Genre: Young Adult | Romance | Contemporary Fiction

Release Date: 13th October 2020



Heart problems are for other people.

For Old people.

Unhealthy People.

Not for seventeen year old vegetarians who run five miles a day.

But Chloe has been silently and unknowingly getting worse since the day she was born and now her time is running out. She needs a new heart now and she's in the very awkward position of waiting for somebody else to die so she can live. And by a miracle, or a tragedy, it happens just in time.

Now it's all different - Chloe doesn't run anymore, she eats meat and she loves to surf; especially with her new surfing teacher Kai. A boy who has no idea what she's been through, who she was before, and isn't constantly asking her if she's feeling alright in that certain tone of voice.

Unfortunately being a great surfer isn't the only change in her life. The nightmares, the dejavu, it's all since the operation. Is sharing a heart with someone just a medical procedure? Or could it mean something much more than that?

It was so easy to get entranced in Chloes life from the first heartbreak to the very last and I read this whole story in one sitting. Entering into a world of where science and magical realism meet, I was hooked right away and knew I was in for something special.

This kept me in a daydream like haze the entire way through, as we go on a journey of love, loss and recovery that broke my heart and picked up the pieces again and again. So beautifully written, Everything I Thought I Knew was captivating and heart-wrenching and almost totally perfect.

Almost - the one thing keeping me from giving this book a total five star review is that I knew the ending twist almost right away and it felt a little familiar. However, this didn't stop me still wanting to take part in the journey even if I knew the destination and Takaoka still managed to keep me holding my breath in anticipation - she took something fairly common and made it sparkle.

I love the reccuring themes of alternate timelines, parallell universes, the idea that somewhere out there everything is different - all thrown in with the mundane routine of college applications and homework.

Life-Affirming and just beautiful, if you're looking for a 'smile-through-the-tears' kind of story look no further!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5/5

Chloe is your average high school senior. She is driven, focused on getting into the college of her choice. Her life is on a secure path that doesn't have space for missteps. Until one day she collapses on the track field during a run and her entire existence is turned upside down.
Chloe's heart is not working, and unless she finds a new one, she won't be graduating: she will be dead. And then a miracle happens, that's what her parents say, the doctors. She finds a heart, she is lucky. But is she really? Because someone had to die in order for Chloe to live and that's where her story really begins.
The Chloe coming out of that surgery is not the same girl who got sick. She is stuck. Her old friends are moving on, living the life she was supposed to have, while she is standing still, trying to find her footing in a world that looks completely different from before. And the recurring nightmares she has about dying in an accident, the flashes of memories that don't seem to belong to her, are not really helping.
The only place where she feels like she can breathe again is the open ocean. Surfing. Something she has never done before, when she was too busy keeping her life on a strict leash. Something she feels a deep connection to. And well, let's say that Kai, the cute guy who's teaching her, helps too.

This is a story about new opportunities, about living your life in the best way you can, ride every wave coming your way without being afraid of falling.
It is bittersweet and sad and hard, and not everything goes as planned, but after all isn't that what real life is?

I almost gave the book 4 stars and I did not see that plot-twist coming, but I felt the ending had a lot of questions that didn't get satisfying answers. Anyway a very good read and an incredible debut.

Couldn’t open this book on my kindle which was a shame. The description sounds great and I will pick up a copy when it’s available to check it out...

This story follows 17 year old Chloe, who is struggling to fit back into her 'normal' life after a heart transplant. We follow Chloe on her journey with this new heart as she begins to know and feel things she shouldn't. She starts to recognize people she's never even seen before.

This book for me was brilliantly written. I felt every emotion that Chloe was going through and I felt so sorry for her throughout it all. The surfing was a fantastic addition to the book, as we aren't quite sure why she randomly chose to take up surfing, but by the end of the book we understand why her heart wanted this.

I loved the tiny bit of romance we got with Kai, it was so very sweet. However, my only downfall with this book is it felt very predictable. I guessed quite early on what was going to happen, but the author did shock me when she turned down a different route with alternate universes. That part I did enjoy because I am a big believer of alternate universes. I rated this book four stars and I really did enjoy it. It was a brilliant debut and I can't wait to read more of Shannon Takaoka's work!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to this book. This is a great YA palate cleanser. The story line is great. I enjoyed the characters. The plot twist was preposterous but I still liked the book.