Jessi Kirby

This was a gentle, beautifully written book about a girl who has forgotten the last four years of her life after a shocking accident where she had to be resuscitated. The opening scene set the book to perfection and had me wanting to read on. However, after the first chapter "The Secret History of Us" had no action and very little romance, but it had a delightful setting and strong, relatable characters.

I liked Liv, a lot! She was complicated, interesting and I could understand her confusion show more as she struggled to remember the past, rebuild forgotten relationships and forge new ones. Her development felt real, as did her emotional turmoil. I also loved her family. They were so supportive of Liv and Sam, her older brother, brought some humour to the story. I just wish Walker, the boy who saved Liv from drowning, had had a larger role. He was introduced early on, but was only on the peripheral until nearly the end. I wanted to know him more.

My only grumble about this book was the end. Although I enjoyed how the author brought everything together, it did feel a bit rushed compared to the rest of the novel. Overall, however, "The Secret History of Us" was a touching story of self-discovery and finding out where you belong. show less

I seriously can't believe this is Jessi Kirby's first novel. It was so good! I was instantly captivated with this book on the first page, where Anna talks about water symbolizes emotions and how her mother was drowned in both. This was before the first chapter even started, so it's not that hard to get into this book. It was so interesting how Anna's mother drowned when Anna was seven, yet it was still a huge thing that Anna and her father couldn't talk about to each other. Even though this show more book was mostly about that, it still had parts about school, boys, and Anna's life in general so that it was never boring. I liked the part with Anna and Tyler and how their relationship developed. Anna's dad was a pretty cool guy and it was interesting seeing how he disciplined Anna, being extremely angry one minute then laughing about what happened the next minute. The way he acted was a repercussion of Anna's mom death and how they're both now reliving it since they're back where Anna's dad and mom met. The idea of moonglass and seaglass having such sentimental value to Anna was interesting and I could really feel for Anna and cared about what she was going through. I felt the emotions in this book and really liked how Jessi Kirby wrote the story. If this was her first book, I really can't wait to see what else Jessi Kirby can come up with! show less

Worth the read if you’re in the mood for a beach setting with less frothiness, this one’s tinged with sadness.

Anna lost her mother at seven years old, it isn’t until she and her father move to the beach community where her parents met that teenage Anna finally confronts the tragedy head on, beginning to process the hurt, the anger, and the guilt she feels over her mother’s death.

There’s a realism to this one that I really liked, the relationship between Anna and her dad, how they show more work their way up to talking about these difficult things and Anna trying to outrun her feelings but the emotion gradually building up inside her until she reaches the breaking point, there’s a real life quality to all of that.

I enjoyed the friendships Anna forges, in both cases it felt like there was the potential to go in the direction of rivalry or mean girl pettiness, instead they’re never anything other than supportive which is so heartening to read about. Ashley in particular was a standout to me even though she plays such a small role. I love when a character seems like they might be a one-dimensional stereotype only to end up feeling original, Ashley’s a fresh take on the rich pretty blonde, with such a sweet heart (even if she did throw out some inadvertent insults) that I kept thinking what an endearing heroine she’d be in her own story.

Tyler, the love interest unfortunately felt far less defined than Anna’s friends. I liked him, I thought they had chemistry and I see the value in every now and then having a fluffy teen romance scene as a bit of a breather from the heaviness of dealing with her mother’s death, but by the time the book ended I still didn’t really know anything about Tyler apart from him seeming like a good guy.

The central story involving Anna, her dad, and her mom wrapped up satisfyingly, however, I wish a few more pages had been tacked on to do the same for Anna’s new friendships and a woman connected to Anna’s mom. It’s not that I didn’t have a pretty strong idea of how that all would have gone, it’s just that those relationships were every bit as crucial to Anna moving forward as the relationship with her dad so I would have liked to have a snippet of their conversations post Anna’s turning point in her mom issues. show less

Oh my god! I loved it! And the moment that the title of the book made perfectly sense was amazingly done! Those little twists coming and shocking me but still proving how much of a strong person Liv is! The ending was perfectly imperfect! By that I mean it did not fall into clichés, it was a very satisfying and beautiful ending and of course story!