5 Reasons to Read The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Gravis Grave

"What if it turns out that after going through the evaluation, that I find out that I'm not on the spectrum. That I really am just weird. I don't know if I could handle that."

The book 
Annika (rhymes with Monica) Rose is an English major at the University of Illinois. Anxious in social situations where she finds most people's behavior confusing, she'd rather be surrounded by the order and discipline of books or the quiet solitude of playing chess.

Jonathan Hoffman joined the chess club and lost his first game—and his heart—to the shy and awkward, yet brilliant and beautiful Annika. He admires her ability to be true to herself, quirks and all, and accepts the challenges involved in pursuing a relationship with her. Jonathan and Annika bring out the best in each other, finding the confidence and courage within themselves to plan a future together. What follows is a tumultuous yet tender love affair that withstands everything except the unforeseen tragedy that forces them apart, shattering their connection and leaving them to navigate their lives alone.

Now, a decade later, fate reunites Annika and Jonathan in Chicago. She's living the life she wanted as a librarian. He's a Wall Street whiz, recovering from a divorce and seeking a fresh start. The attraction and strong feelings they once shared are instantly rekindled, but until they confront the fears and anxieties that drove them apart, their second chance will end before it truly begins.

(Taken from Amazon)

After settling on The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Gravis Graves, earlier this month, I had no clue what I was in for, but the posts on Twitter last week excited me more than ever. I knew that other people enjoyed the book, but I wasn't so sure how much I'd like it. But like a lot of other responses, I read through the book quicker than I anticipated. I couldn't put the book down for the life of me. Needless to say, I read the book in under 2 days.

Need a reason or two to pick up this book when it's released? If two reasons aren't enough, how about 5? However many reasons you may need, I'm sure you'll love this book as much as I did.


1. Annika's character is so relatable: Annika's character is on the autism spectrum, it's why I can relate to her, but I'm sure other people could relate to her as well. She's not like most of the main characters in storybooks. She almost seemed real as I read through the book. As soon as I finished the book and put it down, I started missing Annika. I've grown to love her as a character and know for a fact, that if she were real, I would be friends with someone like her.

2. The characters all seem to fit: The characters, even the minor characters, fit so well with the story. When it came to the main characters, Jonathan and Janice, they were so well written, I could imagine them in my mind.

3. The chapters are short: I love short chapters. I'm one of those people that will take a break after I'm done reading a chapter in a book. In this book's case, I didn't want one, but there were many times that I could have took a break.

4. The book is so engaging: You don't even have to take it from me. If you check Twitter, Good Reads, and even Instagram, the love for this book is obvious. It kept me engaged and interested so much that I can't believe I read the book as quickly as I did. The worst thing about a book that engages me and keeps me until the end? Being done with the book, and hoping for more story, when you know that there's not any more story left.

5. It has both the main character's point points of view: I usually hate books that rotate between characters. I was worried that the rotating between characters would ruin the magic or make the characters less in depth. I was wrong about those guesses. The rotating worked like rotating gears in a watch. Tracey knows how to switch from character to character while maintaining the magic.


Final Thought
This book didn't end like I thought it would, but that's okay. The ending of the book is still as amazing as the rest of the book was. If I was one of those people who didn't mind reading a book all over again, I know I wouldn't hesitate to read it again. Now that the book is done and back on my bookshelf, I'm happy and ready to see what the next book has in store for me.