High school senior Chloe has been through a lot the past few months. In fact, she's in summer school and unable to graduate with her friends because she missed the final semester of her senior year because she was recovering from a heart transplant.

Things should be better now. She has her new heart, she's made a new friend in summer school and she's been getting surfing lessons from a cute guy named Kai. But there's other things going on too. Weird things. She's having weird, reoccurring nightmares, and hallucinations. Or, are they hallucinations? Maybe these things are really happening. Maybe, they're related to her new heart. In an attempt to figure out what's going on, Chloe and her new friend from summer school Jane, set out to find out who her donor is.

I thought I knew where this book was going. As I was reading the book, I was mentally taking notes in my head about what I was going to say in this review. I was completely prepared to write that while I really enjoyed the book, I guessed what the twisted ending was. But, I was wrong! I spent most of the book thinking I knew what the ending would be, but I guessed wrong. I was super surprised. Overall, this book was a little creepier than I thought it would be, but I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted on Goodreads and my blog two weeks before the publication date.

This book - wow. This is everything I wanted from a YA contemporary. I bloody loved it.

This book follows Chloe, who has a heart defect and after a life-changing surgery, she starts to see traits in herself she never had before. For example, she starts to love surfing when she never did before. She recognises people she knows she hasn't met.

I haven't read anything in a while that made me feel so many different emotions at once. For a start, Shannon's writing is an easy and enjoyable read. I found myself really immersed from the get-go and I thought Chloe was a really likeable character. The concept of the plot was what drew me to this book initially and I was kept guessing throughout. I liked how the reader went on this journey alongside Chloe and she didn't have all the answers just like that.
I thought the romance was sweet and I could believe in it which I have found hard in a lot of the romances I have read recently, however, this book is so much more than the romance. I think the message behind this book is very powerful and I believe this will be impactful for a lot of young YA readers.

Overall, a fab book with a clear message and a sweet romance. I would definitely recommend!
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is just so heartbreaking.
I don't even know what to say. The story was perfect. I just want to cry okay. The character of chole was just way to good for the world. She recovering and falling in love and the end just got to me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka.

Chloe is an active seventeen year old with her eyes firmly set on her future. But her body has other plans, and while running in cross country, collapses and ends up in the hospital. She needs a new heart, and the entire course of her life changes.

Now that she's got a new heart, she begins having visions and memories that don't belong to her. She also has new interests, a reckless side, a desire to be a daredevil against her doctor's advice. She also meets someone, someone who will end up meaning more to her than she ever could have imagined.

If I was a teen girl, this book would have had me sobbing, is all I have to say. It was unexpected in so many ways, and just the perfect romantic YA indulgence. Very sweet and real without being too overly gooey. I can't say much more than that without spoiling it.

This beautifully written novel feels like staying up all night with your new best friend while she tells you her life story. The storytelling is dreamy, and magic weaves through the plot, yet this book realistically captures what it's like to question everything and have to find yourself again after a major upheaval.

An intriguing, meditative mix of scientific and metaphysical musing and vivid sensory details. I enjoyed living inside Chloe's head, whether she was speculating on the existence of multiple realities or considering the changes to her high-achieving lifestyle after a near-death experience. The sense of place was so vivid at times I could smell the salt in the air and feel the waves during her clandestine surfing lessons.
This is a story that sneaks up on you, and will keep readers talking well after they turn the last page. Especially recommended for fans of brain-bending movies that play with the nature of reality, or anyone grappling with the sudden disruption of the life they imagined.

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was definitely an interesting idea and I loved the exploration of the concept of cellular memory, but honestly, I felt like the plot (and other things) was just not there. It kind of felt like the story just started and ended, and everything in the middle was just the in-between part. 

     I also have huge issues with a lot of the things that were presented as normal in Everything I Thought I Knew. A 17-year-old girl drinking, doing drugs, illegally driving a motorcycle, getting a tattoo, as well as cursing a butt-ton should not be presented as normal or okay or somehow better than keeping your stuff together, although I think all those things occurring made it that much more powerful when Chloe decided she wasn't gonna do dumb things and waste her second chance at life. And I really just don't know how to feel about the whole thing with Kai. We're gonna give this a two and a half out of five stars.

I had the pleasure of reading and ARC of this book, and it truly blew me away.

The story is woven together beautifully, the characters are richly crafted, and the conflict kept me up late so I could finish this in one sitting. I was invested from the beginning because of the voice and lyrical prose. The main character's journey to understand who she is after a transplant may not be something everyone has experienced, but the questioning of who you are - especially in senior year - is a story many will relate too.

This also does an excellent job of bringing to light the enormous pressure the educational system puts on students as they prepare for a top ranked school. As an educator, I think this is a particularly valuable story for reminding students that no one has it all together, and it is okay to ask questions and second guess the plan you've made.

It's hard to give more details without treading into spoiler territory, but this is one book you will not want to miss.


*I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.