Two promising Texas basketball players navigate the ups and downs of first love. . . . Funny, smart, and unflinchingly candid. . . . A superb, complex romance full of heart, humor, and unforgettable characters.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Through poetic, economic prose and alternating points of view, Tamani evokes myriad emotions . . . Readers will be easily swept away by this tale exploring the hearts and souls of two emotionally vulnerable athletes.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A masterpiece of a book . . . [and] a poignant love story . . . Tamani’s characters are well drawn, her prose is gorgeous, and the imagery is lush. All The Things We Never Knew is a novel that will take readers on a deep dive of what it means to fall in love and grow as a person amidst turmoil.” — Booklist (starred review)
“Tamani masterfully bounces and slams two hearts up and down a shrouded court of first love and revelations. A hard-to-put-down backboard breaker.” — Rita Williams-Garcia, National Book Award finalist and New York Times –bestselling author
“A beautifully poignant love letter: to a first love, to basketball, and to that enigmatic bunch we think we know best, only to discover we don’t know at all—family. Tamani’s latest is a bright shining star.” — David Arnold, New York Times –bestselling author of Mosquitoland
“Liara Tamani’s All the Things We Never Knew is a bighearted, beautiful exploration of fate, family, and the glorious magic of love.” — Elana K. Arnold, National Book Award Finalist and Printz Honor winner
“[Tamani’s characters] experience their first love, struggle through polarizing feelings about basketball, and witness the consequences of hiding secrets. . . . A deep dive into the glory and mess of new relationships . . . Engaging.” — School Library Journal
“Carli and Rex have promising basketball careers ahead of them, but their whirlwind romance is challenged by loss, grief and the pressure to succeed. All the Things We Never Knew offers a raw, honest portrait of the bond between two teens on and off the court.” — BookPage
"Basketball star Rex Carrington blows his customary kiss . . . . [and] Carli mistakenly thinks it’s meant for her—right before she passes out from a gallbladder attack. . . . Carli and Rex thrust readers into the intensity of first love, dreams of bright futures, and the hope of happily ever after. However . . . the realities of each of their lives encroach upon their relationship. . . . This romance stands out because of its sensitive Black characters . . . who revel in their naïve teenage notions of love and experience all the volatility of adolescence.” — Horn Book Magazine
“Utterly relatable . . . Instantaneous fireworks soon lead to a deeper journey of self-discovery . . . Rex and Carli’s romance — told through tight, dueling point-of-view chapters — will stick with you.” — Austin American Statesman
“Liara Tamani offers a deeply layered portrait of young love in her dazzling All the Things We Never Knew . She captures both the adrenaline rush of all-encompassing emotion and the deeper joys of being seen for who you truly are. . . . All the Things We Never Knew should cement her star status.” — Austin American Statesman (Entertainment & Life)
Carli and Rex have promising basketball careers ahead of them, but their whirlwind romance is challenged by loss, grief and the pressure to succeed. All the Things We Never Knew offers a raw, honest portrait of the bond between two teens on and off the court.
Utterly relatable . . . Instantaneous fireworks soon lead to a deeper journey of self-discovery . . . Rex and Carli’s romance — told through tight, dueling point-of-view chapters — will stick with you.
Austin American Statesman
"Basketball star Rex Carrington blows his customary kiss . . . . [and] Carli mistakenly thinks it’s meant for her—right before she passes out from a gallbladder attack. . . . Carli and Rex thrust readers into the intensity of first love, dreams of bright futures, and the hope of happily ever after. However . . . the realities of each of their lives encroach upon their relationship. . . . This romance stands out because of its sensitive Black characters . . . who revel in their naïve teenage notions of love and experience all the volatility of adolescence.
A beautifully poignant love letter: to a first love, to basketball, and to that enigmatic bunch we think we know best, only to discover we don’t know at all—family. Tamani’s latest is a bright shining star.
★ 06/01/2020
Texas high school junior basketball star Rex Carrington has a tradition at the free-throw line: blowing a kiss to his mother, who died giving birth to him. On the day his kiss happens to land on 16-year-old Carli, another basketball champion from another school, she passes out, he catches her, and the two form a bond that eventually turns into love. Through poetic, economic prose and alternating points of view, Tamani (Calling My Name ) evokes myriad emotions: Rex associates his father’s neglect with blame for Rex’s mother’s death; Carli wants to quit basketball and is devastated over her parents’ recent separation. Though complexities threaten the romance (misunderstandings, family secrets, Rex’s frustrations, and Carli’s reluctance to be open), most prominently shown is its passion (“It’s like we’re two trees secretly sharing nutrients underground, two stars orbiting around all the things there’s no language for”). Readers will be easily swept away by this tale exploring the hearts and souls of two emotionally vulnerable athletes. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jennifer Carlson, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Literary. (June)
Tamani masterfully bounces and slams two hearts up and down a shrouded court of first love and revelations. A hard-to-put-down backboard breaker.
