It seems as if the books I’ve read lately all have some common threads, dealing with loss and our own identities.
In this piece we see Griffin dealing with the aftershocks of his ex-boyfriend's death. His first boyfriend, his first love.
Theo is older, not much but enough, and subsequently ends up going to college while Griffin stays behind. As one would imagine, once Theo is off to college he begins to explore and, of course, falls in love with someone else.
Griffin is devastated but also believes that they will end outback together only to have that dream crushed when Theo dies.
Jackson, Thea’s college love, goes to the funeral and ends up “befriending” Griffin. Of course, this is all trauma bonding over a mutual loss as they both feel the other is the only one that can really understand their loss.
As the story continues we begin to see what was his “History” and what is today.
In a way Griffin feels responsible for Theo’s death, he was in the process of telling Theo that he too, had now moved on with their mutual friend, Wade right before Theo’s untimely death.
Of course, none of this is true. He was never at fault. He robbed himself of living.
Isn’t that what we do? In despair? We rob ourselves of love, of life, of living true, all because we choose to martyr ourselves. We choose not to move forward.
When it comes to this book…we see Griffin choose to move on, to move forward no matter how painful it may be.
This was a good book. A book that helped the author deal with the loss of his own first love, not in such a dramatic way, but as what happens as we grow up and grow apart and as we watch those who we once loved love others.