Review: Things We Know By Heart

Things We Know By Heart
Author: Jessi Kirby
Published: April 21st, 2015
Hardcover, 304 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

When Quinn Sullivan meets the recipient of her boyfriend's donated heart, the two form an unexpected connection.

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 that she's lost... and all than remains at stake.

I knew this book would be a tearjerker, it's written all over it. Young girl loses her boyfriend in an accident and must continue living without the boy she's fallen in love with. It's hard to lose anyone at any age, but when you're seventeen and you think you're invincible and you lose someone you love, it does something to you. So Quinn does the only thing she thinks will help her, she tracks down all the recipients of Trent's organs to give herself closure. But when the boy who got Trent's heart doesn't reply to her letter, she takes it into her own hands to find him. But the man she finds blows her away. He is sweet and kind and after a freak fender bender, he takes her to the hospital and doesn't leave her side. He keeps his past hidden, his time in the hospital with his heart problems where he felt weak and afraid, and she keeps her reasons for finding him locked up tight, even though she knows she eventually needs to tell him who she is and that she knew Trent. The closer she gets to Colton, the harder it is to tell him the truth.

I was hooked into this book from the start. Kirby is a great writer and fills her pages with emotion, realism, heartbreak and love. Quinn is living half alive, her heart still belonging to Trent, but when she meets Colton, suddenly the world is colourful again and her heart starts beating for real. Colton lives life to the fullest. After years of hospitalization, he can finally surf and canoe like he used to. He shows Quinn a world she thought she'd lost and the more time she spends with him, the more she falls for him. I loved how the romance built in this book. They were both hesitant at first for different reasons. Colton's family protects him but he just wants to live. Quinn looks at Colton like he's Trent, knowing Trent's heart beats inside him, but the more she gets to know him, the more she realizes he is his own person and that's his heart now. Quinn's growth is amazing and watching her come back to life with Colton's help was a joy to read. The drama that came with all her lies was expected and predictable, but I loved it all the same. It was only a matter of time until the truth came out and I loved how Kirby played it all out.

This is contemporary at its finest. Kirby is a great writer and this book proved she still has it. She weaves stories I would never think to write and creates characters that stand out from the page. Quinn's heartbreak is palpable and her recovery is amazing. This is a great book about moving on without forgetting, finding joy again, and falling in love without fear. This book made me smile, cry, and want to hold my loved ones close. And maybe go surfing, living life to its fullest and knowing that adventure awaits.

"For so long, I was the one with his heart. I just need to see where it is now."

"But it's terrifying to realize how much of your world is wrapped up in loving another person."

Review: Golden

Golden
Author: Jessi Kirby
Published: May 14, 2013
Hardcover, 278 pages
5 Gold Stars

(summary from Goodreads)

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

A pair off lovers die tragically one night and become the golden couple. Their names set in stone on a sign at the edge of town. They are known to everyone, they are who everyone strives to be. Parker Frost looks to them as most others do, the reason why the school has a great scholarship. She is ready to graduate and take that scholarship and get out of there. But when Parker gets ahold of Juliette's journal, she discovers that this couple may not be as golden as everyone thought and suddenly she wants to discover exactly how the lovers ended up at the bottom of a lake. So she decides to do something she'd never think of doing, this girl who has never skipped school, never disobeyed her family, goes on the road to piece together the story of Juliette and Shane that Juliette's journal is really telling her. Mix in Robert Frost poems at the beginning of every chapter and slight hints of his work throughout the novel, and this book wraps itself into a beautiful mystery full of lost love, new love, and finding out who you really are.

This is the perfect story of a girl on the cusp of life. She has everything planned out but decides that she wants to do something before she sets off on the plan. When she comes across the journal, she knows this is her key to going off the road she's planned to travel all her life. And the more she finds out about Juliette, the more she wants answers. Parker will remind you of yourself in many ways. A girl following the rules because she knows that's how she'll get the most out of life. But how long can you follow the rules until you realize that you're not living? I love that she took this risk, that she read Juliette's words and wanted to know more. Because as soon as she opened Juliette's journal, I was hooked. I wanted to know more about her life, her relationship with Shane, and of course about the mystery guy she met one night and can't get out of her head. Juliette is as much a character as Parker or her best friend Kat, or her crush Trevor. She breathes through the pages of her journal, begging Parker to find out what happened it her. And I needed to know too. I would have done the same in Parker's situation and I loved uncovering the mystery behind Juliette's death along side her. 

I devoured this book. The writing was beautiful and the mix of poetry added to the dreamy quality of the whole thing. Parker finally starts living life by taking the road less travelled. This is great, quick, adventure of a girl finding out who she is by finding out who someone else really is. There is bonding, romance, and a question about who we really are and how our perception of people changes the more we know about them. This was the perfect read about life on the verge of starting and people on the verge of living.

“One often meets her destiny on the road she takes to avoid it.” 

“But sometimes life gives us those rare moments where we do see chance as it’s happening. And in those moments, we have a choice. And sometimes we have to take a risk. And it’s scary. It makes us vulnerable. But I know now it’s worth it.”