THINGS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN by Claire LaZebnik is a young adult contemporary book following a teenager named Chloe. Chloe has the perfect boyfriend and is popular in school. At home, she helps to care for her older sister Ivy, who has autism. One day, Chloe decides to help Ivy become more social. Her plan is to get Ivy a boyfriend, but this task isn't as simple as she hopes.

I really enjoyed THINGS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. The books helps to show a realistic depiction about what it's like to have autism, and what it's like to care for someone with autism. For instance, this book discusses everything from dealing with rude stares and comments in public, to discovering your sexuality when you struggle with your own emotions. Chloe is an excellent sister to Ivy. She always does what she thinks is best, but isn't perfect and makes mistakes. I appreciated that the story isn't sugar-coated - sometimes there is no right or easy answer for navigating life, especially with an intellectual disability.

Moreover, I just adored the romance in this book. I found it so endearing, and honestly wish we got more of this storyline. Plus, I thought this book handles teenage romance in a mature way. The breakups weren't overly dramatic, and the new relationships weren't cringey. I also like the enemies to lovers trope we get here.

I also want to give major bonus points to this book for being outwardly pro-vaccine, pro-LGBT+, and otherwise just progressive. It was refreshing to read a YA book that didn't feel preachy and just felt like it aligned with my views.

THINGS I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN does read quite young, but I otherwise think it's an important read. I highly recommend it, and look forward to picking up more books from this author.

I admit, I enjoyed reading this one! The characters were just adorable despite being different from each other.

Also two thumbs up for including not only autism but also the LGBT+ Definitely a hands down for me.

Claire LaZebnik doesn't shy away from the. big issues in this book. From individuals with autism, to LGBTQ issues, she puts these families on full display. That said, I think Chloe was the only complex character in this book. Everyone else was slotted into a role "mom who doesn't know what to do with her adult daughter with autism," "anti-social dude who acts like he hates the popular girl." I did find myself rooting for Chloe and David in the end simply because they were obviously written for each other, and Chloe's original boyfriend was such a one-dimensional jerk.

Things I should Have Known is a great book that highlights many important issues including LGBT representation, autism, and even feminism and mental health. With the author having personal experience with autism, her own voice provided authenticity, which is always desired.

While the plot, themes and topics broached were realisitic and relatable, the writing did fall flat for me. I just couldn't seem to connect in the way I wanted to. Chloe and Ivy were great, and Chloe's stepfather was a perfect antagonist. But I just couldn't feel the chemistry between the other relationships.

This did further the relatableness of the novel, as it wasn't insta love and over the topic cheese.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I have loved Claire LaZebnik's other books which are modern retellings of Jane Austen novels, so you bet I was stoked to read a new book from her! This was an amazing book that focused on autism, familial bonds and LGBTQ relationships! I loved the relationship between Chloe and Ivy, her autistic sister. This book gave me all the feels and I so want to re-read it again!

Wow. This was fantastic. Witty dialogue, unique subject matter, and the least sappy YA love story ever. This is going to be a reread!

Issues, there are lots of issues everywhere, and this particular book added some to those which I know already. It opened my eyes to new ones, and gave me more understanding, and deep knowledge to the things I am somewhat well-aware of.

I wanted so badly to love this book! I very rarely see autism rep in YA contemporaries, and I was hoping this one would really knock my socks off. That said, I was totally unable to get into this story. The characters are one-dimensional, the dialogue feels forced and stilted, and all in all, I just did not enjoy the writing in this story.

Loved it! I was pleasantly surprised by Things I Should Have Known. I don't often read books dealing with autistic kids so I'm glad I gave this one a chance.

I am normally not a YA fan. I still try them out from time to time. That being said this book didn’t feel as cheesy as others in the genre. A great book about friendship, love, and relationship between a teenager and her autistic sister. Thank you for the read!

Contemporary YA tends to be a genre I enjoy reading, so I expected to like Things I Should Have Known. However, I after I finished reading, I realized that it fell kind of flat for me.

The Good: I loved the relationship between Ivy and Chloe. I'm a sucker for a good sister relationship and I thought that theirs was fabulously done. In fact, Ivy herself might have been the saving grace for Things I Should Have Known. I was always more interested in her feelings and in her life than I was with any other character in this book. I wanted to read about her thoughts about her family life, her school life, her sexuality, and everything else that made her her.

The Eh: I didn't like Chloe. I found her to be slightly conceited and extremely self-centered. Yeah, she's good to her sister, but she still seemed slightly horrid to me. And I found it incredibly weird that what she likes most about David (who was a complete jerk 99 percent of the time) was that he verbally attacked everyone else, but was nice to her. Also, the ending was so rushed. The tense family dynamics seemed to just fade out and were never fully resolved. In fact, the whole ending made it seem as though the author had no idea how to end it and so she threw out a few platitudes to tie the whole thing together. Only, it kinda failed.

