The Secret History Of Us

by Jessi Kirby

"Jessi Kirby's books just keep getting better and better, and The Secret History of Us is her best yet. It beautifully touches on all the most important things in life-love, family, friendship, memory, and bacon. I loved it."-Morgan Matson, New York Times bestselling author of The Unexpected Everything In this gorgeously written, emotional novel that fans of Sarah Dessen will enjoy, a teenage girl must piece together the parts of her life she doesn't remember after a severe collision leaves her with no memory of the past four years. When Olivia awakes in a hospital bed following a near-fatal car accident, she can't remember how she got there. She figures it's because she was in a coma for a week, but as time goes on, she realizes she's lost more than just the last week of her life-she's lost all memory of events that happened years ago. 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 sort out her family and friends' perceptions of her, 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 one person that has made Liv feel like her old self...whoever that is. With 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.

• ISBN10: 0062299468
• ISBN13: 9780062299468
• Publish Date: 1 August 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 10 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062299468

Reviews

[Stephanie]

I really enjoyed this book, but it definitely could have been longer. I was fascinated by the storyline, Liv being in a car accident and doesn't remember anything from the past 4 years. She just graduated, so that means she doesn't remember anything about high school, including her boyfriend of 2 years. I feel like there was a lot there that had potential to really pack a few punches, but that never happened, the story always remains close to the surface and never dives in too deep.

Sure, the story isn't all that original, but it was interesting and could have been a 5 star read for me, but the fact that the ending seemed so rushed left me feeling slightly disappointed. I wanted more. I wanted to read more about Liv trying to piece her life back together and I wanted to read more of Walker and his storyline. I guess I just wanted more from the story overall.

I wavered between giving this 3 or 4 stars, but I decided on 4 stars because I did enjoy the story and it was a quick read that I didn't want to put down. It's definitely a book you want to pick up when you don't want to read anything too heavy.

[Bianca]

— Interesting, but it was too short to fully flesh out the characters and the conflicts.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

There are many mixed reviews on this one, and I feel like I am somewhere in the middle. I thought this was quite an interesting story of self identity, and overall, enjoyed the book.

Olivia had been in a horrific accident. She didn't lose her life, but she lost four years of memories. She spends a great deal of the book trying to figure out who she became during high school. I thought Kirby did a nice job conveying Olivia's struggle and the emotional turmoil she was experiencing during this post accident period. My heart really went out to her during this time.

I really liked being there with Olivia as she rediscovered her home, her family, and herself. It was beautiful for her to be able to get back to some of the things that were once really important to her, and be more true to herself. There were things in the story, which hinted at Olivia kind of losing sight of things she loved in order to please others, and I was happy she was getting this second chance to fulfill her wants and needs.

Then, there were the secrets. I suspected both big secrets, but I still really enjoyed watching the pieces fall into place. My biggest problem was with the ending. One of the reveals was made my heart pitter patter, and I would have liked more. I have a thing about endings, and this one felt like a LifeTime movie ending. We had this decent build, and then it's over all of a sudden, and I feel like I was cheated from something that could have been great. I only say that, because I love where the story ended up, I just wanted more of it.

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[shannonmiz]

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight

3.5*

This book has quite a few good things going for it, and then a few that kind of missed the mark for me. Overall, it was enjoyable, but let's get to the good versus the not-as-good!

The Good:

• Olivia was quite a sympathetic character. How scary must it be to have no idea what happened over the past four years? Olivia is going through this, and she is understandably shaken. Reading about her handling this tumultuous situation certainly kept the pages turning for me. She had to try to repair relationships, forge new ones, and figure out how the new and old fit together. Quite intriguing, really.


• It's incredibly readable. Not only is it a quick book, but it's a nicely flowing book. I read it in one sitting, partly because of the length but also because I was definitely curious to see how it all turned out.


• The summery vibe was perfect for this time of year! It wasn't something I was expecting, but I enjoyed that Olivia was trying to reclaim her life, but in a really nice setting, with people who were caring and kind, for the most part.

The Less So:

• The ending felt very... abrupt. It seemed as though it was rushed a bit, and perhaps it could have been better if it had been fleshed out a bit more. I liked the ending, but I wanted more of it.


• I was fairly certain what some of the "secrets" were. While it wasn't a complete deal-breaker for the story, it did take away some of the sense of urgency.

Bottom Line: The Secret History of Us was a quick read, entertaining certainly. I loved watching Olivia try to rebuild her life, I just wish we'd gotten a bit more time with the closure.

*Copy provided for review