Thursday, April 9, 2015

Review: Things We Know by Heart

THINGS WE KNOW BY HEART
Jessi Kirby
Contemporary Young Adult
304 pages
HarperTeen
Available April 21st
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
After Quinn loses her boyfriend, Trent, in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the pieces of her now-unrecognizable life. She hears back from some of them, but the person who received Trent’s heart has remained silent. The essence of a person, she has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then maybe she can have peace once and for all.

Risking everything in order to finally lay her memories to rest, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas—a guy whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into more, sparking an undeniable attraction. She doesn't want to give in to it—especially since he has no idea how they're connected—but their time together has made Quinn feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.


MY THOUGHTS
Things We Know by Heart is one of those stories that manages to be both light and heavy at the same time; the sweet, slow buildup of romance between Quinn and Colton bringing a smile to our faces that then quickly dims as the weight of all that's unspoken between them makes itself known. Though the stress of knowing something Colton doesn't is enough to have us popping pieces of chocolate the entire time we're reading, Quinn's journey is full of hope and promise, and watching her take hesitant steps toward living again as Colton does the same is nothing short of immensely satisfying.

Quinn makes an enormous mistake early on, good intentions going awry before spiraling entirely out of her control, and we can't help but want to reach out and hug her as we remember the times in our own lives when control of a given situation slipped right through our fingers. We can hardly blame her for wanting to find Colton, and though we want to scream the truth of their relationship at the top of our lungs just to free the air of its suffocating thickness, it's hard not to be nervous for Quinn whenever an opportunity to come clean reveals itself. Were we in her shoes, we'd likely find as many excuses as she does to keep our lips sealed, a fact that keeps us from getting too frustrated with her for delaying the inevitable.

The main issue keeping this sweet story from a higher rating is the lack of resolution in a couple areas, namely with regard to Quinn and her parents. Quinn's parents are understandably worried about their daughter given the fugue state in which she's existed since Trent's death, and we can only imagine what their reaction would be if they found out Colton was the last of Trent's organ recipients. While Quinn does confide in her sister as well as Colton's, the unspoken truth between her and her parents still weighs heavily on us even after things for the two of them are wrapped up nicely in the end, leaving us wishing we were given a bit more page time in the aftermath of the big reveal. 


Overall though, the romance between Quinn and Colton is perfectly paced, both of them experiencing the wonder and terror that comes with a new beginning they never thought they'd have, and we close the back cover looking forward to whatever Ms. Kirby might write next.

Rating: 3.5/5


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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

30 comments:

  1. "Though the stress of knowing something Colton doesn't is enough to have us popping pieces of chocolate the entire time we're reading ..." Lol, are you binging on Easter chocolates too, Jenny? I love the time after Easter and Halloween when chocolates go on sale!

    I was waiting for when Quinn would tell Colton who she was, and agree that her situation kept things from becoming frustrating.

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    1. YES! I kept wanting her to just get it over with, but I could completely relate to chickening out when it came time:)

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  2. Oh I always love when we have a slow romance, it's not often the case these days and I'm so tired of insta love. It sounds like a nice book, thanks for your review!

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    1. Loved the romance between these two, even as Quinn caused me stress with her silence:)

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  3. *waves a hello*
    I have been about every book this morning, weird

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  4. I've this book around a lot these days and I have to say although this seems like quite a heavy topic, I'm sort of torn whether or not to read it. But I would have to be in the right mood for it I think. Great review, Jenny!

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    1. It definitely had the potential to be really heavy, but it wasn't overwhelmingly so, and I love that the focus was more on moving forward than looking back.

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  5. I do love a slow romance, but I wish there had been more resolution with Quinn and her parents. I have really enjoyed Jessi Kirby's writing before, so I'm still going to give this one a try. Glad you enjoyed it for the most part!

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    1. It just seemed like such a big issue - her parents think she's moving on with someone new, but oops, by the way it's actually the guy who has Trent's heart. I feel like her parents would have taken a little time to come around and I wish we had just gotten some of that. I enjoyed this one overall though!

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  6. I loved this a little bit more than you did, but yeah the whole parents thing was definitely left unresolved. I did love the romance between the two of them. It was just so heart-achingly beautiful! I can't wait for more Jessie Kirby books!
    Lovely review, Jenny!

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    1. I loved the romance too Nick, both of them made me smile:) And yes, more Jessi Kirby!

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  7. I love that the romance was a slow build up, we need more of those in this genre!
    Beautiful review Jenny!

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  8. I enjoyed this but I certainly did not love it the way I did GOLDEN and felt as if, like you said, a bit more screen time would have made this a more poignant story. Perhaps. Wonderful review, though, Jenny!

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    1. This book was relatively short, so I just would have loved a little more substance in a few areas. Overall though, I had fun with this one:)

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  9. I love Jessi Kirby!!!! But I don't like that there's lack of resolution in some things though, I really dislike that in books. But I think I'll have to read this anyway since I love her writing so much.

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    1. For me, it was just that it was such an enormous secret - yes, in many ways she's moving on and forward with Colton, but his tie to Trent couldn't entirely be swept under the rug either. Still, a cute story!

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  10. I love the sound of the romance in this one, but I would become incredibly frustrated with the lack of resolution in the end. I don't mind minor stuff not being explained but a huge secret? Hmm...not sure about picking this one up.

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  11. Hmmmn, this is one of my most anticipated reads this year so I hope I like it a bit better than you did. I don't mind open endings, but too many unresolved issues is annoying...

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  12. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy this one overall Jenny, I did rate it slightly higher than yourself, but I think Quinn holding back kind of got to me in the end. But like you mentioned Kirby's writing is just too wonderful to miss out on that I can't wait for what she has for us next!

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  13. I'm glad that you enjoyed this one quite a lot Jenny, even if some issues prevented you to fully loving the book!
    I'm not sure if this one is my kinda book though...

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  14. I think one of the reasons I am afraid to read this story is because the way their relationship is formed makes me feel slightly uncomfortable and I also don't like the sound of neat conclusion.

    This is such an intense story and sometimes not all knots can be tied but tidying things up makes it all a little more awkward, doesn't it?

    I am really glad to see that this worked out for you, Jenny, even if you weren't completely happy with the resolution!

    Lovely review! :)

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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  15. Hmmm... I have heard great things about this author, but I know I would be bothered by the lack of resolution that you mentioned. I don't like when there are too many loose ends. I think I might try her other book first. Thanks for the helpful reveiw, Jenny.

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  16. Oh boy..chocolate is necessary huh? This sounds like a tear jerker Jenny. While it didn't totally win you over it does sounds worth the trip to the candy store.

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  17. Uhg, I hate when the resolution isn't as strong as I need it to be (and with romances, I usually need a solid resolution with plenty of smootchy time...heh). But I do like when the characters find a way to piece themselves back together again.

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  18. This one is on my tbr pile. I do want to read it soon.

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  19. I think I'd be on edge reading this one, too, wondering when the secret of Quinn's relationship to Colton's new heart would come out. I don't like being on edge, but this does sound like a wonderful story. Lovely review, Jenny. :)

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  20. I loved this book so much. That's funny though ... the whole time it was on my mind of what her parents, his parents, and Trent's parent would say or how they'd feel, but then once I hit the end, I was so damn happy I didn't even realize that wasn't touched. lol.

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  21. I have to confess that I didn't even think about the fact that Quinn didn't tell her parents about what had happened. I adored this book and I guess I was just on too much of a book high to notice! :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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