The Girl He Used to Know

by Tracey Garvis Graves

Amazon US / UK / AU / CA / B&N

Annika Rose likes being alone.

She feels lost in social situations, saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way – she just can’t read people. She prefers the quiet solitude of books or playing chess to being around others.

Apart from Jonathan. She liked being around him, but she hasn’t seen him for ten years. Until now that is. And she’s not sure he’ll want to see her again after what happened all those years ago.

Annika Rose likes being alone.

Except that, actually, she doesn’t like being alone at all.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

“Marched to the beat of a different drum, did she?” “She marched to the beat of an entirely different band. One you’ve never heard of and under no circumstances ever expected to like.”

Whenever I think of Annika, my mind returns to the way we left things and the same unanswered question. It’s like a pebble in my shoe, uncomfortable but not unbearable. But it’s always there.

He had the whitest teeth I’d ever seen, which made me think his kisses would taste like Pep O Mint Life Savers. Joe’s kisses probably tasted like pot and Funyuns. And failure.

All my life, I’d been waiting for someone I could be myself with. It had never occurred to me that I could be that person for someone else.

It’s a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt… My best friend bought me a book of them. ‘Do one thing every day that scares you’ is what got me through my twenties.

My Review:

This is my favorite book so far this year, it was highly engaging, keenly insightful, and hit all the feels. The storylines were ingeniously crafted and flawlessly populated with an intriguing and captivating cast of characters. Ms. Graves’ writing was emotive and perfectly pitched; she bruised my cold heart, held me transfixed to my Kindle, and stung my eyes more than once.

The story was cleverly woven between two timelines and told from the equally mesmerizing POVs of the two compelling and intriguing main characters. This was my inaugural outing with the stunningly talented Tracey Garvis Graves and I am at a total loss as to why I have never availed myself of this clever scribe’s works before as it was nothing short of brilliant. I covet all her lovely words and am greedy to amass her entire listing.

About the Author

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Tracey Garvis Graves is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, On the Island, spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into thirty-one languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of Uncharted, Covet, Every Time I Think of You, Cherish, Heart-Shaped Hack, White-Hot Hack, and The Girl He Used to Know. She is hard at work on her next book.