Review | The Girl He Used to Know

The Book: The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves

Date Published: April 2, 2019

Dates Read: November 2-6, 2018

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.28

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to entering Goodreads Giveaways. I started applying for all the giveaways I could back in August and since then I have receieved about 8 books from publishers across the country. It is an introverted book lover's dream. It took me a bit longer this year to finish my Harry Potter reread and when I was done I needed something completely different from the magical tale of the Boy Who Lived.

The Girl He Used To Know was probably the second or third book I got in the mail. I will be honest with you, I totally judge books by their cover. I know it's something that we were taught as children not to do, but I mean, come on, you can't not judge a book by its cover. The covers draw you in and entice you to pick it up and flip through the pages. Only once its caught your eye do you read the opening paragraph to see if it captures your imagination. What I'm saying is, don't immediately judge a person by their outward appearance, but when it comes to books? Go for it, dude.

I loved the simplicity of the cover and, though obviously a romance novel, it wasn't like overly romance-y. You know what I'm talking about, those chiseled, muscle-y dudes who look like they could break you in half, but for some reason that's super sexy. No, this book wasn't like that and I was glad for it.

The story: I have never really been one for love stories. I think my issue was that I read so many sappy love stories as a teenager that I eventually got burnt out on them. There were so many other exciting things that woman could be doing. She could go to Mars, she could save the world, she could get her fucking PhD (I binged the Haunting of Hill House this weekend so I've been quoting it all week. My apologies).

The Girl He Used to Know is different from those love stories I poured over as a kid. For one thing, the book is largely narrated by the girl he used to know. Her name is Annika and she is probably the first main character I've ever met who is on the spectrum. Granted, she is highly-functioning, but it was fascinating to be inside of her head and see how her brain worked when dealing with complex situations. I admit, I have never really branched out and read books that had characters vastly different from myself, but it was incredibly eye opening.

The story itself follows Annika and Jonathan in two different years: in 1991 when they meet and fall in love while in college, and in 2001 when they reconnect in Chicago. The quick shifts in perspective show how much they both had grown since they separated in 1992, but slowly the pieces of their relationship fall together. We get to see Annika as an anxious young college student struggling to figure out her place in the world and we also get to see Annika as a successful college grad who has sought help for her anxiety and has started to get a feel for the world. When she happens to run into Jonathan in a grocery store it throws her for a loop, but instead of running from the situation, she faces it head on.

Ok, the ending: I won't get too far into it because I don't want to spoil anything for you potential readers, but holy crap I did not see that ending coming. I was actually walking into work early because I had gone to vote (speaking of, have you voted today?) and when I started the end of the novel I actually exclaimed loud enough that a couple of people turned my way. I don't know why I didn't think of the possibility of this ending, but I think I was just too wrapped up in Jonathan and Annika getting back together that my brain just didn't make the connections.

First things first, there are spoilers ahead. I thoroughly enjoyed the ending of this book, but I'm fairly certain its a little improbable? With as little spoilers as I can possibly give away, Jonathan is in a terrible accident. Annika is told that he had survived the accident, but when she doesn't hear from him after several days she makes the journey to his last known destination. After searching for several days, she finds him listed as a John Doe in a coma in a hospital somewhere downtown. Miraculously, though he probably should have survived, Jonathan survives and, eventually, they live happily ever after.

Here's the thing, would it have been a better book if Jonathan had died? A large part of the book was about Annika realizing how to take care of herself and learning how to handle complex and stressful situations on her own. Part of me wants to say that killing Jonathan in order to force Annika to become a more independent human being, but I couldn't help but root for the two of them and I honestly couldn't imagine what life would be like for her should Jonathan died. I think in the end, both characters learned the importance of their own independence, but I also think that it was important for them to learn that together.

Final Thoughts: Honestly, I think the only thing that tripped me up about this novel is that sometimes the writing seemed a little stilted, but that definitely comes with the narrative we are provided. For someone who is unsure how the world works and how she functions inside of it, of course the writing will feel that way.

At the point of writing this, The Girl He Used to Know is sitting with a 4.28/5 with over 300 reviews so I can't be the only person to have enjoyed this book and I look forward to seeing those reviews grow once the book is published.

Long Story Short:

• Goodreads Giveaways are like gambling, but without the risk and an AMAZING payoff.

• Read something with a main character different from yourself.

• Sometimes people don't have to die to have a good story.

My Rating: 4/5