Everything I thought I Knew Review

---

Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka

Publication Date: October 13 2020

Rating: 4/5

Seventeen-year-old Chloe had a plan: work hard, get good grades, and attend a top-tier college. But after she collapses during cross-country practice and is told she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. Six months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, the “new Chloe” takes heedless risks, like skipping her anti-rejection meds while running wild with the class party girl and nearly crashing a motorcycle she’s not even licensed to ride. Even more unsettling: her recurring nightmares of dying and the strange, vivid memories she doesn’t recognize as her own.

The only place Chloe feels at home is in the ocean, where she’s learning to surf the Pacific’s wild waves and slowly falling for her instructor, Kai. But as her strange symptoms continue, she becomes more and more convinced that something is wrong with her new heart—or even worse, her mind. As Chloe searches for answers, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew about life, death, love and the true nature of reality. 

---

GOODREADS

---

I received this book from CandleWick Press but this does not affect my review.

Okay so when I first started this book I honestly didn’t remember the premise of it and I was a bit confused. The writing style at first seemed a bit choppy but once I got into the Main Character’s head it all sort of flowed naturally. It happened pretty quickly so it wasn’t too big of a deal. When I started the book I thought it would just be a solid 3 but something happened in the book that just blew my mind. I honestly had no idea what to expect from the book and was pleasantly surprised!

I’m a sucker for blending sci fi and medicine together so I definitely was intrigued by this idea. I really enjoyed seeing Chloe’s inner mind as she went through this sudden change in her life and then had to deal with repercussions of all the changes. It was a unique way to make it a coming-of-age story but also not have that be the complete focus of the story.

I loved the relationship she forges with her new friends in summer school as well as the relationship with Kai. I’m a sucker for fun character relationships so this was definitely a win!

I can’t really talk about everything that happens in this book without spoiling anything, but I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants something that isn’t completely contemporary but isn’t completely sci-fi either. If you like surfing, motorcycles and tattoos with hidden meanings, making new friends and learning to adapt to change this is the book for you! If you enjoy a little bit of romance with a side of mystery and contemporary, you should definitely pick this up!