeling. I know that those sorts of things are supposed to be left to the imagination, but I would love to see it in print. Imagining how the side characters felt made me more sad than the main character himself. When I wasn't reading the book, I was thinking about the side character's emotions. I probably spent more time than I should have doing this.
Everything down to the structure of this book was really interesting and enjoyable. I never wanted to stop reading. Adam Silvera is a very talented writer and I can't wait to read what he publishes next. I'm really excited for September when he will release another book titled "They Both Die At The End". Another cheerful realease, no doubt.
