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shebookmarks's review against another edition
Ok. So.
Actually, this book was great. At least the first few chapters.
It was written so well, so captive and the chapters switching between history and today was a genius move.
The history made me emotional, a lot. The build up of his death, their connection everything. What ruined it for me, was the new boyfriend.
It just ruined it all for me.
The history felt so intimate, something between just two lovers, but suddenly it's three people argh I don't know!!! I hated it!!! So much, that I just HAD to drop this
Maybe I will give it another go someday but I don't think so
Actually, this book was great. At least the first few chapters.
It was written so well, so captive and the chapters switching between history and today was a genius move.
The history made me emotional, a lot. The build up of his death, their connection everything. What ruined it for me, was the new boyfriend.
It just ruined it all for me.
The history felt so intimate, something between just two lovers, but suddenly it's three people argh I don't know!!! I hated it!!! So much, that I just HAD to drop this
Maybe I will give it another go someday but I don't think so
pilgrimgossip's review against another edition
4.0
Well that wrecked me. This book was a lot. If you want to cry or if you just need to grieve it maybe you just need to feel betrayed this is the book for you. I'm not sure if I felt better in the end though. Still felt betrayed. But I'm ok with that. I might be ok with that. I'm the future I might be ok with that. Not yet
natalyawill's review against another edition
5.0
I believe the best pieces of art are those that can make you feel many different emotions. I believe this book hit its mark. This is a story of grief, resent, anger, regret, longing, revenge, powerlessness, jealously, love, loyalty and abandonment. I loved getting to see the last 3 years of Theo’s life and what that meant for everyone around him. I feel Adam Silvera worked hard on coming up with an order in which this story was told and I believe he did it perfectly, when you finally think you understand the characters and who deserves the most sympathy, a new piece of the puzzle is unraveled. I tend to be more on the protagonist/narrators side by default because this is who we spend the most time with and learn the most about, but I switched through multiple parts of the story until you soon realise there are no real villains here, just 4 teenage boys and their human nature.
I loved the ongoing message of the past being history, and no matter how much you may want to change that, it’s gone and it’s not coming back. I loved the theme of mourning a future that’s never coming too and how badly griffin struggled with coming to terms with that, even after Theo had died.
‘history is how we get to keep him.’
‘I know the world hasn’t changed, what goes up still has to come down, but the way I see the world has shifted a little to the right, moving forward, and I can now see it the way I’ve always wanted to. I hope I don’t say or do anything that will force the world to shift counterclockwise again.’
‘People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished.’
‘Just sucks you were looking for a new partner to aid you in what was supposed to be our alternate universe.’
‘History is nothing. It can be recycled or thrown away completely. It isn’t this sacred treasure chest I mistook it to be.’
I loved the ongoing message of the past being history, and no matter how much you may want to change that, it’s gone and it’s not coming back. I loved the theme of mourning a future that’s never coming too and how badly griffin struggled with coming to terms with that, even after Theo had died.
‘history is how we get to keep him.’
‘I know the world hasn’t changed, what goes up still has to come down, but the way I see the world has shifted a little to the right, moving forward, and I can now see it the way I’ve always wanted to. I hope I don’t say or do anything that will force the world to shift counterclockwise again.’
‘People are complicated puzzles, always trying to piece together a complete picture, but sometimes we get it wrong and sometimes we’re left unfinished.’
‘Just sucks you were looking for a new partner to aid you in what was supposed to be our alternate universe.’
‘History is nothing. It can be recycled or thrown away completely. It isn’t this sacred treasure chest I mistook it to be.’
eesh25's review against another edition
5.0
Griffin just lost his best friend, Theo. His best friend who used to be his boyfriend until they broke up right before Theo left for college. His best friend who he was hoping would be his boyfriend once again, forever. Griffin devastated and feels like his entire world just shifted. On top of that, Jackson, Theo's college boyfriend seems to be the only one who truly gets how he feels. So despite not liking the idea, maybe they can both help each other out?
And in between them trying to deal with their grief and working through their differences, we get to read about Griffin and Theo's relationship and what happened between them via backstory chapters.
The format of the novel is one chapter in the present and one set in the past, and I'll be honest with you, had I known about the backstory chapters, I might not have read the book anytime soon because, as you may know if you've been following my reviews, I hate those fucking things. I remember when I read [b:Where She Went|8492825|Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)|Gayle Forman|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347810457s/8492825.jpg|10706553] and skimmed over half of the backstory chapters because I just didn't think they were necessary.
All that aside, I'm glad I didn't know because I didn't mind the backstory. It was helped by the fact that we needed those chapters to get to know things better, and to give more significance to current events. And that they were short and provided some relief from the heavy theme.
As for the story, it was really good. I've heard many great things about Adam Silvera and now I get why. He's written a wonderfully emotional novel with just enough moments of lightness to not turn it into a tear-fest. He's also given us some beautifully flawed characters that are very likable and very human. They're ones you can definitely relate to. You feel for them in their sadness and in their happiness. You understand their mistakes and you root for them.
If there's one character that I'm a bit unhappy with, it's Theo. Both Griffin and Jackson made mistakes, but I think Theo screwed up the worst, with both of them, and I'm not one to let him get away with it just because he's dead. But at the same time, we only know about him Griffin's perspective and don't know his side. Maybe he wanted to make things right. We'll never know.
