The One & Only: A Novel

I started reading this book early afternoon yesterday and could not go to bed last night (it was a crazy late one) until I finished it. I am an avid reader, and one who is very particular about the books that intrigue me. I don't have a genre, per say, but probably connect more to certain books at specific stages of my life than others. And, the good books do that - they connect with you in a way you cannot forget. I'm still thinking about this book this morning, and NEVER wrote a review before on Amazon. But I felt very strongly about putting my thoughts out there about this one.I literally laughed out loud and cried at certain points in this book. I felt so connected and apart of this latest work by Giffin - and that is a gift. Love or hate the story (and it does seem to swing very much one way or another with this one), you cannot deny the fact that Giffin does possess the ability to tell a story that wraps the reader into its essence for willing participants. The characters are very real in The One and Only, and you feel a connection in some way to each one of them. The struggle Shea faces with her emotions and "passions", coupled with the complexity that acting upon her wishes and feelings, is very well crafted and unfolded in this one. I think as far as lead female protagonists go in Giffin's books to date, Shea may not be the most complex one but is definitely the best developed, thus showing how much Giffin has evolved since her Something Borrowed debut. The supporting characters - especially Lucy, Miller and Shea's Dad- could easily have been stereotypical, one dimensional characters and like true life they were not. And Coach...he is definitely my favorite male character in any of Giffin's books to date. He was intentionally kept at arm's length for the first half of the book and merely an image of a character, as he was from Shea in the story, but as his character unfolded you could feel the struggle of balancing recent loss and new opportunity and pain and love. And as he became more real, you could literally smell his aftershave when he entered the scene, feel his breathing get heavier at certain points and the pain he feels physically pulling away at certain times from Shea.Some of the best scenes ever written by Giffin were in this book between Shea and Coach. The connection between them literally jumped off the page, breaking the wall between reader and text. You could feel the passion and love between these two in a very real and sincere way, and also the tension and apprehension on both sides. The understanding of how life would never be the same was always present, but also the need to follow the heart, was so well developed and written. There was always the potential for everything to turn into one big cliché --- and it didn't. If it did, I wouldn't be writing a review right now (or even finished the book...)I was a very early adopter to Giffin. I traveled a lot back when her first novel came, and was always picking up books on the fly in airports at random. I remember very clearly finding Something Borrowed the week it came out - I was in yet another airport, on yet another biz trip, and was flying cross country yet again. Instead of sleeping the 5+ hours en flight, I was glued to this book and carried it around during the biz trip to sneak in snippets to finish. One of my anti-chick lit colleagues was intrigued, borrowed it after I finished it on the trip, and then passed it on to somebody else. In a matter of a month, the book made its rounds to almost 10 people, each one as captivated by it as the next. Giffin is a different writer - has always been so. BUT, she continues to up her game with every novel she produces. I've not always resonated with the story or characters in Giffin's books (read every one month it comes out) the way I did in The One & Only, but acknowledged her ability to connect with a reader (NO easy task), create layered characters and tell stories that women would resonate with and like. However, these last few novels by Giffin are putting her in a new category. I cringe when I see reviews of her books being a "good beach read." Mind you, I LOVE reading at the beach, but I equate that label to something more light. When I am literally crying while reading a book, I don't consider that "light."And the fact that people either loved or hated this one just goes to show how her writing evokes such strong emotional reactions - always a token of a gifted writer. Keep it up Emily Giffin:)Oh, and for the many people in these Amazon reviews calling out how this would make an amazing movie, YES. Somebody PLEASE buy the rights to this one! Of all her books to date, this one has the best potential for multi-medium success. And regarding the game of who plays who:Coach: Kyle Chandler (it has to be him...)Lucy: Kate Hudson (she would be perfect..)Miller: Taylor Kitsch (I couldn't be the only one who saw this...)Ryan: Chris Hemsworth (only if he can do an amazing texas accent- which I think he could;)Shea's Dad: Ted Danson (not sure why I saw this, but I did...)Shea: Honestly, cannot think of any actress out there that fits the character image I built in my head...I saw Alison Williams in one of the comments - that could work...Just as long as whomever plays the role has the ability to layer the complexity on screen as we see in the book. Shea is not a one dimensional character by any means.

I read a lot of reviews that condemn the relationships between the characters as being "weird" which makes me sad that people are so judgemental. Those are probably the holier-than-thou people that look down on others, kind of like Lucy in this book. I'm not just talking about Coach and Shea, but Shea's parents, and the small town vibe of friends. If it doesn't involve you, you really shouldn't have an opinion about how people live.I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed the narrator. I didn't live her version of Astrid, but everything else was great! I loved the first 75% of the book, and loved all the gooey feelings as the relationship developed between Shea and Coach. I hated that Lucy had so much sway. It did feel weird that Shea's mom was invited to everything and it was kind of hard to imagine that she was completely oblivious to Shea's relationship. I also felt a bit of whiplash with New York job plans and the end of the bowl game. I think another chapter or an epilogue would have helped leave us in a "happy for now" spot.Overall, I felt dreamy and smiley while the crush developed, and I probably had a crush on Coach, too, which is why I want more.

