Review: The Secret History of Us

The Secret History of Us by Jessi Kirby
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 1st, 2017
Source: Edelweiss
Date Read: 8/4/17 to 8/6/17
288 pages

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.

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I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.

I’m not surprised that I didn’t end up liking this much. Not so much hating it but rather not finding myself caring after the first 50 pages. To put it simply, this didn’t have the spark, nor really the plot, to keep me engaged.

The beginning of the novel starts off with Olivia, or Liv, waking up from a coma. She slowly comes to realize that wait, she’s not about to start high school, but has already finished her senior year. Basically, 4 years has already gone by, and she remembers none of it. And she definitely doesn’t remember her boyfriend, Matt.

As you can tell from the blurb, it’s pretty predictable. There’s this other boy, and obviously he comes into the picture later. But other than that, not much really happens besides seeing Liv figure out her life. The whole mystery behind the car accident? Not really that much of a shocker. Such a huge deal was made of the video filming her rescue, but I didn’t really see what made it so important. Probably because I actually need to be in that situation to feel anything, I guess. Also, definitely would have been better as a movie scene, I feel like.

There didn’t really seem to be much of a plot. For one, we don’t actually get much of Walker. The book ends suddenly, and I could have been better with another 100 pages or so (though lucky for me, there wasn’t!) The Secret History of Us is really more about the overall message of letting go of the past, rather than reminiscing on what was lost.

I’m a bit disappointed in this one, as I really liked Things We Know By Heart, but I kind of expected it after seeing a couple of ratings from my friends. Oh well better luck next time! (Thanks to Nick and Shannon for discussing this book with me)