Review: The Secret History of Us by Jesse Kirby

The Secret History of Us by Jesse Kirby

on August 2017
Pages: 288
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3.5 Stars

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

With that in mind, here are 6 of my favorite beach reads this summer!

Liv wakes up in the hospital after surviving a horrific car accident. She is surrounded by her family and friends and her boyfriend. But the thing is, she doesn’t remember the last four years of her life. What happens when you are trying to piece together who you thought you were with who you are now? And what is her family and her friends hiding from her? And who is the mysterious boy who pulled her from the water and saved her life?

I am a fan of Kirby’s since The Things We Know By Heart. I jumped at the chance to review this book.

There’s a lot to like in this story. Liv is confused, suffering from amnesia and also an identity crisis. I really liked how Kirby handled Liv’s story, her confusion and panic and how frustrated she was by the way her family and friends treated her. It’s hard enough to come to terms with the accident and her healing but to add in that not everyone is telling her the whole truth, it’s heartbreaking what our loved ones do to keep us safe.  I especially liked her relationship with her boyfriend, how hard he tried to be there for her and recreate what they had.

Which makes the triangle so difficult for me. Walker, the one who saves her from the water, is obviously a love interest, but he comes in pretty far into the book and so much time is spent with Liv and her boyfriend, it’s hard to really get to a place where I thought Walker was a real contender.

But overall, Kirby does a great job at writing about real struggles that teens face, regardless of amnesia or not. I like her real life characters and the story moves quickly as Liv comes to terms with her accident, her past and the possibilities of her future.