3.5*

I was not able to put this book down, and it broke me out of my month long reading slump. It was fast paced, and character driven, which made it an enthralling read. I loved Andre as a main character, he was interesting and realistic. I've never really been interested in time travel plots, but this book made it really work for me. Also, the past few years there's been a lot of Sick Kid YA books, and I enjoyed that this one focused on a character after remission and getting back to their life outside of being sick.

It did have its flaws though. It does feature a love triangle, which is one of my biggest book pet peeves. And while I adored the plot, both of the romances have 0 chemistry. I wish there was no romance at all, or if it only focused on one romance and developed that one more. Also, I wish it spent more time developing the friendship with Blake. This book time skipped so one chapter they hated each other, and then suddenly were buds and going on a date. There was a lot of things I wish this book went into more, such as Andres struggle with his future career, his relationship with Michael, his past cancer diagnoses, and so much more. This book would have been much better with 100 more pages and cutting out one of the romance plots, so it could spend more time on development.

I never would have guessed that an organ transplant time-travel romance would be as unputdownable as this book, but what a ride!

Yesterday is History takes place shortly after Andre Cobb receives a much needed liver transplant. As 46th on the waitlist, it’s a surprise to Andre that he’s the one receiving the transplant, and not someone higher up. But the transplant turns out to be a perfect match, and not much thought is given to the transplant. After all, Andre’s just excited for his life to begin, and to go back to his ten-year plan of becoming an oncologist. The same ten-year plan that he and his parents have been working on ever since he was little. Everything seems normal, until a few months later, when Andre passes out, and wakes up outside of his house.

Except it isn’t just quite his house. It’s 1969, and Andre has no idea how he got there. It’s there that he meets a charming and beautiful boy, Michael. Just as suddenly as Andre arrived, he gets sent back to present day Boston, where he receives a message from the family of his donor: The McIntyres. They want to meet him. It’s only then that Andre finds out about his new liver’s side effect: the ability to time travel. Luckily for him, the youngest son, Blake has been tasked with teaching Andre how to manage his new powers. Andre splits his time between the past and future, and Michael and Blake. Torn between the past and present, it’s up to Andre to figure out where he belongs, who he wants to become, and what’s next for him, before he runs out of time.

Yesterday is History is a charming, and endearing fast-paced book. I simply didn’t want to set it down. From the get go, I was immediately invested in Andre’s story, and found him to be someone that was easy to root for. I wanted to find out more about why he had the powers, how he was selected for the liver transplant, and what the consequences of time traveling were.

“You don’t owe anyone anything. Not your parents. Not society. You can take this opportunity to live life to the fullest. So I’m here to ask you: Are you going to medical school because you want to or because your parents want you to?”

It’s always scary when you realize that the ten-year plan that you’ve spent your entire life imagining about might not actually be the thing you want to do. Just like any other good coming-of-age story, Andre is faced with trying to figure out what he really wants, who he is, and what that means for him.

I found the love triangle to be really believable, and at times, couldn’t decide who I was rooting for, which is personally, my favorite kind of love triangle. Both Michael and Blake were multifaceted love-interests, and I kept flip-flopping between who I wanted Andre to end up with. I won’t spoil who he ends up with, but I’ll say that the romance progressed naturally and both relationships helped all parties grow and develop.

All too often, I feel like parents have a pretty absent role in YA novels, and I was really glad that it wasn’t the case in Yesterday is History. I found myself more interested in the family dynamic of the McIntyres than the Cobbs, but I think it made sense given the role of the McIntyres with the time traveling dynamic.

I wish that there was more to the historical aspect in Yesterday is History, but that might just be because I personally love historical fiction. I also wish that Isobel, Andre’s best friend, was used more as she felt really sidelined to me. Overall, I loved how this book dealt with loss and grief, while also reminding us of hope and happy endings.

Yesterday is History was everything that I wanted in a time-traveling book, and overall, I would give it 5 stars. I’m incredibly excited to read some of Kosoko Jackson’s other books. A major thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEFire Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for his ARC.
*4.5*
I am so happy that I picked up this book. I love all things to do with queers and time travel so I knew this book was for me. I loved the plot and the storyline. I was well thought out and really well paced. I thought the book flowed really well and made you want to keep reading. The premise of Andre meeting a boy both back in the past and in the future was really intriguing to me. I really wanted to see which one he was going to pick. It was really awesome to see a black and gay MC in a situation you don't get to see to0 often. It broadened the horizons of these types of stories.

plot: after a liver transplant, andre gets the ability to time travel. he meets michael in 1969, who he quickly falls for. in the present, he gets to know blake, whose parents help him understand his powers. at the same time, he also starts to fall for blake..

3.5🌟: let me start with the good things: a gay black mc, critisim of the american health care system and lots of thoughts on microaggressions. the writing style was easy and fun to read! but: for a novel about time traveling to the past, there's next to nothing historical about this. we get to know michael in 1969, a fact or two about the 70s and that's it. that was disappointing. the lack of female representation was as well. andre's best friend isobel almost always only pops up through text messages or in his head to remind the reader that andre himself can't come up with feminist thoughts. it's always something like "isobel always says", not what andre really thinks! the only other female characters are mothers, which doesn't help. at last, the love triangle really annoyed me. the story was very much focused on it and i didn't enjoy how close it got to cheating, which is what i'm usually afraid of when it comes to love triangles.

thanks to netgalley i received an early digital access copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I highly recommend this fun timey-wimey LGBTQIA YA Contemporary read. Author Kosoko Jackson achieves what he set out to do; share an enjoyable, lighthearted story about a queer black teenager who is a desirable love interest and has an adventure. The time-travel is straightforward and easy to follow and the characters are realistic and relatable.

You know those books that you’re reading and enjoying, and then some way through you’re hit with the realisation that it’s going to make you cry? That is Yesterday is History.

The book opens a few months after Andre’s successful liver transplant, for which he was, surprisingly and luckily, selected from far down the waitlist. When the parents of the donor get in touch with him asking to meet, he agrees, expecting them to merely want to meet him. Instead, he is thrust into a world of time travel, an ability he now has, thanks to the liver transplant.

First and foremost, I had a whole lot of fun reading this book (up until the point it made me almost cry, but I guess that was still fun of a sort). I was completely absorbed from page one and pretty much didn’t put the book down until I’d finished.

What really drove that fun, though, was the characters, namely Andre’s relationships with Blake and Michael. You want to keep reading to find out why Andre has these abilities, sure, but you also want to keep reading to see where the semi-love triangle goes (I say ‘semi’, because it’s pretty clear what the ultimate outcome is going to be). For me, it was particularly how the relationship between Blake and Andre developed, but also (perversely maybe), how the (comparative) tragedy of Michael and Andre unfolded.

This is, really, a book about loss, in amongst its hopefulness. The reason Andre gets a liver transplant, and the associated abilities, is because of another family’s loss. And while they want to help him, he and they are still having to navigate that loss. Later on, it becomes a more personal story of loss for Andre (that sounds a little ominous, but I promise it’s not). And I loved just how the book juggled telling a story of loss and grief, and telling a story of hope too.

Despite all this, there were a couple of things I was less keen on. The setup seems a little bit forced, for me, but obviously that’s a preference thing. It worked, it just didn’t work smoothly. And then there were a couple of times when I was told things I’d rather had been shown, such as Andre ignoring Isobel, skipping school, the development of his relationship with Blake from not liking each other to being friends (which wasn’t a killer, but I really would have liked to see that). None of these things completely ruined my enjoyment of the book, of course, but I was always aware that I might have liked it even more.

So, if you were at all on the fence about reading this one, let this review convince you to pick it up because I can promise you won’t regret it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Yesterday is History in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe it's because I've read a weird amount of incredible books centered around teenage organ donation recently, but Yesterday is History fell a little short for me.

Don't get me wrong, I love the premise. A teen cancer survivor undergoes an organ transplant only to find out that his organ donor was from a family of time travelers and now he can time travel too. Oh, also its a queer love story. It's my perfect recipe of zany and I was ecstatic but I'd honestly classify Yesterday is History as Romance before historical fiction or sci-fi. We spend barely any on page time in the past and time travel is used more as a device to push our protagonist closer to both of his love interests which was fine except both relationships were pretty surface level. I just wanted more, I guess?

For what it was, this was a really fun read! But I feel like it was also supposed to be emotional and we never get to spend enough time in either relationship to get to that point.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for providing this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Kosoko Jackson's YESTERDAY IS HISTORY tells the story of Andre Cobb, a cancer survivor whose new liver grants him the genetic gift of time travel. As Dre juggles his budding relationship with Michael from 1969, time travel lessons with Blake, and his schoolwork, he finds himself torn between two boys and the arc of his own future.

This book was such a joy to read! Andre is an empathetic main character whose internal life immediately had me hooked to the narrative. The time travel element was unique and artfully done, neither heavy-handed nor lackluster. The supporting cast of characters enriches and complicates the overall story. And the ending, oh, the ending breaks you down and rebuilds you all at once.

My one qualm with this book, overall, is it went by so quickly. Yes, there was certainly an element of I-couldn't-put-it-down, but beyond that it did generally feel rushed. I felt like 100 more pages of character work, of really settling into more interactions between Dre and Michael/Blake, or the McIntyre's, or even Dre's parents, would have rounded out the edges of the book beautifully.

YESTERDAY IS HISTORY is easy to fall in love with. I -- and I'm sure many, many other readers! -- look forward to what Kosoko Jackson will continue to bring to the table.

