Kirby, Jessi. Things We Know By Heart. New York: Harper Teen, 2015.

Oh my girls will love this love story. They are drawn to heartbreak, and Quinn’s heart is definitely broken when the novel begins. She has lost her boyfriend Trent in a stunning car accident, and after years with him, she is having trouble beginning again. She finds some comfort in knowing that because Trent was an organ donor, he has changed a series of lives for the better. And if she can meet these folks, she does.

Trent’s heart though. She hasn’t made the kind of contact that she needs with the heart recipient. So she reads and researches and tracks down Colton via his sister’s blog, Violating all the rules of organ donorship, she finds him, meets him, and...falls in love. And surely my girls will be drawn to this love story. Gentle and precious, set against the backdrop of sun and surf.

And for the girls who are in love with love, they will also see a broken heart come to term with its grief. a family who loves and supports, and the risks and chances associated with coming of age.

I love for my girls to see strength and growth, and couched in the kind of romance they are drawn to, this will be an easy sell. Quinn is rendered as real as my students. Her strengths and weaknesses are explored honestly but with compassion. Colton sets a fine example of overcoming adversity and embracing life as well. That he keeps his own secrets and is, perhaps, a bit careless of his newfound life make him a believable teenage boy.

This will work well in several areas in terms of book talks. Summer reads we have done, and this fits there. I have already Heart to Heart by Lurlene McDaniel which explores organ donation. I feel like my girls who already love McDaniel will love this title. I also like to group some books about graduates in the spring to inspire my older girls. I look forward to getting this circulating in the new year!