Yesterday Is History by Kosoko Jackson

Yesterday Is History

by Kosoko Jackson

One of PopSugar's Best New YA Novels of 2021A Buzzfeed Top LGBTQ+ YA BookA Lambda Literary YA Book to Add to Your TBR PileA Goodreads Pride Month PickAn epic, heartfelt romance about a boy torn between two loves, one in his present … and one in the past. A story of Black queer history, love, loss, and learning to stay in the moment before it passes you by.
Weeks ago, Andre Cobb received a much-needed liver transplant.
He's ready for his life to finally begin, until one night, when he passes out and wakes up somewhere totally unexpected…in 1969, where he connects with a magnetic boy named Michael.
And then, just as suddenly as he arrived, he slips back to present-day Boston, where the family of his donor is waiting to explain that his new liver came with a side effect—the ability to time travel. And they've tasked their youngest son, Blake, with teaching Andre how to use his unexpected new gift.
Andre splits his time bouncing between the past and future. Between Michael and Blake. Michael is everything Andre wishes he could be, and Blake, still reeling from the death of his brother, Andre's donor, keeps him at arm's length despite their obvious attraction to each other.
Torn between two boys, one in the past and one in the present, Andre has to figure out where he belongs—and more importantly who he wants to be—before the consequences of jumping in time catch up to him and change his future for good.
"Fast-paced, fun, and perfect."—Laurie Halse Anderson, NYT bestselling author of Speak
"This book was absolutely incredible."—Creya, Goodreads reviewer
"Tears, man. So. Many. Tears."—Marci, Goodreads reviewer
"Oh my goodness. This book y'all. I'm a mess."—Netgalley reviewer
* A Junior Library Guild Selection!
"A stellar novel that today's teens needed yesterday."—Booklist, STARRED review
"Charming and captivating."—Phil Stamper, bestselling author of The Gravity of Us
"A clever and honestly brilliant novel."—Julian Winters, award-winning author of Running With Lions
"A skillful and engrossing time-travel adventure."—Kirkus Reviews
"Compelling and memorable...[a] gem of a novel."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"In his YA debut, Jackson has a great gimmick as well as a likeable protagonist who faces sociocultural realities across time."—Publishers Weekly

Reviewed by Terri M. LeBlanc on

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While I did enjoy Kosoko's writing and the concept of time travel was unique there was too much going on in the this book — romance, time travel, career decisions, race discussions and class discussions. It was trying to be all the things and I struggled to connect with characters and their struggles because they were struggling with all the things at once. It's not that a book can't contain all those things, but it was trying to treat all those things equally so no one thing came shining through leaving me feeling emotional disconnected from the story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • 28 December, 2020: Started reading
  • 31 December, 2020: Finished reading
  • 31 December, 2020: Reviewed