Name: celene's review of Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby
Item: Things We Know by Heart
Rating: 3
Author: celene

Jessi Kirby

In this unforgettable novel, Quinn Sullivan falls for the recipient of her boyfriend’s donated heart. Printz Award winner John Corey Whaley calls it “not just a love story, but one with a ferocious pulse.” After Quinn’s boyfriend, Trent, dies in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the fragments of her now-unrecognizable life. But whoever received Trent’s heart has chosen to remain silent. The essence of a person, Quinn has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent’s, then in a way, she will still have a piece of him. Risking everything to get closure once and for all, Quinn goes outside the system to track down nineteen-year-old Colton Thomas, whose life has been forever changed by this priceless gift. But what starts as an accidental run-in quickly develops into something 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 the time Quinn spends with Colton makes her feel alive again. No matter how hard she’s falling for Colton, though, each beat of his heart reminds her of all she’s lost . . . and all that remains at stake. Perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, this unique and emotional story about an unexpected bond between two strangers will leave no heart untouched.

Things We Know by Heart

Tiffany Brown

celene

this book made me cry in the first few pages!!! my heart!!! but the second half was kinda cheesy for me nonetheless it was a 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

For a book broaching a heavy subject such as organ donation, this was surprising a light and easy read. After reading Golden and then this, both beautifully written books, Jessi Kirby has definitely earned a spot in  my auto-buy authors list!

In this unforgettable teen romance that fans of Sarah Dessen and Susane Colasanti will devour, Quinn Sullivan falls for the recipient of her boyfriend's donated heart, forming an unexpected connection that will leave readers utterly breathless. After Quinn's boyfriend, Trent, dies in an accident their junior year, she reaches out to the recipients of his donated organs in hopes of picking up the fragments of her now-unrecognizable life. But whoever received Trent's heart has mysteriously remained silent. The essence of a person, Quinn has always believed, is in the heart. If she finds Trent's, then in a way she still has a piece of him. Risking everything to find peace once and for all, 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.

For a book broaching a heavy subject such as organ donation, this was surprising a light and easy read. After reading Golden and then this, both beautifully written books, Jessi Kirby has definitely earned a spot in my auto-buy authors list!

I loved this book. It was a quick and precious read about falling in love through hard times. This book made me feel, cry and want more. I loved the set up and the mini adventures and how they communicated. Was beautiful. 

Song:
The Beach by The Neighbourhood

Becky

I was always going to be a little frustrated by this book as Quinn wasn't honest and I found that a big thing to overcome when reading this. But despite that I still really enjoyed listening.

Quinn had been clinging to her grief after the loss of her boyfriend. She had placed her life on hold and didn't know how to move forward. She believed if she could just speak to everyone who had received organ donations from him that would somehow allow her closure so when of the receipients never replied she was determined to find them and learn about them. She didn't intend upon meeting them though.

I think we all know how this story goes. Yes there was an element of predictability about it but it was also a wonderful exploration on how we experience grief and love. What does it mean to love someone? And how terrifying it is to lose the all consuming pain you experienced when you initially lost them. To lose that sadness fees like its own loss as memories of them fade and are replaced by new experiences. This book explored all that and it was done so well. 

I loved Quinn's relationship with her sister, Ryan, as well. I would have liked to have seen more of Ryan and Quinn's whole family as they were so supportive of her and really helped her find herself through her grief. 

There was romance to be had in this and I know you know what happens. She falls in love with that receipient who never replied. It was so lovely seeing them heistantly feel each other out and get to know one another. Quinn was falling in love and it was terrifying because the last boy she loved died. You see this in her hot and cold reactions but she very gradually was ready to move forward. Once they spoke through the massive secret she'd been hiding. 

This was a great book. I had a great time listening to it. It was a good one.

Jelke Lenaerts

The story just didn't move me as much as it should have.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

This book was jointly reviewed by me and my co-blogger, Becca!

Becca:
Things We Know By Heart was one of my most anticipated reads of 2015. From the second I discovered this book I knew it was a book that I needed to read! Lisa and I were both so excited when we got approved for the ARC that we chose it as our first Spring buddy read! We both dove into the book eagerly and were quickly pulled in to the world of Quinn and Colton! We were both texting back and forth that the beginning was excellent! Right Lisa?!

Lisa:
I was definitely looking forward to this one too. Though I hadn’t read the synopsis in months so I really had no idea what it was about, I was hoping for a sweet, beautifully told story. I didn’t fall in love with Golden like so many others, but I really appreciated Jessi Kirby’s writing and was hoping for another book with such depth. The beginning was great and I thought I was really going to love this book, but it honestly fell a little flat for me. :(

Becca:
Things We Know by Heart was my first Jessi Kirby book so unlike you Lisa, I had no preconceived notions going into it and you did an excellent job of not telling me up front about the issues you had with Golden so that I could form my own opinions (thank you!) As a matter of fact, it wasn;t until I think the third time I texted you saying: “I like it… but I wish SOMETHING would happen” that you confessed you had the same issues in the past. Unfortunately, the entire middle of the book just dragged on and on. I was waiting with such anticipation for something exciting to happen and just… nothing.The last 15% or so picked up and there was a lot going on in that last part… but still it fell flat for me too :( That really disappointed me because Jessi Kirby has the most beautiful writing style! It is so poetic and her descriptions of the ocean and the visual stimulation she gave my brain was perfection! At one point she was describing fireworks over the ocean and I felt like I was there, bobbing up and down on the waves watching. And when she described sitting on the beach and feeling the ocean breeze, I felt like I could feel it and smell the salty ocean air. This was one thing I loved about Things We Know by Heart.

