The Girl He Used to Know

This is a love story - but it's unlike any love story that I've ever read. It's about love and forgiveness and second chances and most importantly, it's about a girl who is socially awkward and trying to find her place in the world.

The story is told in two timelines. In the first, Annika (rhymes with Monica) Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. She is anxious in social situations and college is very difficult for her because she finds most people confusing. She prefers her life of books, animals and her joy in playing chess. She meets Jonathan at chess club and he is entranced by her quirky ways. They fall in love and make plans for the future until life pulls them apart and they go their own ways and he move to NYC show more to pursue his career. The second time line is 10 years later when Annika and Jonathan run into each other in a store. She still lives in Chicago and works in a library and he is visiting Chicago on business. The feeling between them is still strong and they have to decide whether they want to try again and risk the pain that they had before or take a chance and maybe find true love that will overcome their obstacles.

This characters in this book are well written but Annika is the character that I'll remember the most. Her best friend Janice helped her with social cues and ways to handle life but for someone on the autism spectrum like Annika was, life is full of confusion and difficult social interaction. The character is so well written that I found myself wanting to help her out and being upset when she was. She is aware of the fact that she is different “Most people can draw these conclusions instantaneously, without any extra analysis at all. How amazing but also heartbreaking, because I’ll never be one of them.” Annika is a character that I won't soon forget - despite her differences she is a brave and loving person. This is an uplifting and beautiful novel and one of my favorite books of the year so far.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less

Oh COME on, I was going to darn 4-star this book at page 250, did we REALLY have to go there!!!!!!! Ugh. And of course as soon as I reread the date it was so very obvious what was going to happen.

This was really lovely and sweet and while it was a pure and utter love story without a lot of outside plot, it was heartfelt and the characters well crafted. And then it had to go and throw in a huge upset which I don't know if was necessary but it definitely tugged on my heartstrings so I guess it wins.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance copy.

This book was amazing. I utterly devoured it. The story was both dual POV and spanned several time periods. However, it wasn't confusing in the least.

We immediately meet both of our main characters in close to present-day. Annika and Jonathan had been apart for a decade when they see each other in a grocery store. For months they'd been living ten minutes apart without knowing, so the decision was made to reconnect, even though there were things that needed to be said in order to mend their relationship.

After this, we're taken back and forth between their time at The University of Illinois and their lives as grownups in Chicago as they get to know each other again.

Annika is show more quirky and strange, and she's trying very hard to fit into a world where she has no idea how things work. Her roommate and a new chess partner are the only things that saved her from leaving college and running back home.

Jonathan is switching to a new University and finds a formidable opponent in Annika. Not just that, but he's completely enthralled with her from the minute he sees her across the room. Cliche? Yeah, sure, but that doesn't make it untrue.

Their love is true, but it's not without its hurdles. Annika is difficult to decode, and Jonathan - as great as he is - isn't perfect.

There's a culmination to their "past" story, and it's a heartbreaker for sure. It dovetails with the modern story, and then... WHAM. The right hook is thrown. I noticed the dates. I don't want to say more, so please let me leave it there. There are other reviews that give this plot point away.

I want to echo other reviews and PLEAD with Tracey to get another book for Annika and Jonathan. I want more to their story. The Girl He Used to Know is so compelling and emotional that I'll be re-reading it when it comes out in 2019 for sure. I encourage you to do the same.

I give this book FIVE unwanted slices of pepperoni stars. show less

SPOILER ALERT: I am going to review one part of the book in detail because it was done SO well and intrigued me SO very much! This story is about a girl named Annika and her love interest Jonathan. This story will cover young love, a tragedy, lost love, found love and living life in a different way. Annika has autism. As a former teacher and a mother who has a grown son with autism, this book really hit home. My experiences with autism have been from the side for fighting for rights for both my students and my son. This book really lets you see how Annika's autism lets her see the world. The minute the book mentioned that Annika loved to take off her shoes and put her heels on the cold floor, I KNEW she was autistic or had sensory show more issues. It was a feeling. The book slowly introduces you to her. It will be interesting to hear how others with no background in autism or sensory issues will finally "discover" the truth. I would hope not too long. The world has been more informed about how valuable autistic people are. They are often more highly intelligent than the average person. They can often solve problems that no one can not, because they experience the world differently through their senses. The problem is, people forget that just because they are different, they still fall in love and still can function quite well along with unaffected adults. No one knows the pain they suffer or the homework they do on their own to be socially accepted. The best example of this that most people have seen is the TV show "The Good Doctor". Shaun Murphy is autistic but is working as a skilled surgeon who often needs accommodations because he just does not realize or can't help that sometimes he comes across as socially inept or uncaring. I loved this book's storyline. Everything flowed. It was very easy to get attached to the characters. I also knew immediately the one other character in this book who was autistic. I also thought the climax of the book was amazing and informative. An important TRUE historical event is covered in such a way that I felt like I was there and was crying for those who were affected. I liked the ending, but I wish that there had been more details of life ever after in the end. I guess a Part 2 could be written, but it feels final the way the author wrote the ending. If you love good love stories, or you love stories about intellect or love reading about lives similar to others love watching soaps to observe the lives of others, you will LOVE this book! If you don't understand the challenges of being autistic, you will be better informed. I am very happy to read a love story with substance. When I first saw the title, without reading the blurb, I made a guess that the book was about a man's daughter that he lost in some kind of custody battle and reunited years later, not knowing how to be a part of her life. So my guess was wrong, but I truly enjoyed reading this story for the feeling it gave me and the experience of seeing life through a different autistic person, as no two people, autistic or not, are alike. If the movie version is made, I would definitely go see it. #READTHEGIRL book club #shespeaks show less

What an incredible book - I was brought to tears a few times. Mainly for the terrible disability of not being able to interpret or express feelings in the conventional way. It was a nightmare for Annika, resulting in perpetual anxiety, that she didn't know what people were thinking. But nor could she convey to people what she was thinking!! which in a way seemed worse.

