The premise of this story had me hooked and while I wasn’t completely satisfied, I do think this was enjoyable as the premise led me to believe.

I’m not usually a fan of love triangles, but the setup of this one was as cringe-y as they usually are. I didn’t really feel much chemistry between either couple though, so it was easy not to feel invested the love triangle concept. I didn’t understand how Dre and Michael felt so strongly for each other in the limited amount of time they spent together. Yes, years passed for Michael, but their actual time together was so short. There was a bit more explanation for Dre’s other relationship, but still not enough to have me fully invested.

I still think the premise of the story was interesting and wonder if my issues with the story would have been eliminated if the story was longer and relationships (both romantic and otherwise) were more developed. I look forward to seeing what Kosoko Jackson writes next.

This book was enjoyable, but while I LOVED the concept, I only liked the execution. I feel like it glossed over a lot of the meat that would have made this story really hit hard emotionally. I wish the author had written this a little later in his writing career...

I enjoyed Kosoko's short story in the Out Now anthology, so I was eagerly awaiting this book and wasn't disappointed! Yesterday Is History is a captivating, complicated romance and I enjoyed it so much.

This book was so so wholesome. Let me tell you now I finished this book crying, and I very very rarely cry while reading a book, so this is saying something 😂

Everything about this book was pretty much perfect. I adored all the characters, it was hard not to love them. I mean who wouldn’t love our MC Andre?

The whole time traveling aspect of this book is the main reason why I wanted to read it. I’m a huge sucker for anything time travel (possibly because I’ve been watching doctor who since I was 5 😂)
But I also knew going into this that it was also romance. And let me tell you the romance side of things was PERFECT (especially since it was LGBT Romance 🥺❤️) It was so cute and wholesome and amazing and awesome, I just loved every second. The love triangle definitely was different to most (due to the time travel aspect) and I absolutely loved it, the whole love triangle was written perfectly imo.

You definitely did have moments in this book where you truely felt for the characters. Some parts were very sad to read - but then others were amazing happy moments.

I can’t really say too much about this because of spoilers, but part of me really does wish it didn’t end the way it did because I would have loved to read more of these characters with time travel
Other than that, it was a perfect ending - that perfect and sad it made me cry 😂

I’m definitely excited to see what else Kosoko writes in the future ☺️

I absolutely LOVED this book. Yesterday is history follows a black, queer boy with cancer. The book begins with him receiving the liver transplant he needs to become cancer-free, but there's a catch: the boy he received his liver from had the ability to time travel, and with this new liver, Andre inherits the ability.

The story centers around a love triangle between Andre and tow boys: one from the past, and one from the present. Andre grapples with his newfound ability, how his race impacts his time traveling experiences, and how to choose love. This #ownvoices story doesn't shy away from discussions of race, racism, and white fragility. Life was obviously very different for Black Americans in earlier generations of American history, which Andre's white time traveling counterparts don't understand. Frequent discussion of race and white ignorance take place, which makes the book much more enjoyable as it is realistic and adds plot twists that will make the reader think as other time traveling stories following white people don't.

This book is such a fun, quick, read, and is perfect to get you out of a reading slump. The day I received my copy, I sat down and read it until I was finished with no breaks. The plot will suck you in, the characters are flawed and lovable, and you will love the beautiful displays of queer love and tidbits of queer history. Five stars!

Andre Cobb, an African-American teen living in present-day Boston, has a lot on his plate. He’s survived cancer and a liver transplant, but now if he wants to graduate on time he has a slew of classes to complete in summer school; he’s lost his salutatorian status, and he’s having second thoughts about medical school, a path his parents have their hearts’ set on. When he suddenly and inexplicably finds himself in 1969, where he meets handsome and flirtatious Michael, Andre must add time travel and a super-long distance relationship to his list of things to deal with.

Yesterday Is History is a fun read with a very likable main character, and I enjoyed tagging along with Andre as he navigates the past and present. I would have liked a little more development with his relationships (both in 1969 and 2021) and also more character development for the best friend, Isobel -- if things had been a bit more fleshed out, I would give this book four stars rather than three.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with the ARC.

