Everything I Thought I Knew Review: inexplicable magic/science (the best kind)

I am a sucker for books that contain just a little bit of magical or scientific phenomenon that is never explained. I don’t know what it is about not getting an explanation, but I think it’s that I can focus on the what instead of the why. I think it comes from my deep love for Peter Pan and how it’s never really explained why lost boys can go to Neverland.

So, the fact that Chloe is having memories from possibly someone else’s life and has this new deep desire to surf, I was immediately interested in this concept. Not only does this book explore what it means to have a receive a donor heart, but it explores what it means to grow older and discovering who who we are.

I didn’t think that this book would explore leaving high school and how everyone–even those who have a plan–might be a little lost. However, I really appreciated how she incorporated that into this speculative fiction story. I think that books that explore the impossible alongside the relatable are some of my favorite books.

This book was totally fresh and reminded me of one of my favorite books, Places No One Knows by Brenna Yovanoff. It also has an inexplicable phenomenon that allows the characters to explore themselves. I’ll link my review of that here.

Overall, this book was a refreshing look at the impossible and the fragility and ever-changing qualities of life. I highly recommend to high school seniors, lovers of realistic fiction who want to branch out a little, and those of us who don’t need answers for why magic happens.