#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved author of Something Borrowed and Where We Belong 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 & 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.
Praise for The One & Only • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY POPSUGAR
“A page turner.”—Southern Living
“The One & Only is one to read.”—Associated Press
“Giffin scores again by bringing her discerning understanding of matters of the heart.”—Family Circle
“A poignant story about growing up and growing into your own skin.”—BookPage
“Touching.”—New York Daily News
“Deep, beautifully written . . . [Emily Giffin’s] latest focuses on a forbidden love of sorts, but in a new setting: a fictional small college town in Texas.”—Marie Claire
“Each and every page of this story is entertaining. . . . Giffin is a talented writer who always comes up with a plot that is just a bit different than anything others are writing about. . . . Find a shady spot; get a cool drink, and just luxuriate in the joy of a book well written.”—The Huffington Post
“Brace yourself for a tearjerker: A tale of friendship and loyalty in a small, football-crazed Texas town shows how quickly things can change when tragedy challenges all that the characters hold dear . . . [A] page-turner.”—InStyle
“[Giffin’s] protagonists . . . live full, interesting lives outside the purely personal realm—no more so than Shea Rigsby, the funny, flawed, but sympathetic central character in the The One & Only.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“In bestseller Giffin’s much-anticipated latest, a young woman’s life is upended when tragedy strikes the football-obsessed Texas town she’s always called home.”—People
“To fill your Friday Night Lights void: A tale of die-hard love in a diehard Texas football town from the bestselling author of Something Borrowed.”—Cosmopolitan
THE ONE AND ONLY is a realistic, poignant story about self discovery and love. Shea is in her thirties and has lived her entire life in Walker, a small town in Texas. In Walker, football is like a religion and the fans are more faithful to the game, than they are to their church. Shea lives and breathes football and knows all the football stats by heart. Guys are always impressed when she starts reciting everything she knows about the game of football.
Shea is intelligent, a talented writer and has a big heart, but up until this point, she’s just been drifting along. She hasn’t set any goals for herself and therefore she hasn’t accomplished much. Shea begins to question the path she’s on and wonders if she should make some changes. She isn’t sure why she’s dissatisfied with everything, but she knows her life isn’t going in the right direction. Shea tries to figure out what she wants and slowly makes changes in all aspects of her life. The people closest to Shea, don’t always agree with her decisions and she has to decide how important their opinions are to her. Along the way, Shea falls in love, but the man she’s in love with, is the last person everyone expects her to fall for.
At times, reading this story made me uncomfortable because I was surprised with the direction of the book. Emily Giffin tackles a few delicate subjects, including domestic abuse, rape and unconventional relationships. I don’t want to say more and give the plot away, but I will say this is a riveting, well written story with down to earth characters and lots of football.
Reviewed by Karen for Cocktails and Books
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10 May, 2014:
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