How impossible it was for Jonathan. He had to work so hard on UNDERSTANDING Anicka, and help her at the same time. I identified with Jonathan very much. He was as magnificent a carer as you could hope to meet, though of course he fell short from time to time because his task was humungous. What a towering figures Anicka's mother and her best friend are.

Find this review and others at Carlene Inspired.
4.5 Stars
I just realized how long this review it. Sorry!!

Ten years does little to extinguish the flame that burns between Annika Rose and Jonathan. Seeing each other for the first time after such a large space of time is like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket at the first sight of winter, it's comfortable, but it also brings back the painful hurt each was left with at the end of their youthful relationship. Annika still prefers her solitude and the quiet, but Jonathan reminds her of the comfort of a companion, the trust, and the difficulties that sometimes come with dating when one doesn't understand social cues quite as well as others. She's not sure he'll want to see her again, not show more after the past, but she wants to see him again and this time, she's willing to do the work.

For those who haven't read On The Island, Tracey Garvis Graves' debut novel, let me tell you about how even years after reading it is unforgettable. I know the characters, I know their feelings, I think of them when people ask for specific types of stories, I think of them like old friends. Sure, she's published others since then, but that book just had that memorable quality to it. When I read the blurb for The Girl He Used to Know I felt that rush of excitement, that same feeling of butterflies before getting on a roller coaster, it was an immediate feeling of I must read this book. The blurb doesn't give much away, but the line, "She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way - she just can't read people." told me this would be a unique read and I wasn't wrong. I was wrapped up in this story for several hours, I couldn't focus on anything without thinking about what I had left to discover on the pages. It was an all consuming read that left me smiling through my tears.

Annika Rose is your typical female main character, she's gorgeous, she's self sufficient, she's loved and lost, but she also struggles quite a lot with social interaction. What others call weird or avoid her for is really her high functioning autism and the tools she has learned to use to cope with her inability to understand facial expressions, social cues, and body language. When Jonathan first sees her he sees her beauty and soon after her brain and, despite the difficulties he has in just befriending her, he sets his sights on dating her. It isn't easy though, Annika is used to others "babysitting" her and is unprepared for what is required of her on date nights or even in Chess Club as she moves from occasional member to a competitive teammate. She frequently runs away to the safety of her room, is often unaware or almost too aware of the looks and comments made about her, and without a diagnosis has no tools to help her in the fast-paced college atmosphere. Tracey Garvis Graves really captured the misconception many held, and may still hold, about people with autism, I felt like I really was Annika as she battled the stigma of being dumb or slow. Tracey Garvis Graves also really highlights the uniqueness of high functioning autism, with Annika being so beautiful, but also easy prey for those who recognize she is unable to understand their intention. I am so thankful this girl has a roommate and best friend that loves her and helps her and never sees her as a burden, it's absolutely one of my favorite secondary relationships I've ever read.

The romance aspect of this story is just beautiful and so unique, the novel flashes back between 1991 while the two are in college dating and 2001, ten years later, with many more life experiences behind them. These two love so deeply, when they fall they fall hard, but college-aged Annika isn't prepared to cope with adulthood and the affects of choices and adult Annika has relied so much on her coping mechanisms that starting fresh with Jonathan sounds much better that dealing with the past. There is significant character growth in the ten year gap and while I would have loved to read it all I think we get just the right amount of highlights to understand where life took the two. Each are hardened a bit by their experiences, yet the spark between them still flickers innocently like it once did.

I so loved Jonathan and his patience, understanding, and love of Annika. He puts other's expectations behind him and loves her fiercely, even when he doesn't know what to do to be there for her. I also loved how he learned to ask things of her, to explain the love, commitment, and trust he needs to make the relationship work. I think it is important to highlight that Annika doesn't know how a relationship should work, being a partner to her rather than being a caretaker is Jonathan's goal and I think the dialogue we get in this novel as they explore dating again is incredible. It felt realistic and accurate and really made me think. The two face challenges, massive challenges many of us would never dream of facing, and yet they continue to fight for themselves and for each other. My only complaint is the lack of an epilogue, while I could have read the story of these two forever I really think an ending that gives readers a reprieve from the tears would have been amazing.

Told from Annika and Jonathan's alternating perspectives, The Girl He Used to Know captures the essence of first love and the mark it leaves on you so perfectly to me. It's the story of the underdog, a romance with depth that left me in tears, it's so beautiful and yet so heart wrenching, and begging for more. Tracey Garvis Graves' The Girl He Used to Know will have a spot on my favorites shelf forever.

ARC provided. show less

On the surface this was a very charming second chance romance that featured a character on the autism spectrum. It had a strong beginning and the alternating narratives of Annika, a young woman with (undiagnosed) Asperger’s syndrome, and Jonathan, her sweet but somewhat nerdy boyfriend really grabbed my interest. I liked the insight into Annika’s mind about her struggles to read social cues and how her sensory issues affected her. And I liked that the two timelines, one from 1991 and the other 2001, showed the progress she’d made in learning to navigate the typical world. I pushed aside my annoyance that, of course, she had to be super-hot and that Jonathan’s character never felt fully developed. But I was extremely put off by show more the emotionally manipulative ending that used the World Trade Center tragedy as a plot device. I could also add there were a number of inconsistencies that bothered me but that ending alone made me wish I’d left this on my TBR list. show less