The girl he used to know

The solid latest from Graves (after White-Hot Hack) follows the romance between a high-functioning autistic woman and her college flame. In August 2001, Annika Rose and Jonathan Hoffman run into one another at a Chicago grocery store 10 years after they ended their relationship. Jonathan went to New York to pursue his dream of working in finance and was heartbroken when Annika decided not to follow him. Now back in Chicago, Jonathan's wary of their mutual spark and has yet to deal with their unresolved past. Largely homeschooled before college, Annika is lonely and finds solace in caring for animals, reading books, and playing chess. With the help of Jonathan and her friend Janice Albright, she navigates the overwhelming stimuli that has always aggravated her anxiety. As their relationship evolves, Annika wants to prove that she's changed for the better and won't give in to the urge to hide when things go wrong. The narrative builds to a life-or-death situation that puts Annika to the test. Graves does a good job of putting readers in Annika's shoes and setting up the foundation for the book's ending, though the narrative often gets mired in lengthy lovey-dovey scenes. Readers who don't mind the over-the-top emotional element will find a solid story here. (Apr.) This review has been updated to remove a spoiler. © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Living alone for the last 10 years has pushed Annika Rose, a woman on the autism spectrum, toward independence. Yet bumping into Jonathan Hoffman, her college sweetheart, in the frozen food section of their local grocery store sparks hope for something more.Following a vicious bullying incident in seventh grade, Annika had been home-schooled, so college life challenged her. Luckily, just as she was about to throw in the towel and head back home, her compassionate roommate, Janice, took Annika under her wing, helping her to better read and respond to social cues. It was Janice who took Annika to her first chess club meeting, a place that became sacred to Annika. With the chess board in front of her, Annika could enter a space of clear rules and no confusing emotions, and it was at chess club that Annika and Jonathan first met. After she trounced him in their first game, Jonathan was smitten by the beautiful yet terribly shy Annika. Over the course of their senior year, Jonathan and Annika's romance built from tentative touches into a passionate affair that crashed shortly after Jonathan took a job in New York. Now divorced and skittish, can Jonathan open his heart to Annika's love again? Or will the mystery behind their breakup keep them apart? Telling the story primarily from Annika's perspective, Graves (On the Island, 2012, etc.) mirrors Annika's own logical, concrete thought patterns with straightforward sentence structure and minimal description. Careful to balance the emotional and intellectual power between Annika and Jonathan, Graves creates a believable love affair in which Annika is not infantilized but rather fully realized as simply different. And her differences become her strengths when catastrophe strikes, compelling Annika to take the lead for the first time in her life.A heartwarming, neurodiverse love story. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.