I really liked the premise of the book but it fell a little short for me. They said that the time traveling is genetic, which is fine, but then both of the parents can do it? I didn't know if they were inbred or what, because it sounded like it said that there was only one family that could do it and then it changed a couple times throughout. The main characters get angry about random things, that to me, don't make sense why they would be mad in the first place. I really enjoyed the writing and even though Andre annoyed me at times, I did like all the characters. Overall, I did still think it was a cute story just some things didn't add up to me.

This book was absolutely AMAZING. I went to start it while laying down for bed planning to read just a couple chapters and ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. Next thing I knew it was 3am and I felt broken and happy at the same time. This beautiful book captures time travel in such a new and unique way while also traveling the road of finding yourself and choosing your own paths in life. I loved every single character and found myself laughing and tearing up more than once through this book. Love love love and highly recommend to everyone!

Book review:
Yesterday Is History
by Kosoko Jackson
Pub Date: 02 Feb 2021
read courtesy of http://netgalley.com

Romantic. Not corny teenage romance from an adult's perspective, but true, selfish, selfless romance. And time travel. And the blurring of societal boundaries. And romance.

I was sorry this story ended but was so glad to have experience it. Andre and Blake and Michael were gay young men whose love triangle was complicated but real. The author didn't exaggerate or stereotype in order for the reader to understand the characters' motivations and feelings. The emotional sensitivity of their situations felt pure. The same is true for the parent:son relationships. Smart, mature young men were still allowed to argue, quarrel and rant against their parents; likewise, the parents were not made out to be clueless adults who couldn't do anything right. These were some of the most real characterizations I've encountered in a YA novel in a long time.

...Which is kind of funny considering what they went through was out-of-this-world. The time travel portion of the story was handled well in that it didn't leave me wondering, "Huh? How could that be?" In other words, there weren't any Marty McFly moments where Andre could see himself in the past. Those type of time travel scenarios always mess with my ability to concentrate on the story instead of the physics of the moment. 😏

Jackson wrote a well-crafted story with wonderful characters. I cannot wait to get this into the hands of my high school readers. 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

By the second page I was completely engaged by Andre and his voice. The book is unputdownable. In addition to the fantastic characters, it deals with ideas about time travel that I hadn’t thought of before, such as “if you see something go wrong and can’t fix it, what’s the point?” Highly recommended.

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

This book was absolutely incredible. During Andre’s battle with hepatocellular carcinoma, he finally gets the call that his perfect liver match has been found. After he receives the transplant, strange things happen.... and Andre suddenly wakes up in 1969. Yes... his liver gave him the ability to TIME TRAVEL.

While in 1969, he meets a fabulous boy named Michael. Flash forward to 2021, and he meets another lovely boy named Blake. Who is Andre’s true love?? Can he truly form a relationship with Michael? If he chooses Blake, is he simply taking the easy way out?

I was so invested in this love triangle and I truly wanted the best for Andre. I will likely be purchasing a print copy for my collection. The writing style was also so light and made for a quick read. This would make an excellent film.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I’d never heard of the author before this book, but I’d heard about the book. I thought the summary sounded original and awesome and I was not disappointed! If you love time travel stories, I’d recommend this one. It’s very unique.

I've wanted to read a Kosoko Jackson book for quite a while, and upon seeing the cover of his 2021 release "Yesterday is History" and reading the synopsis, I immediately put in a request for the book on NetGalley, and I was absolutely thrilled to be approved for an e-ARC copy of the book from SourceBooksFire, in exchange for an honest review.

"Yesterday is History" tells the story of Andre Cobb, a teenage cancer patient who receives a liver transplant, and with it, the unexpected gift of being able to travel back in time.

Without warning, Andre finds himself transported from 2021 back to 1969, where he meets Michael, who lives in the same house as Andre lives in the future, and the two of them begin to bond. But, as quickly as he arrived, Andre returns to the present where Blake, the brother of Andre's donor, has been assigned to teach him how to use his new gift.

Eventually, Andre finds himself torn between the past and the present, between Michael and Blake, and it's up to him to figure out where he belongs and who he wants to be.

This book was absolutely brilliant, and beautiful! The story is unlike anything I've ever read before, and it pulled me in almost instantly. It was very compulsively readable, and I grew to love Andre and his relationships with both Michael and Blake. The last 5-10 percent of the book in particular was incredibly emotional, and at the end, I was bawling my eyes out.

Kosoko Jackson's writing was easy and approachable, and he was able to alternate between the two timelines of the novel very effectively! I expected to enjoy this book, but having finished it, I can say that it exceeded any possible expectations I had. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK and I definitely recommend it!

"Yesterday is History" is scheduled for publication on February 2, 2021 from SourceBooksFire and if the idea of a contemporary sci-fi book with LGBTQ+ themes appeals as much to you as it did to me, you will definitely want to add this to your shelf!

Special thanks to Kosoko Jackson, SourceBooksFire and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early!

This book was so immersive! A tale of second chances and being desirable from the inside, out. When Andre is thrown into two different worlds and two different boys, one past , one present. Andre has to figure out who he wants to be and who he wants to be with.