Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Girl He Used to Know

Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

8 reviews

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was not what I thought it would be in the best way possible. The main character, Annika, is neurodivergent and is written so beautifully and carefully. Her struggles are real and sincere and her interactions with others are tinged with frustration as she tries to determine what others mean, what they want from her, and how to interact with them. This is a second-chance love story, where the lovers spend some time apart before falling back into one another’s arms years later. The ending was unexpected and made me yell “no, no, no” and almost spike the book out my car window, but, the conclusion was happy so it turned out okay. This book is an underrated book about a person on the spectrum and I think more people should read it.

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elanuruysal's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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a_ab's review

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challenging hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3.5*s. (?)
I have a hard time formulating my reaction to this book.

I liked the characters, the writing and the slow calm narrative style. And despite some traumatic events happening on page, I appreciated both the way they were described (in a way that didn't aim to traumatize the reader, as is often the case) and the fact that not all potentially dangerous situations were played to their most dramatic/traumatic potential (i.e. the author didn't pile on the drama for drama's sake).

I can't say much about the autism spectrum representation, but it seemed to have been handled with some care. Although I am more conflicted about the detailed explicit sex scenes which were kind of relevant, but also not strictly necessary, and there are many better ways in which that whole topic could have been handled to the same effect, but with much more tact and grace.

At the same time, the way 9/11 is incorporated into the narrative seemed like an attempt to capitalize on the tragedy, which is an automatic red-rage trigger for me. So, there was that.

Otherwise this would have made a good rainy day reread candidate. And maybe it still is, if I can talk myself into not reacting to the 9/11 issue.

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meowpie's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Pros: The author did a wonderful job portraying a neurodivergent main character, as well as the difficulties that being neurodivergent can create in life and relationships. It was a very cute, sweet story of overcoming adversity & an important lesson on why it’s so important to be kind to others.

Cons: I think the overall plot could have used more. It was slightly bland (but still cute). I also was not prepared for a 9/11 plot line and that was really hard.

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