Summer Reading: Emily Giffin’s THE ONE & ONLY

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In her eagerly awaited new novel, beloved New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin returns with an extraordinary story of love and loyalty—and an unconventional heroine struggling to reconcile both.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

Thoughtful, funny, and brilliantly observed, The One and Only is a luminous novel about finding your passion, following your heart, and, most of all, believing in something bigger than yourself . . . the one and only thing that truly makes life worth living.

 

 

Bookfinds

Bookfinds Editor. Book Reviewer.

One Comment

  1. I usually love Emily Giffin’s books. She creates flawed, but lovable characters — women other women can relate to, or at least understand.

    Sadly, her latest book does not resonate on any level with me. And, I am a huge football fan!

    Shea’s character fell flat from the start. Coach was a caricature and the friendship between Shea and Coach’s daughter did not make any sense at all.

    Come on! How would you feel if your mom was newly deceased and you found out that your dad has taken up with your best friend? The friendship angle, the horror that Shea’s mom feels — after all, Coach’s late wife was her closest friend, and now her own daughter is after the widow?! None of this was really explored in depth.

    Everything was glossed over. The characters were not fully developed. The story was so amateurish that now I see why Ms. Giffen chose NOT to read an excerpt of the book when she came to my local bookstore to sign the book.

    Emily, we expect so much more from you.

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