What I can see is the sky, and the ocean spreading out from the cliffs, wide and sparkling in the afternoon sun. It makes me wish we were out there in the kayak, floating on one of the aquamarine, sun-soaked patches of water, in that safe space between the ocean and the sky, where nothing else matters but the moment.

Lisa:
I agree, her writing is just beautiful. And I believe that’s why I get so disappointed in books like this. They have so much potential to be something amazing, but when the spark is missing from the story I just feel let down. (view spoiler)[I spent most of the book annoyed that she STILL hadn’t told him that she knew who he was. I think the entire second half of the book I spent texting you with how annoyed I was. “JUST TELL HER ALREADY!!” I believe were my exact words. Over and over again. Ugh. Very frustrating. (hide spoiler)]

I definitely didn’t want you to have any preconceived opinions going in, but this book was very similar to Golden, in my opinion, where it had to much potential, yet didn’t do it for me. I remember saying Golden was like a Nicholas Sparks book, and this one was too. Just really not my type of read. Not bad at all, just didn’t wow me.

I also had a lot of trouble with the way the story played out. (view spoiler)[I thought this would be more about a young girl learning to move on after the loss of her boyfriend, but instead it more portrayed the message of, get a new boyfriend to help you move on. This really bothered me too. >.<  (hide spoiler)]

Becca:
I am sad to say that I agree with you on pretty much everything! I was talking to Nick at NIck’s Book Blog about how “secrets” have become such a major part of plots in a lot of books. Both Colton and Quinn were hiding so much from each other and towards the end it just became so frustrating! Both Lisa and I were texting… “OMG she STILL didn’t tell him?” In many ways I felt that about Colton too! I think that because these two were hiding so much from each other and because there was so much description of beaches and rocks and fireworks I really missed out on who these characters were! I left the story without a good sense of either of them. Funny enough my favorite character in this book was Quinn’s Grandmother!! She was hilarious!!

Lisa:
Ha!! Her grandmother was definitely the best character in this book! I really liked Quinn’s sister, Ryan, too. She was such a badass, and I liked it. I agree that Colton was pretty annoying too, though I overall liked his character and give him a lot of credit for dealing with such a crappy hand so optimistically.

He smiled for the camera every time, and he traded death for more than just a lifetime of medical care. He traded it for an anchor of guilt.

Becca:
Yup Ryan was totally awesome!! I completely agree about Colton. After all he suffered through he was definitely a character to admire. I also understood a little more his reasons for keeping secrets and he didn’t hold onto them for so long either.

I think it was hard to relate to Quinn because the book opened with her having been in mourning for over a year, it was hard to feel her loss when we don’t really feel any of that and just witness her moving on. I think that I felt detached from her loss because of that. Even though Kirby did bring some of her past into the story.

I loved the interesting facts at the beginning of each chapter about the heart. I found a lot of it very interesting and it was pretty cool and definitely unique!

Lisa:
Oh yeah! I forgot about those! They were such a great little added bonus. I also liked Quinn’s dad and what he added to the story. And Colton’s overprotective sister was a must too. The secondary characters brought this story more to life for me than Quinn and Colton did.

I agree, the fact that Quinn had already reached the year mark after her boyfriend’s death causes us to miss that entire phase of grieving. I liked the little glimpses back into both of their pasts to help us see what we missed over that last year. It would have been so much sadder if we had experienced that year, but the fact that we skip it make this more of a happy, sweet and upbeat story.

“If you want to open yourself up to Colton, you have to let go of Trent first. Let him be a part of who you are… your first love, your memories, your past. But let him go. You have to.”

Becca:
Yes I agree, those glimpses into the past were really an integral part of the story. I also agree about the secondary characters, they really brought this story to life.

Although I have complaints about this book, it really was a beautiful story and would be a wonderful Summer read! I think that many people will enjoy this book, sadly for me it just did not live up to the expectations I set for it. The writing was beautiful, but the main characters fell a little flat and I wanted more from them and a better plot instead of just beautiful words.

Lisa:
Agreed. I think we’re in the minority on this one. I’ve seen so many amazing reviews to prove this book really has won over so many readers. I think this story had a lot of promise, the execution just didn’t quite blow me away. I did like it, I just didn’t love it. I agree, this is the type of beach read that many will really love, and I would encourage others to give it a try.

(Thanks to HarperTeen for the review copy!)


  Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Farah Khaled 

Surprisingly I DNF this book.

I have been searching for this book for a year now, then I found the ebook version and I just decided to read it now. And gosh I'm so disappointed. The main character is so weak, she kept crying from page one and I can't just take it anymore. Yeah I know it's hard that you lost your boyfriend, but you HAVE to move one, you have been crying for over a year GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON!!!

Tiffany Brown &
Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

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