ARC, 274 pages
Release Date: August 1, 2017Published by: HarperTeen
Read from: August 2-6, 2017Stand-aloneSource: #BooksforTradeFor fans of: Grief, Finding Yourself,
Gorgeously written and emotionally charged, The Secret History of Us explores the difficult journey of a teenage girl who must piece her life together after losing her memory in a near-fatal accident.
When Olivia awakes in a hospital bed following a car accident that almost took her life, she can’t remember the details about how she got there. She figures the fog is just a symptom of being in a week-long coma, but as time goes on, she realizes she’s lost more than just the last several days of her life—she’s lost her memory of the last four years. Gone is any recollection of starting or graduating high school; the prom; or her steady boyfriend Matt. Trying to figure out who she is feels impossible when everyone keeps telling her who she was.
As Liv tries to block out what her family and friends say about who she used to be, the one person she hasn’t heard enough from is Walker, the guy who saved her the night her car was knocked off that bridge into the bay below. Walker is the hardened boy who’s been keeping his distance—and the only person Olivia inexplicably feels herself with. With her feelings growing for Walker, tensions rising with Matt, and secrets she can’t help but feel are being kept from her, Olivia must find her place in a life she doesn’t remember living.
*MY THOUGHTS*
When I heard about Kirby coming out with a new book, I immediately added it to my TBR. I LOVED her others, so I just knew this one would be the same. Although it didn’t take the place of my favorite book by her, I did still really enjoy this.
Liv was in a bad car accident where the result is her waking up in a hospital a week later with no recollection of what happened to her. But it’s so much bigger than she originally thought. She’s lost all her memories of the last four years. All she wants is to find out who she was before all this happened. She hears things from her best friend, her parents and brother, and her boyfriend. The only person she doesn’t hear from is the person who saved her.
I was not prepared for this book. I was expecting something that would hit my feels, but this one pulverized them. It was way more gut-wrenching than I expected…. And I loved that about it. Because it was so sad, it glued me to the pages. So much so I didn’t want to waste time unpacking or setting my house up. I needed to find out how it ended.
The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the predictability of it, which was because of the synopsis. It tells a large part of the plot, so nothing was really a surprise. Although there was something that caught me off guard, for the most part, with the bigger picture, I still saw it all coming. I just wish it had been less predictable.
I did LOVE Liv though. It was so interesting to see her find herself all over again and it was interesting to watch her find out all the things she didn’t know. I was so upset after some of the things that other people had been telling her. I’m glad she went with her own instincts. She was such a strong girl and I was so sad this happened to her. But she survived and that made me love her even more.
This book was so much more than I expected, but in a good way. Even though Things We Know by Heart is still my favorite book by Jessi Kirby, this is still in my Top 3.
I was not prepared for this book. I was expecting something that would hit my feels, but this one pulverized them. It was way more gut-wrenching than I expected…. And I loved that about it. Because it was so sad, it glued me to the pages. So much so I didn’t want to waste time unpacking or setting my house up. I needed to find out how it ended.
The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the predictability of it, which was because of the synopsis. It tells a large part of the plot, so nothing was really a surprise. Although there was something that caught me off guard, for the most part, with the bigger picture, I still saw it all coming. I just wish it had been less predictable.
I did LOVE Liv though. It was so interesting to see her find herself all over again and it was interesting to watch her find out all the things she didn’t know. I was so upset after some of the things that other people had been telling her. I’m glad she went with her own instincts. She was such a strong girl and I was so sad this happened to her. But she survived and that made me love her even more.
This book was so much more than I expected, but in a good way. Even though Things We Know by Heart is still my favorite book by Jessi Kirby, this is still in my Top 3.
Overall, I give this
There will be no quotes in this to avoid spoilers!
I definitely want to read this. I love the "I don't remember" trope. I'm reading THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED by Paula Stokes right now, so I might have to out some books in-between them since the premises are really similar. Great review!
Cool! Take Me Away sounds interesting, and I'll have to read it!