After a liver transplant saves his life, Andre finds that he has the ability to time-travel, just the way his donor did. Andre's first "jump" leads him to a loving relationship in 1969.. Will he stay in the past or choose to return to the future?

Yesterday is History, Kosoko Jackson's debut, is fundamentally a lovely story. It's a tender, heartfelt romance between protagonist Andre and two potential love interests - one in the present, one in the past, because oh, did I mention Andre can time travel? Thanks to an organ donation from a donor who came from a family of time travelers (it's a genetic thing), Andre, a Black gay teenager living in 2021 Boston, can jump back in time...to 1969, where he meets Michael, to whom he feels an instant connection. Back in the present day, he's being trained in the ways of time travel by Blake, the brother of the dead boy whose liver gave Andre a second chance at life and this whole weird superpower. And Blake, of course, also happens to be hot and into Andre...

My one real complaint about Yesterday is History is that there isn't more of it. That sounds like a cliche way of saying I loved it, but honestly, it could have used more. I wanted more development of the initial attraction between Andre and Michael, more development of growing feelings between Andre and Blake, more time spent with Andre's parents, with his best friend Isobel (who exists mostly in the form of text messages that Andre ignores...), with addressing the idea of what it means to travel through the past as a Black gay man... Basically, this book could have been a good 50 pages longer, and might have benefited even just from a montage or two - something along the lines of "over the next few months, I got to know Michael better..." We get a little of this with Blake, but there just could be MORE across the board.

But Andre is a realistic, appealing protagonist, the time travel via organ donation conceit is a fun one, and the emotions on the page feel absolutely real, even when they're given short shrift in the build-up. I just wanted more of it all.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the advance review copy!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So, in my British literature class, I used to start the semester off with a question meant to inspire the imagination. I would ask my students when and where they would travel in time. My personal go-to has always been the stone age so I missed the potential implications for BIPOC. One semester, I had a few students call me out on it and I have since stopped that question.

This book answers that question through the lens of a Black gay teen. Written by a Black gay man, Yesterday is History tackles love, intersectionality, and the future through its journey into the past. Despite being a YA romance, the wisdom regarding love is not relegated to teen romances.

I haven’t read many gay romances and I have been missing out. This book was so gay and I loved every tender moment of it. There was a point about 80%, where, despite the structure, I couldn't see any way this book wasn't going to be a tragedy. The choice Andre had to make seemed impossible. I cried when it seemed that there was no way to a happy ending. The biggest thing that didn’t work was something that was inevitable. I am not sure how art and culture are going to reflect 2020 in fiction, but, because this book had to be written well before the pandemic, this tremendous moment in history was left out. Despite that, I think this will be an excellent book for a Highschool History or Literature classroom. I can’t wait to show it to my students.

I was honestly kind of skeptical going into this book. A gay time travel story is right up my alley, but love triangles are not. Would it be amazing? Frustrating? Both? Well, there were certainly times when I had to roll my eyes over what felt, to me, like an easy decision. But I’m happy to say that those moments were few and far between, and I think the romance comes to a pretty satisfying conclusion. It’s certainly not perfect, at times the dialogue can feel very awkward, but I think the story itself makes up for that. It’s smart, interesting, and just the right amount of emotional. I definitely recommend this to people who enjoy a good time travel story and/or are looking for their next queer read.
4/5

I am a huge fan of time travel books so when I saw on Kosoko’s Twitter that he was writing this book about a black gay time-traveling teen, it immediately went to the top of my 2021 TBR.

And let me just say, it did not disappoint!

This book focused mostly on Andre’s journey to self discovery while finding himself both caught in between time and the love of two men who draw him out of himself in very different ways.

I loved the constant switching between serious conversations about passions, life, self expression, grief, and the life and lighter joking sweet, soft moments of tenderness between Andre and the various people in his life. His journey to self-discovery is only beginning when we leave him at the end of the book, but it is a beginning of him living for more than what is expected of him, living with a passion to chase after what makes him happy, that fulfills him and brings him joy.

