All the Things We Never Knew audiobook

If anyone is looking for a sweet romance book for the summer starring two Black teens giving a dual perspective I would recommend this. There's just enough secrets to keep the plot moving. There are important messages and depictions of family. There's a sensitive Black boy that isn't afraid to acknowledge his emotions and cry at times. There's a sweet girl discovering what she interests her after years someone else's interests being put upon her. There's basketball and Texas heat. And the writing is so pretty and easy to follow along without sounding trite.Thank you Edelweiss for granting me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.Read my full review https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot....

who knew instalove could make me so soft??— I would highly suggest you go check out nat’s review ✨This book took me by surprise — if you know anything about me, you’ll have guessed by now that love at first sight is hardly something I enjoy in novels. I mean come on. How can two people know they are destined to be upon their first glance? Yet somehow this story manages to twist the trope into something that feels authentic and desperately long-awaited, watching two Black teens take the place that has been monopolized by white authors since the very beginning of YA. Overall, All the Things We Never Knew is so much more than just a love story and a quiet celebration of Black love and experiences. It explores complex family dynamics, the heartache of grief, and societal pressure to fit into a mould that doesn’t quite fit who you’ve grown into. With her engaging writing and vibrant characters, I can’t wait to read more of Liara Tamani’s work and would most definitely recommend this read to others.> 3.5 stars — representation: Black MC, Black LI— content warnings: loss of loved one, depiction of grief, cheating, ableist language

All The Things We Never Knew is a solid read filled with love, heartbreak, betrayal, grief and secrets. I enjoyed all of these things because it just shows how much of an emotional beating that teenagers face in their lives. I wish that I could quote this book, but sadly this is an ARC. I have sticky tabs on just about every page.Tamani writes beautifully the lives of two teens (three If you count Cole, Carli's brother). Carli and Rex..... their connection was so deep in the beginning that I knew I was in for a wild ride. I never expected so much to come from this. While Carli is dealing with her own issues of family and health, Rex's story is even more intense because I connected so well with his character. I have known a boy whose life mirrors Rex's and my heart hurt for him. Love life aside, I think he is one of my favorite characters. I can't say what all happens in this book without giving you ALL THE THINGS they NEVER KNEW. It was honestly like watching a car trying to beat the train and you hope that the person driving makes it. Add this book to your summer reads list. It definitely makes for a memorable read.

“It’s like we’re two trees secretly sharing nutrients underground, two stars orbiting around all the things there’s no language for.”TL;DR Loved it! A pleasant spin on the usual YA insta-love filled with family, emotions, self-esteem, and teens wondering about their futures.Lovely! The romance played it straight with the insta-love and fate. Rex and Carli’s love was fluffy, giddy, the slightest bit corny, and light-hearted. I was surprised that romance wasn’t the only draw here. There was a lot of focus on family, upbringing, and the usual growing pains of becoming a young adult. Carli has loving parents who are divorcing for a reason unbeknownst to her, whereas Rex has a hands-off, single father who spends all his time away from home as a brain surgeon. Those different family dynamics definitely affected Carli and Rex in a lot of different ways. Just seeing how both of them handled emotions and their family situations really fleshed out their characters. For one point, Rex’s mom died in childbirth with him, which adds another layer of longing in him for love.The characters aren’t perfect, and they have a lot of emotional outbursts. Carli was relatable with trying to narrow down her career/life purpose. I, too, hated having to have an idea of what you want to seemingly do for the rest of your life. For that reason, I struggled with picking a major for college. Carli’s also good at basketball, but it’s nothing she wholeheartedly loves. She had so many different interests from art to mythology to random trivia. I liked her! She was level-headed but still playful, just trying to figure life out.I enjoyed that Rex wasn’t the typical playboy, ball hog star player. He got emotional and desperately yearned for love. He had an ingrained habit of hiding his hurt and pain down low within himself. Obviously, those feelings burst forth at some point. Unlike most YA leads, due to his lack of parenting, he desired a stricter upbringing. (view spoiler)[ I wished at some point Rex went to therapy, a school counselor, or read a book or something. He kept bottling up a lot of his feelings, and he needed someone besides Carli to unload that on. (hide spoiler)] He felt like a real person, and, at times, I wanted to slap him into next week when he acted a dee-diddle-fool. BUT I always get why he behaved a certain way. I like that. I don’t have to agree with a character’s actions, but I understand them.Cole, Carli’s brother, is a goofy, hopeful romantic who was sensitive and majorly in touch with his feelings. Carli and he get along great. I always adore seeing sibling relationships where they don’t revolve solely around fighting. Also, I loved Carli’s mom, Barbra. I get so tired of the long-suffering wife who puts up with all her husband’s foolery, so she was such a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed reading this immensely! The narrative voice felt crisp and authentic. The whole relationship didn't just revolve around sex though there were a bit of some sexual shenanigans. The pacing was great, and I connected with the characters. I would definitely recommend reading this even for non-romance readers or non-sports fans! There is a lot of heart in this story. One thing, at times, Rex was creepyyyyy. Like, You “Joe” creepy. Still, read this!ending spoiler:(view spoiler)[ I'm glad they broke up. it was too much drama tho the ending is certainly hopeful. (hide spoiler)]

Oh man, this was so, so good. I think this would appeal to any YA romance fan, but especially those of you who loved Love and Basketball. This was funny and poignant and tender, and the main characters did such a good job growing up and figuring themselves out through this, and I just loved it a lot.

Carli was always looking for signs. So, when Rex blew that kiss in her direction, she knew there was something special there to explore.This was my first Liara Tamani book, but after finishing it, I immediately pushed her debut, Calling My Name, up my TBR. She captured me with her beautiful prose, wrapping me up in the rapture of first love using vibrate and lush imagery. But, it wasn't just the gooey love stuff that got me. I was hit with every emotion these characters were feeling, and I felt them with full force.Obviously, this book was about first love. It was sweet, and heady, and intense, the way teen romances tend to be. I loved watching Rex and Carli navigating these new feelings, and forming such a strong connection with each other. I can already hear the cries of "instalove", but I don't care! I remember being a teen, and all those firsts were so extreme and powerful. I also was sold on this union, because of Rex. When Carli looked at him and spoke to him, he finally felt "seen", and I accept that as a driving force to seek deeper connection with someone.Rex was quite a complicated character. He carried around a lifetime of hurt, grief, and guilt related to his mother's death. He craved to be loved, and to be loved for who he was, not his skills on the court. I could feel his joy, when he was embraced by Carli and her family, and it was both touching and heartbreaking. He was a rather sensitive young man too, who wasn't afraid to bear his soul, and I never get tired of seeing boys like that. I felt so rewarded, when Rex started to build a positive relationship with his dad, but as things started looking up in his world, Carli's was falling apart.She had always enjoyed a rather idyllic home life. Her brother was caring and very generous with his love. She had a mother she admired, and a father, who was known to dote on her. Now, her parents were getting divorced, and she had to choose which parent to live with. This decision, plus her resolve to quit basketball was weighing on her. She had many difficult choices to make, this weight sometimes kept her from being as emotionally open with Rex as she wanted to be, and as he wanted her to be. Let's just say, their relationship experienced the same sort of ups and downs, that they were personally experiencing apart.There were also many secrets, and they played a big role in this book. It seemed like everyone had some, and ready or not, they were all getting uncovered. I think the one I didn't see coming until it was right in front of me, was the secret which prompted Carli's parent's divorce. I may have let a "wow" escape from my mouth, when I realized what had happened there, but I rather liked how it played into the overall story, the way Carli embraced the secret.Overall, I had a fantastic time reading this roller-coaster romance. This was a wonderful story of first love and family, which was filled with fantastic characters to root for, lots of emotion, and many beautiful and heartfelt moments.*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

Lovely lyrical layered writing slowly builds, like a collage, to the climax.

Overall, I think this was a really good book and the writing was beautiful. It starts off with so much instalove intensity, RIGHT from the first scene, and for a while it really reminded me of Jacqueline Woodson’s If You Come Softly. If she had stuck with that being the focus, I feel like it could have been an especially strong short story or novella. But noOooOoO. What didn’t really sit right with me is that there’s no where to go from instalove - nowhere UP anyway. Thus it turns into a mess, really a kind of toxic relationship, because they are both so passionate but so “damaged” with so much personal stuff that they haven’t healed. So it goes from one extreme to the other SO fast, continuously back and forth, and I can have SOME compassion for them, but I can also want to knock them upside they heads. Their behavior and reactions to things were just so so so dumb and obnoxious a lot of the time. I had compassion for them but didn’t necessarily like them as much as I would have liked to. So it’s mixed feelings, but generally a good read.

WHEN LIFE IS HARD, HAVING SOMEONE BY YOUR SIDE IS EVERYTHINGRex lost his mom and Carli’s folks are going through a divorce. Fate brings them together and their unique bond allows them to work through these very real, very raw emotions in the safety of love and understanding.You guys. The teenaged love story aside, this book is a reflection of real life. Like I teared up several times because I felt those feelings of guilt, abandonment, avoidance, isolation, betrayal and being undeserving.All The Things We Never Knew had so many “yeah, me too” moments in it. From divorce to an absent parent, I have personally felt a lot of the things Tamani wrote about. And sadly, I think a lot of others have too.But maybe that’s why this book is so important - because of its deep relatability.Yes there is an almost “love at first sight” romance that brings Rex and Carli together. But what sustains this story is how they navigate these very serious life happenings.I don’t know how many YA books discuss death of a parent or divorce in a non-over dramatized light. And I’m thankful for the realism that Tamani stuck to.I truly think this book can offer pivotal commiseration to teens who are experiencing similar “home life” circumstances. And for that reason, I give it 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

** spoiler alert ** AudioboekDit is zo'n schattig verhaal. Lang geleden dat ik nog zo'n lief verhaal heb gelezen. Het einde had ik volledig niet verwacht ik dacht dat het anders ging aflopen. Zeker zijn 5 sterren waard.

A hard-hitting YA contemporary romance about two basketball-playing teens who meet by chance and fall in love. They experience first love, heartbreak, and strong family ties. Part realistic, part predictable but young readers will really resonate with the characters.

4.5/5 starsThis was the cutest little romance story I’ve read in a while. A little frustrating at times but sooo cute and I loved the narrators of the audiobook.