Everything I Thought I Knew
Binding: Paperback
Imprint: Walker Books
Age 14+
Personal & Social Issues: Body & Health
A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut.
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 that she needs a new heart, all her careful preparations are laid to waste. Eight months after her transplant, everything is different. Stuck in summer school with the underachievers, all she wants to do now is grab her surfboard and hit the waves – which is strange, because she wasn’t interested in surfing before her transplant. (It doesn’t hurt that her instructor, Kai, is seriously good looking.) And that’s not all that’s strange. There’s also the vivid recurring nightmare about crashing a motorcycle in a tunnel and memories of people and places she doesn’t recognize. Is there something wrong with her head now, too, or is there another explanation for what she’s experiencing? As she searches for answers, and as her attraction to Kai intensifies, what she learns will lead her to question everything she thought she knew – about life, death, love, identity, and the true nature of reality.
Creators
Shannon Takaoka has worked as a writer, editor, and public relations consultant in the technology and life sciences field. She is a lover of all things nerdy – from time travel to weird science and dragons. Everything I Thought I Knew is her first novel.
Reviews
This surprisingly delightful contemporary novel has an incredibly relatable protagonist, whose everyday life is disrupted by the need for surgery, at a very young age… The whole story has a simple narrative, focusing on changing relationships, life choices and motivation. You will notice your own heart beating as you read this book, which is ideal for fans of Not if I see you first by Eric Lindstrom, The Book of Chance by Sue Whiting and John Green books. Recommended
ReadPlus
Everything I Thought I Knew is a fascinating debut novel that compels the reader to keep turning the pages to discover how the story will end. A one-sitting read, it is imaginative, with a startling end that will draw a gasp.
Kids Book Review
