“It’s like everyone around you has a copy of the script of life, but no one gave it to you so you have to go in blind and hope you can muddle your way through. And you’ll be wrong most of the time.” – Annika

This week’s review is of a The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves. This is a sweet, heartbreaking and heartwarming novel about Annika Rose. Annika is different from other people. She prefers being alone, the company of animals and reading books over being with people. She wishes people would be direct and say what they mean and she does not pick up on social cues. In the early 1990s, Annika meets Jonathan in college while playing chess and they have an instant connection. Jonathan keeps coming around and makes it clear he is interested in Annika. They start a romance, but at the end of college, it all changes as Annika does not want to move away.

Ten years later, Annika is working at a library and, like all of us, has come to understand herself and the art of interacting with others over the years. She runs into Jonathan who is back in town and her feelings for him reignite. As they begin spending time together, they learn about each other all over again…do they have a future together?

The story is told in alternating times of the early 1990s in college and 2001, which is the characters’ present day. The story includes both Annika’s and Jonathan’s POV. My favorite part of the book was reading Annika’s thoughts. I know people who think like Annika does and found it really eye-opening to read her perspective and understand how she saw and experienced the world.

I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it for readers of authors like JoJo Moyes and Gail Honeyman. Reserve this book for Curbside Pickup at https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx….