THINGS WE KNOW BY HEART was sweet, heartbreaking, and humorous all at the same time. Most of all though, it was uplifting. It made me feel so many different emotions and the takeaway was perfect. 
 One of my favorite things about this book was the importance placed on familial relationships. I absolutely love when this happens because the focus is usually on a romantic relationship instead. While this book did revolve around a romance (a great one, at that) so much depends on the characters' connections with their families. 
 Each and every character is given their own personality and traits, adding depth to the story as a whole. Although a majority of the development goes toward Quinn and Colton, the secondary characters play an important role because they affect the main characters. 
 While I rooted for the couple in this book and enjoyed their interactions with each other, I did have a small problem with the development of their relationship, or lack thereof. They seem to skip the friendly strangers stage and go right into the love interest stage. This is somewhat understandable because of the plot but going right into the romance was a small issue of mine. 
 THINGS WE KNOW BY HEART is a solid Young Adult contemporary, it introduces some elements new to the genre and includes others that I love to see in any book. Definitely recommended.