I agree with the open minded aspect of the book and the not so open minded.I love me some Emily Giffin and was really excited to start this novel. While it satisfied my craving for a feel good, light hearted read, I did find myself struggling to stay with it towards the end.The story was a tab predictable, but that did not deter me in anyway. My boyfriend is a strength and conditioning coach so actually liked and appreciated all of the football references. I really felt transported to Walker, TX in the heart of collegiate football season.I do have to agree with one of the other reviewers in that I felt that Shea was very one dimensional. I would have liked to know a little bit more about her as a person other than her obsession with football and Coach Carr. The romance between her and Carr really required you to think outside the box, which I was able to do. I still pictured Carr as a young Bert Reynolds in my head, but stil, was able to keep and open mind.What made her feelings for him very fictional for me was how obsessed she was and how Carr didn't really seem that interested in her until she started admitting her feelings for him. It all seemed very convenient. Ryan's character was also very predictable, but I didn't care because I was actually rooting for Ryan to be misjudged and to turn it around.The hardest pill to swallow in this story had to be the outcome of the friendship between Lucy and Shea once Lucy walked in on Shea and Carr making out in her living room. If I walked in on my dad and best friend making out, I would lose my sh*t. So I found it very unbelievable how all Shea had to do was choose their friendship over swapping spit with Coach and all was forgiven. Really? It was pretty much blue skies after that between them. Not sure how you can forgive such an infraction, but Lucy managed to. Oh and then she basically set them up at the end. Blech.All in all, I am excited for Emily's next novel and will look forward to it.

It was an unexpected and surprisingly sweet story. A bit too heavy on the sports terminology, I found myself glazing over those parts.

Emily Giffin was recommended to me and this was the second book I read of hers , and I absolutely loved it .

Eu sou suspeita no que tange aos romances da Emily Giffin, porque até mesmo quando eu não gosto da estória, eu gosto do livro. Deixe-me explicar, ela pode até escrever sobre um assunto do qual eu não me relaciono, como um de seus últimos livros sobre traição, mas mesmo assim eu simplesmente nunca consigo colocar os seus livros de lado. Isto porque o dom que ela tem de escrever sobre a natureza humana é tal que fica difícil não se conectar com os personagens. Os sentimentos, pensamentos e medos de seus protagonistas são tão bem delineados que a impressão que eu tenho é que eu realmente conheço as pessoas daquele livro, que eles são reais e aí, independentemente da trama eu me envolvo na estória. Devo confessa que The One and Only não é um dos meus favoritos, mas ele também não desaponta, e mais uma vez, apesar do tema tratado não fazer o meu gênero, nem futebol ser a minha praia... eu devorei este livro.Shea Rigsby é uma garota simplesmente obcecada por futebol. Futebol é a sua vida e o time de Walker a sua religião. Ela nunca sequer cogitou a hipótese de deixar sua cidade e após terminar a universidade ela prontamente arrumou um emprego no departamento de esportes, onde trabalha junto à equipe de Walker. Além do mais, ela foi criada ao lado do famoso treinador Clive Car, pai de sua melhor amiga Lucy, que vive e respira futebol.Shea leva uma vida simples, até que uma inesperada tragédia atinge a família de sua melhor amiga e o seu mundo é virado de cabeça para baixo. Como resultado, ela passa a questionar sua profissão e seu relacionamento. A única coisa da qual ela tem certeza é o seu fascínio por futebol e seu afeto pelo popular treinador Clive Carr, que a levará à uma viagem por um território completamente desconhecido e complicado.Eu acredito que até aqueles leitores menos perspicazes perceberão logo no início da narrativa que o fascínio de Shea pelo treinador Carr, talvez seja algo mais... E admito que eu realmente não sei dizer como eu me senti com relação à isso. Não por conta da diferença de idade, mas porque eu o via mais como uma figura paterna. Então, mesmo imaginando o treinador Carr como George Clooney eu ainda considerei esse ângulo da estória um tanto quanto bizarro. Mas, eu entendi o deslumbramento de Shea... Eu acho. Contudo, o incrível da estória é que você sabe que tem algum coisa ali, mas ao mesmo tempo não tem certeza. E até o final do livro eu realmente não sabia o que ia acontecer. Definitivamente, Emily conseguiu me manter entretida até a última página.Eu não entrarei muito no enredo para não estragar a estória. O que eu posso dizer é que a trama é muito bem desenvolvida e traz inúmeros personagens adoráveis ​​e memoráveis ​​que os leitores vão se lembrar por muito tempo. Mas, devo avisar que o tema futebol realmente domina o enredo. Então se você é daqueles que odeiam esportes, talvez esse não seja o livro para você.

Make sure you dont have plans because you will cancel them....AND do not start reading in the evening...because you will not put the book down and end up going to bed at 3am....when it is done!!!Amazing book...wonderful story line- and different from the usual love story, and everything else that Emily writes.Love the take on "should and shouldnt" love...and the idea that love is not always as cookie-cutter as tv and society make it out to be!!Awesome read- planned on saving it for a flight this weekend....but could NOT put it down!!!

A good book for a week at the beach. Not your typical romance story-line, but you can't stop love, right? If you liked Emily Giffin's other books, you will like this one too.