Name: The One & Only
ISBN: 9780345546906

Emily Giffin

When unexpected tragedy strikes the small college town where she has lived her entire life, Shea Rigsby's life is upended, causing her to question her sheltered existence and set out on an unexpected path.

The One & Only

#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. This ebook edition contains an excerpt from Emily Giffin’s First Comes Love. Emily Giffin, the beloved author of such novels as 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. . . . 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

A Novel

Nathalie Wong

This is a standalone book written by Emily Giffin. In this particular book, Shea Rigsby realizes she has been stuck in a rut. Knowing that something must change after a loss of someone dear to her, she takes the opportunity to pursue her dream as a sports writer as well as date an old acquaintance of hers. However, she has feelings for her best friend's father, Coach Clive Carr.

Despite the amount of football talk, I was still interested in reading on. There was some humour and some serious moments. Loved the scene where there was a get together and Shea was playing trivial pursuit with Coach Carr.

Overall, I really enjoyed it with its slow build up in the romance department. Usually I do not go for ones with such an age gap but I felt like Shea and Coach Carr meshed well together. It is more focused on finding out what one wants in life whether it be professionally or personally (no matter what your age is).

For more of my reviews please visit my blog https://ilovereading2016.wordpress.com/

Ashley Harris 

No major climax to this book at all! It goes and goes and goes and just when you think something is about to happen, it doesn't. It was very different from all of Giffin' s other books which was a bit of a risky move for her. I won't say this book was terrible but it was a letdown compared to her other work.

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas, 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.

The One and Only

Dorian Avers

I'm surprised that I'm giving this book 4 stars, but I do think it's earned it. I'm not normally a "Chick Lit" person, but I'd read Giffin before and the color of the cover caught me. I think this book is rated a bit lower because there really isn't a likeable character. Although the plot of the famous baseball player and Coach is pretty unrealistic, the characters in this book feel real. They're all just living life and screwing it up. There are very poor decisions made, questionable relationships and morals, and a bit too pretty of an ending. None of these characters are 100% right or wrong. I may be a bit biased because this reminded me of a friendship I had, so it felt believable. I'd recommend this book to someone looking for a hint of romance, but also prepare to be angry.

Lacey

** spoiler alert **
           This is the first book I have read by Emily Giffin, so I had no preconceived notions of what to expect. I got into the story during the first three quarters of the book, but then wanted loose ends to be tied up. By the time I got to the last two chapters, I felt let down. 

I knew instantly that Shea and Coach Carr would be together. I was also disappointed that this was also dragged out. I just found by dragging it out only made the relationship seem creepy.

In conclusion, I thought that the book was okay.

Allyson Marrs

If you're a football fan, this book will only heighten your love for your team. Beyond the underlying romance, there is such a fun story about the ridiculousness of loving a team so much that it defines your mood. But the honesty is relatable and engaging. Dug this book a lot.

Chelsea White

** spoiler alert **
           I did not like this book. At all. I thought the relationship between Shea and Coach was not organic, it felt forced and creepy considering he is her best friend's father. I saw it as Shea filling the gap left by her father with Coach, and the way that it is described in the beginning (how Coach was like a father to her, how they had similar interests, how she always looked up to him), so the shift to a romantic relationship felt creepy. Definitely do not recommend and will not be reading this again.

Sara wilke

Jackie Cunningham

Tarah Plybon

Hannah Elrick

Autumn Wolf

Christin Sharp

riley dawson

Ariana

Katie Finkle Butler

Alexa Auerbach 

Mary H

Samantha Wheeler

The Number One New York Times bestseller. Ask yourself: what would you do if the one for you was the only person you couldn't have? Shea Rigsby is content enough with her life in the small town of Walker, Texas. She has her dream fangirl job working for Walker's football team, a mostly satisfactory relationship with her boyfriend, and even if she's got the sneaking feeling life is passing her by, she doesn't quite have the confidence to do anything about it. But everything changes when the mother of Lucy, Shea's best friend, dies suddenly. Lucy's father, now a widower, is the town's charismatic football coach, and Shea's hero since she was a young girl. Coach Carr is now alone as he and Shea grow closer than ever, Shea realises she can't help how she feels . . . for the father of her best friend, who's grieving for his wife. THE ONE & ONLY is a thoughtful, luminous and brilliantly observed novel about believing in something amazing for yourself.