Overall, I was extremely underwhelmed by Things I Should Have Known. I think that I would have enjoyed this book more had it been narrated by Ivy. Chloe just aggravated me throughout the whole thing and most of the characters (with exception of Ivy and Ethan) were annoying.

This book was interesting, although I found myself not entirely invested in the story as I did not feel like I could relate to any of the characters. My knowledge of autism spectrum disorders is really quite limited, and the one thing I did take away from this book was the want to know more about Autism.

The premise of the book caught my attention right away. Chloe, a high school student, wants to find romance for her older, autistic sister, Ivy. The characters were realistic, and it would be a good way for students to read realistic fiction about autism. At first I thought it would be too cheesy, but I could see so many of my autistic students in Ivy. It held my attention throughout the book.

I enjoyed the characters in the book, and the plot line held my attention. It seemed very similar to the true story of Elizabeth Smart who was also held captive as a teenager. It is not a book I would share with my middle schoolers because of the sexual content.

I was given this book for my honest review.

Such an interesting concept. Totally something I'd recommend to my students.

This book is a great and quick read. I love how it shows that people with autism are humans that have valid feelings and opinions. This was the first book I’ve read by this author, and it won’t be my last!

This book has a beautiful representation of autism. It has some amazing character and character development.

It’s worth a read.

I love the character relationship. And ivy is my favourite and so is Ethan, and cloe and Daniel.

Love them all so much. I want to own this book so badly.

The story line was very involving and I wanted to read about their lives more and more. I wanted this book to never end. It was so beautifully written.

Love this to the core.

Firstly, a HUGE thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

THIS BOOK.

THIS BOOK.

All praise this delightful piece of literature. 10 out of 10 would recommend.
This book is heavy in ASD representation, diversity, feminism, excellent character development, and a ship that will have you rooting for them from page one (among about ten zillion other glorious things that I could gush about).

David has one of those bland faces that would get him off for murder because not a single eyewitness would be able to describe him.

THAT IS HOW YOU BEGIN A SHIP PEOPLE

I digress. This book follows the lives of Chloe and her sister Ivy, who has ASD. While Ivy is nearly 21 to Chloe’s 17, Chloe takes on a lot of the carer role in that she helps her sister navigate through social situations, even trying to help her find a boyfriend (which we all know by now, did not work, cause Ivy is not interested in the male species). BUT. Chloe gets points for taking such an interest in her sister (especially considering the pain in the arse that is her step-father and the wilt of a human that is her mother), in trying to get her out into the world, but also trying not to make it overwhelming for her. I am sad to say that I don’t have a sister. If I did, I hope I would have the loving and understanding relationship that Chloe and Ivy have. Can I just say, that I truly appreciate seeing Chloe treat Ivy like a REAL person. I even appreciated that Chloe would get mad at Ivy, cause guess what? IVY IS A REAL HUMAN. Too often have I seen people treat those with ASD like “lesser humans,” speaking to them in a condescending way, avoiding them like the plague if they are prone to outbursts. It’s despicable.

It’s like people have a place in their brain for normal, and they have a place in their brain for something obviously wrong, but they can’t deal with something just a little bit different. And that makes them uncomfortable. And when people are uncomfortable, they act like jerks.

The book primarily focuses of Chloe and her trying to set up Ivy in a relationship with a fellow classmate, Ethan, who also has ASD. While Chloe and Ethan’s brother, David act as the chaperones to Ivy and Ethan, they bond in a way that only two people in their situation could. They both have siblings with ASD. They both have not overtly bad parents, but bad nonetheless in that none of them seem to take active interest in their children. They both have step-parents who are quite the idiots. THOUGH. I will say. The character progression of Ron, Chloe and Ivy’s step-father, was quite delightful. BUUUUTTT, the parents are still pretty much the worst. And thus the caregiving falls to Chloe and David.

Ah Chloe and David. Their banter had me hooked from the moment the first interacted. They didn’t change their personalities to suit each other. They were truly themselves. David was angry and snarky and said whatever the heck was on his mind. Chloe was sarcastic and full of sass and empowering.

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this book. Go borrow it or buy it or listen to it. I don’t care. Just do it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

If you are in the mood for a light read, this is a option for you. While it was a bit predictable, the story was just enough different than your typical story to really hold my attention.

It was nice to see the relationships between the siblings, and the characters become better people throughout the book.

This was an excellent YA book told from the perspective of a teenage sister in high school, with an older sister who has autism. The thoughts and feelings of the characters ring true, and learn and grow along the way. A wonderfully satisfying read.