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lindsaynixon 's review for:
The Girl He Used to Know
by Tracey Garvis Graves
**I got a free, advanced copy of this book from my local bookstore with no strings attached and am so glad I said "yes"
Omgggg
I didn’t see that coming... even though the information was there all along...
Initially I was a little lukewarm on the story. I did like the characters and I’m delighted more and more novels are coming out with protagonists who are on the spectrum. I kept reading for that reason and then the book jumped right up and bit me. The next thing I know I’m crying, gasping for breath, and yelling “no!!!” Only for the story to keep ripping me into a million pieces. It’s not often books make my soul shake but this one did.
The summary is going to sound lame because I can't say anything about the killer backend of the novel without spoilers: there are two timelines. “Now” 2001 and “then” 1992. From page 1 you learn Annika and Jonathon dated in college, had a breakup that left Jonathan broken hearted, and now they've bumped into each 10 years later in Chicago (she thought he lived in NYC). The get together to catch up and eventually start dating again. As this new courtship unfolds (both Annika and Jon are narrating in the present "now") you get flashes of how they got together the first time and eventually find out what broke them up.
Annika is beautiful but a shy, introverted girl (suspected to have autism) whose is viewed "weird" as society and in college but Jonathan, broken down after being thrown out of his past college and now a senior at a new school, finds serenity with Annika and loves her quirks. He becomes her first for everything. Annika comments often that Jonathan and Janice (her college roommate) helped her to learn how to live in the world, that her parents kept her too sheltered. Finally you find out what happened between them to break them up, and as they start to work through it, or don't--Jonathon still sees the problems are still there that they had... something dramatic happens. Annika finally "grows" in this tragedy and things work out the way they are supposed to.
Omgggg
I didn’t see that coming... even though the information was there all along...
Initially I was a little lukewarm on the story. I did like the characters and I’m delighted more and more novels are coming out with protagonists who are on the spectrum. I kept reading for that reason and then the book jumped right up and bit me. The next thing I know I’m crying, gasping for breath, and yelling “no!!!” Only for the story to keep ripping me into a million pieces. It’s not often books make my soul shake but this one did.
The summary is going to sound lame because I can't say anything about the killer backend of the novel without spoilers: there are two timelines. “Now” 2001 and “then” 1992. From page 1 you learn Annika and Jonathon dated in college, had a breakup that left Jonathan broken hearted, and now they've bumped into each 10 years later in Chicago (she thought he lived in NYC). The get together to catch up and eventually start dating again. As this new courtship unfolds (both Annika and Jon are narrating in the present "now") you get flashes of how they got together the first time and eventually find out what broke them up.
Annika is beautiful but a shy, introverted girl (suspected to have autism) whose is viewed "weird" as society and in college but Jonathan, broken down after being thrown out of his past college and now a senior at a new school, finds serenity with Annika and loves her quirks. He becomes her first for everything. Annika comments often that Jonathan and Janice (her college roommate) helped her to learn how to live in the world, that her parents kept her too sheltered. Finally you find out what happened between them to break them up, and as they start to work through it, or don't--Jonathon still sees the problems are still there that they had... something dramatic happens. Annika finally "grows" in this tragedy and things work out the way they are supposed to.