Shannon Takaoka
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Sci-Fi (a little)
Publisher: Candlewick
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Goodreads
A teenage girl wonders if she’s inherited more than just a heart from her donor in this compulsively readable debut.REVIEW
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.
Chloe had her future all planned out, and she was putting in the work to achieve it. Her plan was blown to shreds after she collapsed at cross country practice and learned that she needed a new heart. A donor heart came through, just in the nick of time, but then Chloe started changing. She all of a sudden knew and could do things she never had before. In her search for answers to these changes, Chloe began to question everything she once knew and even started seeing a different future for herself.
This story captured my heart for many reasons. I am such a proponent of organ donation, and the few stories I have read dealing with this topic always reinforce my belief in it. Takaoka made this story about life after the transplant. She mentions all the medications and risks, while she also goes a bit into how her character felt about having someone else's heart in her body. It was an interesting angle which fit well with the story, while also giving me food for thought.
But it was just her "foreign" heart Chloe was grappling with. Her whole life had changed. She went from super student to requiring summer school to graduate due to all the school she missed. Her friends all drifted away, while she was fighting for her life, and as they were all heading off to college, she wasn't sure what was next for her. It's not unusual for someone to question their path after a near death experience, and I appreciated her process and the way she grew from her experience.
I know you are thinking that the I-inherited-my-donor's-memories has been done before, and it has, however Takaoka took to a different level towards the end, which I rather liked. Even without that, I very much enjoyed reading about Chloe. I was a fan of the romance, her personal journey, and the overarching themes about not being able to control everything that happens, no matter how much your plan or do, and living each day to the fullest.
* ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
GIVEAWAY
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
Have you ever surfed?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
This sounds incredible - it sounds like Chloe goes on quite the journey!
ReplyDeleteI liked the twist. I knew there was something, but I didn't expect it.
DeleteI've read very few books about organ donation/transplants but I like the issues that the author covers in this one. I can't imagine the range of emotions that must be involved, beyond the basic medical aspect.
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting perspective to see. I like when they present a fresh take on the topics.
DeleteI haven't really read any books with this topic before. It sounds interesting and maybe a bit sad. I can't imagine going through what the character did. I'm glad it was a book you enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteI have read a few, but I liked that the author took on more of the emotional side of it.
DeleteI want to read this! You aren’t wrong this is a premise we’ve all seen before but I am here for it and happy to see that it is done well with the author doing things their own way. I am definitely putting this on my TBR, fingers crossed I get to read it eventually.
ReplyDeleteAside from the twist, the way the character had to wrap her mind around having someone else's heart in her body. I found that really interesting.
DeleteThis does sound really good! The idea has been done before for sure, but I'm glad that the author did a good job with her own spin on it. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI have read several sort of like this, but the author did a great job of bringing in a little different perspective.
DeleteThat sounds an amazing read! I read something similar written by CC Hunter and I cried buckets!
ReplyDeleteI read the Hunter book. This one had a bit of twist, but really differentiated itself with the MC's emotional journey.
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