Know It All

by Sarah Mlynowski

Short Story.

Genres: Chick Lit

19 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 23, 2010

About the author

Sarah was born in Montreal, Canada. After graduating with an honors degree in English literature from McGill University, she moved to Toronto to work for Harlequin Enterprises. While she never met Fabio, she used her romance publishing experiences to fuel her first novel Milkrun.

Since then, Sarah has written four additional novels for adults: Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs. Me; the New York Times bestselling middle grade series Whatever After; the middle grade series Upside-Down Magic (with Lauren Myracle and Emily Jenkins); and the teen novels Bras & Broomsticks, Frogs & French Kisses, Spells & Sleeping Bags, and Parties & Potions (all in the Magic in Manhattan series), as well as Gimme a Call, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have), Don't Even Think About It, Think Twice, and I See London, I See France. Along with Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart, Sarah also wrote How to Be Bad, and along with Farrin Jacobs, she wrote See Jane Write, a guide to writing. Sarah also co-edited two bestselling charity collections (Girls' Night In and Girls' Night Out), and has contributed to various anthologies (American Girls About Town, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, 21 Proms, First Kiss (Then Tell), Fireworks, and Vacations from Hell).

Sarah is also a co-founder of OMG BookFest, a celebration of books aimed at the early to middle grade reader (ages 7-12) that brings together commercial and award-winning authors with underserved local communities for an exciting experience of books, games and activities.

Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-nine languages and optioned to Hollywood. She now lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Reviews

[Sara Moller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and humourous, as I find all of Sarah Mlynowski's works to be, joined by a good message of the need to move on after a break-up.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Mlynowski is a household name when it comes to Chick Lit here in the US, not only in adult Chick Lit but YA as well. Quite some time ago I discovered a little gem of hers in the form of her short story Know It All. Know It All by Sarah Mlynowski was previously only available in the collection of books titled Girls Night In, but now available for the Kindle (which really can be viewed on anything from a phone to a computer screen), it’s well worth the dollar you’ll spend to read it.

Shaun and her boyfriend have recently split after a two year relationship. In addition to that she’s also lost her best friend to a move out of state and her replacement roommate leaves much to be desired, not to mention the fact that she may be crazy. When Dee, her new roommate, suddenly starts dreaming about Shaun’s ex-boyfriend Brahm, Shaun can’t help but think she’s lost her mind…or has she? Going on a whim she discovers Brahm in the very places Dee mentions and before long Shaun is wondering if she’s really ready to let him go.

Know It All by Sarah Mlynowski was a thoroughly enjoyable short story. My biggest hang up with most short stories is that they aren’t very well developed and you don’t get to know the characters well enough to love the story. This was absolutely not the case with Know It All. I loved each of the characters, even the only occasionally encountered Brahm. With the added benefit of a little magic by Dee you get more than enough to make this an enjoyable story that leaves you eager to read the next Mlynowski story. Every fan of Chick Lit should definitely be picking up a Sarah Mlynowski short story or novel right away!

My original review was posted at Chick Lit Reviews and News.

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t read a whole lot of short stories, but when author Sarah Mlynowski asked if I would check out Know It All, a short story that originally appeared in the collection Girl’s Night In, I said yes with enthusiasm. And I’m glad I did! Even with the few short scenes, I was laughing at the characters and learning a lesson.

Shaun, a twenty-something single gal, gets a new roommate, Dee, who claims to be “a little bit physic.” Shaun certainly doesn’t believe someone can be physic, little bit or not. But when Dee claims to have seen Shaun’s ex-boyfriend falling in love with a new woman, Shaun has to make sure that doesn’t happen. Not that she is still in love with him. But if she is over him, why does she keep rushing around making sure he doesn’t meet this woman? Each time Dee has another vision of them meeting, Shaun intervenes. Is Shaun truly over her ex? And is it time to stop interfering with fate?

I think Mylnowski did an excellent job at building characters quickly, and making this story very relatable to all women. To move on or not to move on? The ways that Shaun interrupts all the chance meetings are very funny, and the lesson at the end is a good one. If you enjoy short stories, I would definitely recommend you pick up Know It All.

[Trixi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Know It All is a quick short story. It caught my attention immediately, and kept it throughout.
Shaun's new roommate Dee claims she is psychic. Shaun's a skeptic, but when Dee correctly predicts
that there will be a power outage and she'll miss her flight to LA, she starts to wonder. Then
when Dee dreams about Shaun's ex, Brahm, meeting a redhead during the power outage, she begins to
believe a bit more, since she had never given Dee any details about Brahm, but she clearly describes
him. While Shaun claims to be over Brahm, she decides to see what happens based on the details of
Dee's dream and interrupts the sequence of events so that Brahm does not meet the redhead. As the
story continues, Dee continues to dream about the meetings and Shaun continues to make sure they
don't happen, until she finally concludes that perhaps they are destined to meet, and decides to
stop interfering. When this story came to an end, I really wanted to keep reading and find out what
happened when Brahm and the redhead finally met.

[eRin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute short story about a woman and her (maybe? possibly?) psychic roommate. Shaun has just broken up with her boyfriend of two years because she realized that she just wasn't in love with him. To try to get her mind off of things, she plans to visit her former (and perfect) roommate in L.A. The morning of her trip, her new roommate casually mentions that she should try and get an earlier flight because she dreamed about them in a blackout. Shaun thinks her roommate may be crazy; until she is stuck hauling her was-heavier-than-necessary suitcase down 28 flights of stairs. Shaun is still not convinced that her roommate is anything other than a one-off lucky hunch. But that is about to change...and with it, possibly her feelings about her ex.

I liked this short. I thought it was a light, fun read that was perfectly suited to the format. Many short stories leave me wanting more, but this was an appropriate length. Good job, Mlynowski.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shaun has a new roommate, Dee, who has psychic tendencies. Dee’s dreams lead Shaun on a chase all around town to interfere with her ex’s future lovelife. Brahm is destined to meet Simone, though Shaun keeps intervening, until she finally comes to the realization that she needs to let him go. Funny story. I love Sarah Mlynowski’s stories!

[Tam Tam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story about a girl with a so called psychic roommate. But is she really psychic? And are they messing with fate?

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute short story.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is chick book. The lady Shaun gets a new roomate who thinks she is psychic, and in some things she turns out to be right. a qucik easy read.