The Secret History Of Us

Book Review

 

After meeting with a terrible accident, Olivia wakes up in a hospital bed, not remembering how she got there in the first place. She also has no memory of anything from the past four years of her life. She doesn’t know why she is no longer friends with her childhood best friend, Jules. She doesn’t know that she had a boyfriend.

She feels like a stranger in her own life. She desperately tries to catch up with the years that she no longer remembers. She no longer knows what she liked and what she disliked. She discovers that she had kept secrets. More importantly, she doesn’t know who she actually is. And she feels that the answer to that question is somehow connected to the person who saved her – Walker James.

What are the secrets that Olivia had been keeping from others that she no longer remembers? Who is Olivia? Will Olivia get back her memories? What is she going to discover about herself?

 

“I can’t go back. Just like with everything else in my life. All I can do at this point is keep going forward. So I do.”

  •  Jessi Kirby, The Secret History Of Us.

 

Straight up, I loved the book. From page one; I sympathized with the character Liv. I couldn’t even imagine someone being in that position where they could not remember the four important years of their life. I felt more and more anxious for her. The helpless feeling that Olivia felt is something that I could feel.

When Olivia returns home from the hospital, she looks at her own room as a foreigner which is so sad. It is so terrifying that she learns more about herself only through her parents and her friends which doesn’t exactly help a lot when she discovers that she had kept secrets from them; the secrets that she no longer remembers. We all keep secrets and sometimes those secrets shape us to what we are. And here Olivia doesn’t remember anything, let alone her secrets.

 

“It’s the worst feeling in the world to think that everyone who knows you has what they think is a good enough reason to lie to you.”

  • Jessi Kirby, The Secret History Of Us

 

The characters are written with such precision to their age. The parents approach Olivia, cautious of what they speak so as to not upset her. Her brother however, treats her like as though nothing happened which is how Olivia preferred.

We could say that the character “Walker James” is the centre piece of this book and his character is kept secretive from the beginning.

The fact that even Olivia knows very little of Walker James is what makes our connection to her as a reader even stronger.

This book is more like Olivia discovering her past self and becoming a better version of herself.
This book is engaging in a way like we are traveling along with Olivia in this journey of self discovery.

 

“… I’m still that girl who loved him, and he’s still that boy who loves me. And that’ we’ll find a our way back to each other, because that’s what happens when you have such a strong connection.”

  • Jessi Kirby, The Secret History Of Us

 

Somehow I could see the metaphor of this book. This book felt like a second chance. A new beginning; A second chance to make things alright. A second chance to do the things you love.

This book taught me a few things. Just because you liked something doesn’t mean you have to like it forever. You can change. You can change your perspective; you can change your opinions. You only have a lifetime to change and change is evolving. Change is growth.

This book is a good read and one that could easily be read in one sitting.

I would rate this book 4/5

About the author:
Jessi grew up in Mammoth Lakes, California and earned a degree in English from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She currently lives in Central California with her husband and two kids, where she spends her time enjoying her family, teaching, writing, reading, running, and trying to make the most out of every day.

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