A masterpiece of a book . . . [and] a poignant love story . . . Tamani’s characters are well drawn, her prose is gorgeous, and the imagery is lush. All The Things We Never Knew is a novel that will take readers on a deep dive of what it means to fall in love and grow as a person amidst turmoil.
Booklist (starred review)
Liara Tamani’s All the Things We Never Knew is a bighearted, beautiful exploration of fate, family, and the glorious magic of love.
Liara Tamani offers a deeply layered portrait of young love in her dazzling All the Things We Never Knew . She captures both the adrenaline rush of all-encompassing emotion and the deeper joys of being seen for who you truly are. . . . All the Things We Never Knew should cement her star status.
Austin American Statesman (Entertainment & Life)
A masterpiece of a book . . . [and] a poignant love story . . . Tamani’s characters are well drawn, her prose is gorgeous, and the imagery is lush. All The Things We Never Knew is a novel that will take readers on a deep dive of what it means to fall in love and grow as a person amidst turmoil.
04/01/2020
Gr 9 Up— Rex and Carli, both juniors, play basketball for different high schools. At first glance, they both feel an immediate attraction. During a game, Rex blows a kiss to his mom before he shoots, and Carli thinks it's for her. A few minutes later they meet, when Carli falls into a faint, and Rex catches her. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of this most appealing couple as they experience their first love, struggle through polarizing feelings about basketball, and witness the consequences of hiding secrets. Tamani allows readers a deep dive into the glory and mess of new relationships, while also providing Carli and Rex with family back stories that give their actions and reasoning credibility. VERDICT The immediacy of Tamani's writing, imbued with wonderful sensory moments as the two protagonists let their guards down, will ensure that this engaging story has wide appeal.—Michelle Kornberger, Havenview Middle School, Memphis
This blend of romance and sports is told from dual perspectives. Narrator Joniece Abbott-Pratt voices Carli, a reluctant but gifted high school basketball player whose parents are in the middle of a messy divorce. Preston Butler uses a sonorous voice in his portrayal of Rex, another basketball superstar, who blames himself for his mother’s death. After a chance meeting, they fall instantly in love and are continually tested by circumstances and their penchants for keeping secrets. Abbott-Pratt and Butler both employ casual cadences, making it seem like their characters are sharing life updates with good friends. Some sequences are particularly emotional, and both narrators perform these scenes with heartbreaking sincerity. S.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
This blend of romance and sports is told from dual perspectives. Narrator Joniece Abbott-Pratt voices Carli, a reluctant but gifted high school basketball player whose parents are in the middle of a messy divorce. Preston Butler uses a sonorous voice in his portrayal of Rex, another basketball superstar, who blames himself for his mother’s death. After a chance meeting, they fall instantly in love and are continually tested by circumstances and their penchants for keeping secrets. Abbott-Pratt and Butler both employ casual cadences, making it seem like their characters are sharing life updates with good friends. Some sequences are particularly emotional, and both narrators perform these scenes with heartbreaking sincerity. S.P. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
★ 2020-04-05
For 11th grade star players Carli and Rex, it’s love at first sight when he blows her a kiss from the free-throw line as she watches the game on the sidelines. Carli believes in magic and looks for signs in everyday life—like Rex’s kiss—to help her make decisions. Who should she live with after her parents’ divorce? What should she do with her future—one that won’t include basketball, which she knows will disappoint her father and teammates? Rex is a nature lover like his mother, who died giving birth to him. His father is distant, and inside their big, lonely house, Rex dreams of the NBA. Carli and Rex’s roller-coaster romance is rife with betrayal, heartbreak, grief, and family secrets. As narrators of alternating chapters, they are funny, smart, and unflinchingly candid. Well-written dialogue and fine attention to detail reveal Tamani’s strong insight into Gen Z life. The intensity and depth of Carli and Rex’s love story are conveyed as deftly as the high-energy play-by-plays in their basketball games. Tamani crafts layers of complexity around falling in love, making hard choices, and dealing with loss—on and off the court—in this deeply intimate story of two talented, sensitive teens. Carli, Rex, and their relatives and friends are black; Rex’s teammates are white.
A superb, complex romance full of heart, humor, and unforgettable characters. (Fiction. 13-18)
