Shannon Takaoka

Shannon Takaoka writes fiction that blends recognizable teenage concerns with strange events and questions about reality. Her debut, Everything I Thought I Knew, follows seventeen-year-old Chloe after a heart transplant changes the course she had planned for herself. Surfing, unfamiliar memories and a recurring nightmare drive Chloe to reconsider what she understands about identity. The book became a Top Pick for the 2021 Kansas NEA Reading Circle recommended list and was selected for the Texas Library Association’s 2022 TAYSHAS reading list. Takaoka, originally from Pittsburgh, also works as a business writer and editor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her next novel, The Totally True Story of Gracie Byrne, uses a mysterious journal to explore another altered reality.