The other three characters, I loved. And yeah, there are three. There's Wade as well. He was, I think, the most well-organised of them all and he was great. He was a friend of both Griffin and Theo.
Overall, I initially planned to give the novel 4 stars but since I can't come up with a single reason as to why, I'm changing it to 5. This is a brilliant novel and I very much recommend it. In the end, I'll leave you with a few lines from the last page, that I loved. They're not spoilery, I promise (unless you count Griffin not dying a spoiler. Then... oops!).
There's nothing wrong with someone's saving my life, I've realized, especially when I can't trust myself to get the job done right. People need people. That's that.
"People need people", it's such a simple thing and yet realized by so few. Stop being ashamed of needing, or accepting, help. It's a sign of strength, not weakness.
noa_ashley_'s review against another edition
4.0
"Jackson and I are broken, in desperate need of repair, but the only mechanic we’re interested in seeing is our favorite person—and you’re clocked out forever."
The first 120 pages were hard for me to get through. I know a lot about grief from my own experiences in different ages.
Griffin was very angry at everybody and that he felt like he had " the right" to grief more or that it was more for him. And I get that it is part of the process but it felt like he was long in that state. Later on in the book Griffin made a lot of progress in his grief and the people around him. The last 100-130 pages had a lot of progress and that was interesting, with all the people that helpt Griffin and he could think more about the other people around hem. For me it felt blank in the middle of the book my interest was gone so I listened to the audiobook. That kept my interest to get through the slower part.
The first 120 pages were hard for me to get through. I know a lot about grief from my own experiences in different ages.
Griffin was very angry at everybody and that he felt like he had " the right" to grief more or that it was more for him. And I get that it is part of the process but it felt like he was long in that state. Later on in the book Griffin made a lot of progress in his grief and the people around him. The last 100-130 pages had a lot of progress and that was interesting, with all the people that helpt Griffin and he could think more about the other people around hem. For me it felt blank in the middle of the book my interest was gone so I listened to the audiobook. That kept my interest to get through the slower part.
mgarzee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dj68's review against another edition
4.0
Stupid book.
Don't get me wrong, it was damn near perfect, but it made me cry. A lot. I mean, I should have seen it coming, what with it dealing with death and grief and losing your first love.
It's an easy, but deeply profound and touching read, and sometimes I was almost afraid to continue because the hurt was so real, so relatable.
Right.
My next read has to be something funny or silly.
Don't get me wrong, it was damn near perfect, but it made me cry. A lot. I mean, I should have seen it coming, what with it dealing with death and grief and losing your first love.
It's an easy, but deeply profound and touching read, and sometimes I was almost afraid to continue because the hurt was so real, so relatable.
Right.
My next read has to be something funny or silly.
snowreo's review
4.0
my name is brianna and this book made me experience many emotions
let’s dive into the review!
as a whole, i really loved the book. most of the mlm books ive read don’t deal with tragedy or loss like this one does, so i really liked the change in perspective. adam silvera also perfectly captures what love and guilt feel like. i feel like i lost theo for god’s sake, that’s how well he portrayed it. the character development was also phenomenal. each character was different and had their own quirks that made them unique. i also appreciate the OCD rep as ive never seen it in ya literature before. the thing i love the most, however, is the descriptive writing. it can be very heavy on imagery and descriptions in places, but it overall aided the narrative well. it helped especially with seeing the setting, but also provided more insight into the characters which just added to the emotions the reader feels for the loss.
i also love how griffin got a good ending.
the one thing that prevented me from giving this book 5 stars is the last 100 pages. all of a sudden griffin just became a huge asshole?? he USED jackson to get back st theo and he USED wade to do the same thing!! im just!! adam literally why!! it also may just be me but i feel like the whole griffin and jackson sleeping together thing was really obvious but,, maybe it’s just the ya reader in me that picked it up quickly
this was my first adam novel and honestly i was not disappointed. i’ll definitely be picking up more of his novels. you go glen coco.
let’s dive into the review!
as a whole, i really loved the book. most of the mlm books ive read don’t deal with tragedy or loss like this one does, so i really liked the change in perspective. adam silvera also perfectly captures what love and guilt feel like. i feel like i lost theo for god’s sake, that’s how well he portrayed it. the character development was also phenomenal. each character was different and had their own quirks that made them unique. i also appreciate the OCD rep as ive never seen it in ya literature before. the thing i love the most, however, is the descriptive writing. it can be very heavy on imagery and descriptions in places, but it overall aided the narrative well. it helped especially with seeing the setting, but also provided more insight into the characters which just added to the emotions the reader feels for the loss.
i also love how griffin got a good ending.
the one thing that prevented me from giving this book 5 stars is the last 100 pages. all of a sudden griffin just became a huge asshole?? he USED jackson to get back st theo and he USED wade to do the same thing!! im just!! adam literally why!! it also may just be me but i feel like the whole griffin and jackson sleeping together thing was really obvious but,, maybe it’s just the ya reader in me that picked it up quickly
this was my first adam novel and honestly i was not disappointed. i’ll definitely be picking up more of his novels. you go glen coco.
lilredkmd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.0
lonelyasfranz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A decent story for young adults about relationships and loss, but I never felt particularly connected to the characters, and the plot grew messy towards the end.