Everything I Thought I Knew by Shannon Takaoka {Blog Tour}

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A huge thank you to both JeanBookNerd and Candlewick Press for having me on this blog tour! Check out the tour schedule to see the other bloggers on board. Keep reading see my thoughts...

Title: Everything I Thought I Knew

Author: Shannon Takaoka

Age: Young Adult

Genres: Contemporary

Publication Date: October 13, 2020

 Publisher: Candlewick Press

 Source: Hardcover

 Purchase: Hardcover | Kindle | Audible | B&N | Book Depository  

Synopsis: 
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.

 My Rating: 

My Thoughts:
This was such a touching story with such a realistic approach on such a sad, terrifying and traumatic experience of a 17 year old runner. I adored the writing of this story! It felt completely authentic. The uniqueness of this story came with the hints of magical realism thrown into it. I enjoyed Chloe and seeing her highs and lows as she deals with the reality of her new life. I loved the abilities she obtained after her surgery. I found myself crying and laughing as I read this. I did listen to the audiobook while I read which helped me enjoy the story even more.

I think this was a good read. There were some parts toward the end that lost me, but still a 4 star worthy book for me. Especially since I'm not big on reading YA contemporaries.

About the Author:
Shannon Takaoka is a young adult fiction author who wrote her first book at age 12, when she blatantly ripped off C.S. Lewis with an epic fantasy inspired by THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. (Well, maybe it wasn’t that epic — do 10 pages count?) Madeline L’Engle, Charlotte Brontë, Neil Gaiman and a host of other authors inspired her lifelong love of reading, and she’s especially into all things gothic, weird and nerdy. If a story involves time travel, strange science-y stuff or alternate realities, she’s in.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Shannon now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two children and one very needy dog, who is probably leaning on her right now as she’s pecking away on her keyboard. Her debut novel, EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW, about a 17-year-old girl questioning everything about who she is and who she wants to be following a heart transplant, will be published by Candlewick Press on 10/13/2020 and Walker UK in 2021. She promises that it’s a little weird — but in a good way.


Giveaway
- Giveaway is open to International
- Must be 13+ to Enter
- 10 Winners will receive a Copy of EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW by Shannon Takaoka
- 1 Winner will receive EVERYTHING I THOUGHT I KNEW Storytellers BOX 
- Ends November 30, 2020

Have you read this book?