As an avid reader of this particular niche genre, Kosoko managed to do something that I’ve never really encountered in time travel books. This was the first one I’ve read with a Black gay MC which should not be a novel thing, but it is just for simply existing. And that is a gift. The identity of Andre made the nuances and experiences of time travel that white writers (and readers) often romanticize and take for granted, much more sharp and the privilege of those takes more real. Bc while there is an allure to the fantasy of a time travel plot, the reality of even that fantasy can be frightening for black and queer folks. The past is a terrifying place to be different. Michael and Andre both briefly talk about the fear of being gay (and Black in Andre’s case) in 1969-1970s. However, it is a brief glimpse and not the focus which I found important to point out (as it’s a consideration many white writers avoid in these tropes) but not to dwell on that fear.

I also think Kosoko did an excellent job of showing how grief effects everyone differently and how that, even if given a chance to change the past to save the life of one we love, it is the braver right thing, the human thing, to accept that we should not change something as final and altering as death.

The only issues I had were mainly with the transitions - the scene changes often felt jarring and skipped over important emotional world building to “get to the good stuff” or a “big reveal” so that it seemed that Andre was suddenly in a situation that had little build up or quite made sense emotionally for him to suddenly feel so much after a single hour or day. This may have been fixed in the final edits and I think that would overall have made my rating go up if that character and emotional building were developed just a bit more in those transitional spot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the arc!

Kosoko Jackson made me cry. I wanted to tell Andre that he's going to be okay and also maybe give him a hug while I'm at it.

This love triangle was set in a very unique and unconventional manner. Andre a liver transplant recipient gains the ability to time travel because of his new organ. He travels back to 1969 where he meets the captivating Micheal, meanwhile in present day there is the gorgeous Blake.

This novel dealt with death, love, longing and sacrifice. Kosoko was able to engage me the whole time, making this a quick read. Yesterday is History celebrates a queer Black boy flawlessly and I am here for it. This novel can be easily the next big film hit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my goodness. This book y’all. I’m a mess.

Yesterday Is History is a time travel romance. I was immediately interested because I find time traveling so fascinating. But this story is so much more than that!
It’s about a Gay Black teenage boy who gets a second chance at life after beating cancer.

Andre recently received a liver transplant, but the gifted organ comes with a side effect. Andre has gained the ability to travel through time. Though he didn’t ask for this power, On his first accidental trip, he travels to 1969 and meets a boy named Michael, and they share an instant connection. And so the story begins.

I sped through this book so fast. I honestly wish it could have been longer. I really enjoyed all the characters. Andre was such a great character, I found myself rooting for him the entire time.
The time traveling was a fun addition to the story but it didn’t take over. To me this is a coming of age story from the perspective of a Black queer boy which we sadly don’t see too often.

I’m gonna recommend this to everyone because it’s that good!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for the copy of this book.

Goodness, this book was fabulous! The premise alone sounded phenomenal to me, I love a time travel story, and I was eager to see how the author would weave it into a liver transplant. And it was magical. The story captured me from the very first page and never let go. This is one of those books that when I was not able to be reading it, I'd think about reading it. I shall try to do it justice with my review, but you really should just go read it for yourselves.

►Andre was incredibly likable and empathetic. Oh I just wanted to hug him! I mean, he's obviously been through it, having a liver transplant as a teen. And now he found out that a side effect is that he now hops to 1969 on the reg? Yeah, that is a lot. And Andre has flaws, of course, but he also goes through so much growth during the book.

►Yes, it's a time travel book, but it's more an Andre book. Time travelling certainly shapes Andre, there's no doubt. Michael, the young man he meets from his house forty plus years prior shapes who he will become. Seeing the way the LGBT+ community was treated back then obviously has a huge impact. But the thing is, at its core, this story is Andre's, not just time travel, or his transplant, or his identities. It's all of that mixed together, to form this wonderful young man who is navigating coming of age and figuring out what he wants and who he wants to be and it is lovely.

►The emotions, they are strong! I laughed, I cried, I cried a little more, I smiled. I felt so connected to the characters and the story that it was genuinely difficult to close the book and be done. That is a rarity for me lately, and Yesterday is History gave me that gift.

►Huge focus on all facets of Andre's life- his family, his friends, his interests and future, and yes, his romantic relationships. The thing I loved is that the author was able to make each aspect of Andre's life fully fleshed out. So the reader was obviously interested in who Andre will choose to be with, but also what career path he'll choose, how he and his family will cope with all the changes, what his friends are thinking about this, how the heck time travel will fit into his busy schedule. It was all important, because it was all part of Andre's story.

