Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby: Review & Dream Cast

Title: Things We Know By Heart
Author: Jessi Kirby 
Publisher: HarperTeen
Buy this book: Amazon / Book Depository

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 she’s lost…and all that remains at stake.

Guys, I am completely struggling here. I don't even know where to begin when it comes to this book. How am I even supposed to review it? This book honestly just touched me so much, it moved me so deeply and I finished this book feeling completely satisfied and so happy. I can't recommend this book more, it is a perfect contemporary read and I am just so in love with this story and the characters.

The book follows Quinn Sullivan, an eighteen-year-old woman who lost her boyfriend a year ago in a car accident. His parents made the decision to donate his organs and Quinn has been attempting to contact all the recipients, as a way for her to get closure. Quinn has heard back from every single one... Except for the person who received Trent's heart. His silence becomes to much for her and she eventually tracks him down and sets out to find him. And this is where Colton comes in. The longer she spends with him, the more time she wants to spend with him and the more she realises she can't tell him the truth without risking hurting and losing him.

I honestly just loved every single thing about this book. I loved the characters, the setting, the relationships, the writing and the story. The setting is all beautiful beaches and glorious ocean and I want to transport myself there. I'm kind of an emotional mess right now as I try to write this review, and I don't even care. You will just need to deal with my jumbled mess of ridiculous gushing, and then go experience this book for yourselves.

I connected with this book so much and truly felt for the characters. I lost a friend a few years ago, he was twenty-two and also died in an accident, and his parents made the same decision to donate his organs. And then they did the exact same thing of contacting all the recipients, along with my friends girlfriend. They needed to, it helped them all so much to speak to these people who had received such a vital part of the person they had loved. I don't even know how they would have felt if the person who received his heart hadn't even wrote back. So I just completely felt for Quinn and put myself in her shoes, and I know I'd have probably made all the decisions she did, and all the mistakes.

The characters in this are fabulous and so perfectly written, especially the family relationships. I especially loved Quinn's relationship with her sister Ryan, and how close they were. They could lean on one another and help one another, and both seemed to know the perfect things to say and when. Quinn was so strong and resilient, she hurt and she broke, but she also fought and found herself again and it was beautiful to watch.

I don't want to ruin the story for people, so feel I don't want to say too much. I will just say this: I loved this book. I loved every single thing about it. I am going to reread this book many times over the years, I can just tell, and I am sure I will love it just as much every single time. So I hope you get to read this book, I hope you connect with it as much as I did, and I really hope you love it.

5/5 Butterflies

My Dream Cast

I feel so lucky to be a part of this amazing blog tour and that I get to try and dream cast this. There is just one problem... I SUCK AT DREAM CASTING! No, seriously, I really do. It is because I can never seem to imagine someone playing the characters. And I also never pay attention to descriptions, ever. The characters could be purple and covered in scales and I'd probably be oblivious to it. But I really tried here as I connected to these characters so much.

Lily Collins as Quinn Sullivan

This is so hard for me, as I hate trying to imagine actors as the characters. Here it was especially hard as I didn't know who could play Quinn. A big part of me wanted Shaillene Woodley, just because she is so talented. But I just feel she is far too overused in YA movies atm. So I then fell to Lily Collins. She's an actress that has grown on me so much over time, and I think she could play the part so well. Plus she doesn't seem to age, she's 27 and looks about 18, which makes her perfect for this.

Dylan O'Brien as Colton Thomas

I wanted an actor with green eyes, as this is mentioned so many times in the book and was a detail I really remembered about Colton. I completely struggled to find actors with green eyes though, so I gave up. I have such a soft spot for Dylan O'Brien and feel he can play serious, he can play funny, he can play action and probably everything in between. And he's nice to look at. So I would totally put him in this film. Plus... We also have photographic evidence that he is in fact alive and well, so he could definitely do it.


Sam Claflin as Trent

I think the only problem here would be that Sam looks too old for the part. But this is a dream cast so I can do what I want. I feel he could just be perfect for Trent and all those flash back scenes that a movie could have. And we already know that him and Lily have great onscreen chemistry. He could just play this perfectly!



Emma Stone as Ryan

I LOVE Emma Stone. I do, and if she was a little younger then I would just dream cast her as the lead in this and every other film ever. But I really do feel like she could play the perfect older sister. The one who can bring the comic relief, the no-nonsense attitude and also the amazing sisterly advice.



Betty White as Gran

She's just perfect for any grandmother role. She can play this quirky. hilarious gran perfectly!

And that is everyone I will dream cast for now. I'd love to see this as a movie, even though I know it would make me cry buckets of tears. It would totally be worth it!