►It's so incredibly thought provoking. This is a bit of spoiler territory, so I won't go beyond that, but I will promise you that more times than not, you'll be asking yourself exactly what you'd do if you found yourself in Andre's situation. Which frankly, makes his story all the more relatable.

Bottom Line: Yesterday is History is such a lovely gem of a book with one of my favorite main characters in a long time. I fell in love with Andre's journey, and I've no doubt that you will too.

What is it with incredibly well-written stories about gay teenagers lately that they're all out to break my heart and make me love them for it?
There is so much to unpack, analyze, and just straight-up love about Andre's story. Everything from his being a cancer survivor, to his relationships, to the expert way in which Jackson so fluidly weaves the sci-fi element of time travel into such a human story. The themes of loss, growth, and love that permeate the story do it so naturally that the insane proposal of people born to be time travelers just flows with the rest of the plot and is just one of many elements that add to the complexity and brilliance of the story.
I could wax poetic about great I found this book, or I could just save all of us some time and just tell you to go read it.

Many extremely happy thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the read!

A lovely time travel romance, I enjoyed this a lot. It was easy to just pick up and fly through it, the characters were interesting, and the premise of hereditary time travel abilities drew me right in. The romance was complicated by time and I really appreciated how clear it was made that falling for someone from a different time would be HARD. Definitely recommend if you love time travel, queer love stories, love triangles, and diverse characters.

YESTERDAY IS HISTORY promised to be a daring story, in which a cancer survivor — a queer Black boy — gets a second chance at life and a love that transcends time. It was one of those books that I knew would make me cry, for there is nothing simple about falling in love, and when time stretches in between, things become all that more complicated. Still, I wasn't prepared to be so wholly captivated with unapologetic story — to be still stunned speechless, even as the space of many days lie between me and the time I finished reading the last page.

Needless to say, YESTERDAY IS HISTORY is one of those novels I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone, without any exception.

Jackson spins this story with caution and accuracy, for this is no ordinary time-traveling tale. It is one packed with political consciousness, one that acknowledges that no single time period, not even ours, is perfectly safe for marginalized people. It recognizes the toll that jumping from time to time can take — on the world around us, and us, ourselves.

Perhaps, most importantly, Jackson writes in a way that keeps the emotional string taut. In just 300-something pages, I grow to care about every single one of these characters — Andre, Michael, Blake — their tumultuous love, and the things that pull them apart. The stakes are never too high to be desensitized, but always just right to keep my heart thrumming eagerly, wondering how everything will turn out, and hoping, dearly, that none of these boys will be left heartbroken.

What more could a reader ask for? Once again, I hope that everyone looks for YESTERDAY IS HISTORY on shelves, come February 2nd, for this is most certainly *not* a debut to be missed.

I received an advanced copy of Yesterday is History from Sourcebooks’ Early Reader Program so I could share my review with you!

Andre Cobb recently received a life-saving liver transplant, but the gifted organ comes with a side effect no one could have predicted. With his new liver, Andre has gained the ability to travel through time, a skill he can’t control. Though he didn’t ask for this power, Andre soon discovers that there are certain perks to being able to time travel. On his first accidental trip to the past, he meets a boy from 1969 named Michael, and they share an instant connection. When Andre returns to his time, he receives a message from his donor’s family; time travel runs in their family and they want to help him learn to control his new ability. Andre becomes torn between 1969 and his own time, and between who he is and who he wants to be.

You can get your copy of Yesterday is History on February 2nd from Sourcebooks Fire!

I first encountered Kosoko Jackson’s work in the Out Now anthology last year, as his short story was by far my favorite from the collection! When I saw that he was going to be publishing a full-length novel this year, I couldn’t contain my excitement! Yesterday is History brought some of my favorite elements of Jackson’s storytelling style into a longer format, giving them time to develop into something truly spectacular. This book crosses between genres, exploring contemporary issues against the backdrop of time travel.

My Recommendation-
This book would be an outstanding pick for fans of Shaun David Hutchinson’s style of incorporating the surreal into modern settings. If you have been looking for a fun time travel story full of ageless emotions, you need to read Yesterday is History!

I loved everything about this book. So often we see books with three straight characters in a love triangle but rarely do we see stories of messy queer kids falling in love. Add in the fact that the main character can time travel? Even better! This is also great own voices representation of what it's like to be a young queer Black man. Though Andre might joke about it he knows that being Black in this country as well as queer can be challenging. I also love that his parents are still together and in love and it's not traumatic. We need more parents like that in stories just existing and being happy. Please check out this amazing queer romance if you're a fan of time travel, of a queer Black kids discovering what they want in life while also finding love.

Stories that blend time travel and romance together have my whole heart. One of my greatest and most vulnerable hopes in our existence is that love transcends time and space; that love can exist independently of both. And then I read Yesterday is History, a wonderful YA story about a boy time travels and, against all odds, finds a love of his life in the 1960’s. I struggle to accurately describe the feeling that reading Yesterday is History gave me – all I know is that this story is beautiful, heart-rendering, and filled with so much hope.

Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson follows Andre, a Black teen who has survived cancer and is given a second chance of life when he receives a liver donation. But what Andre discovers is that his new liver has given him the ability to time travel, and when he travels back in e, he meets Michael, a stunning and sharp boy who just might be Andre’s match. As Andre oscillates between past and present, Andre also starts to form a relationship with his dead liver donor’s brother, Blake.

As you can probably tell, I love books that have to do with time travel – especially when there’s a romance involved. In this story, time travel isn’t just a random ability that Andre so happens to inherit after his surgery; time travel is thoughtfully embedded into the reality of Yesterday is History. Like Andre, readers will be pulled into a secret world of time travel. And listen: the time travel in this is fantastic. It’s a kind of time travel that has its own rules and adds an intense and incredible emotional layer that just pulls you back into another sitting.

The cast of Yesterday is History was fantastic. I enjoyed getting to know Blake and Michael, but the character that shone brightest was Andre. Smart, sharp, thoughtful, and just, Andre is a memorable character that most people will find themselves relating with. (Me personally? I enjoyed how Michael reflected on his career path, doubted, and settled at a place where ‘still figuring things out’ was a valid conclusion to his development.) In particular though, I think readers will find Andre’s agency across the book really refreshing. Though the path of the story is clear, I enjoyed that Andre challenges, questions, struggles, finds joy, learns, and grows, which made the story incredibly interesting and engaged me throughout.

Of course, what I really enjoyed about Yesterday is History is the sublime romances. Yesterday is History has probably one of the best love triangles that I’ve read. I enjoyed that the love triangle challenged Andre; enjoyed that the romances that he forms with two very different boys made him question, reflect, and, best of all, so incredibly and tenderly vulnerable. Andre’s story and his feelings – all wonderfully written – feel so genuine. If I have to choose a word to describe Andre’s characterisation and his journey, it’s ‘brave’.

At the heart of Yesterday is History, is a story about love in its most vulnerable, most tender and most selfless. Yesterday is History presents a compelling and complex romance where ‘the one’ isn’t straightforward and that choice has consequences to explore what ‘love’, in its purest form, is. What I loved about this book the most is how the story explores love, and whether there is a time for it. Can two people love each other even if the time isn’t right? Does love have a ‘chance’? Can love extend and exist, independent of the confines of time and space?

I loved that Yesterday is History was able to evoke all these wonderful questions and ideas about love and time. And though I went back and forth about who Andre would ultimately choose, I liked that the love triangle was actually less about ‘who he would choose’, but was instead an organic journey about Andre’s joy, his loves and, in tandem, his growth. I don’t think Yesterday is History is a ‘lesson story’, but it definitely offers a heartaching and awful exploration of how acceptance – of life, of what happens, of ourselves - is so incredibly difficult but necessary.

MY CONCLUSION: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

If Yesterday is History is an example of Jackson’s sheer talent and hard work, then I am incredibly excited to see how he will grow as a writer and the stories that he will tell. Heartaching, beautiful, and so tender, Yesterday is History is a phenomenal story about a miracle that sends a boy on an unforgettable journey of love, joy, and acceptance.