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Quote by Tracey Garvis Graves

“As the words tumble from her mouth, she looks down at her shoes, over my shoulder, toward the barista. Anywhere but at me. I don't mind. Annika's mannerisms are like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes, and though I feel bad admitting it, even to myself, her nervousness has always made me feel at ease.”

Quote by Tracey Garvis Graves

Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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The Girl He Used to Know

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Tracey Garvis Graves

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“The University of Illinois Wildlife Medical Clinic accepted native wild animals in need of care due to illness and injury, or because they'd been orphaned. The goal was to rehabilitate them and release them back into the wild. Veterinary students made up the bulk of the volunteers, but there were a few- like me- whose undying love for animals, and not our future vocations, had led us to the clinic behind the veterinary medicine building on the south side of campus. I had a tendency to gravitate toward the smaller animals, but I also felt a special affinity for the birds. They were majestic creatures, and there was nothing more satisfying than releasing one and watching it soar off high in the sky.”

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Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“They'll take one look at you and forget how to play the game." "I don't think so," I said. "These players are really good. I can't imagine they'd suddenly forget how to play." "I meant because you're so pretty. They'll be too busy looking at you and it will blow their concentration." "That probably won't happen." He let out a short laugh. "Just me then, huh?" My brain figured out what he meant a few minutes later and I yelled "Oh" loud enough to make Jonathan jump in his seat a little. "Were you flirting with me?" "I was trying to. I thought I was halfway decent at it, but now I'm not so sure." "Jonathan?" He took his eyes off the road for a second and looked over at me. "I totally thought you were flirting. I was just making sure." Then he gave me another one of those smiles I'd told Janice about.”

FlirtingAnnika RoseAnnika And JonathanJonathan Hoffman
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“It's nice to see her so passionate about her job, and even more than that, so comfortable with me. Her demeanor has changed significantly, and for the better, since our coffee date. She's not the only one who seems more relaxed, because Annika has always had that effect on me. Currently, there are very few people in my life I can be one hundred percent myself around, but she's always been one of them. I don't have to put on a show or try to impress her the way I did with Liz. It's very liberating.”

LiberatingAnnika Rose
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“He seemed calmer, but he kept bringing up all the times I'd said or done the wrong thing. It made me feel like crying. But then I remembered that no one can make me feel inferior without my consent." "Did Janice tell you that?" "Eleanor Roosevelt did. But Janice is the one who gave me a whole book of her quotes, and I memorized all of them. I also really like the one that says 'A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it's in hot water.”

Quotes To Live ByAnnika Rose
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“I love you, Jonathan." "I love you, too. I've been thinking about how I was going to tell you." "If you've been thinking about it, why didn't you just say it?" "Because the first time you say it to someone, you hope they'll say it back. And if you're not sure they will..." "Why wouldn't I say it back? I did say it. Just now." I thought I was the one confused by relationships and everything that went along with them. "Maybe there was a small part of me that worried you wouldn't. I don't always know what's going on up there," he said, tapping my temple gently. "I never know what people are thinking. It's like visiting a country where you don't speak the language and you're trying so hard to understand but no matter how many times you ask for juice, they keep bringing you milk. And I hate it.”

I Love YouAnnika RoseAnnika And Jonathan
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes," Annika says. In theory, yes, but in this case I'm pretty sure Sherry's boss has the power to say both. "What's that?" Sherry says. She sounds hesitant, as if she's not sure where this is going. "It's a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt," Annika says. "Are you familiar with them?" "I know a few," Sherry says. "My best friend bought me a book of them. 'Do one thing every day that scares you' is what got me through my twenties. 'Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway.”

Quotes About LifeAnnika RoseEleanor Roosevelt
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“Why can't you tell Brad you don't want to work on Sundays?" It would be nice if he and I could watch a movie or do some other relaxing activity together when we get home. "Nobody would admit that to their boss. It would mean we weren't team players and that our personal lives are more important." I wrinkle my head in confusion. "Aren't they?" "Of course they are, but we can't admit it." "I don't understand this at all, and I don't think it has anything to do with the way my brain works." Jonathan laughs. "It's corporate culture. No one has to understand it as long as we play by the rules." "It sounds horrible." "It's just the way it is." "What if you decided you didn't want to do it anymore? What else could you be?" "I don't know. I've never thought about it. What would you do if you decided you didn't want to work in a library anymore?" "I would write plays. All day long, just"- I mimic pounding on the keys. "But I can't imagine ever leaving the library. I love it too much." "You're lucky," he says. I shrug. "I just know I couldn't spend my life doing something that doesn't make me happy.”

What You WantTrue HappinessAnnika Rose
Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“I'm not asking you to go with me. I don't want you to go with me." That's a straight-up lie, because I have no idea if I have the ability to do this. Even more important than ability is whether or not I have the courage. This revelation makes me feel ashamed. I'm a grown woman, and it's time to prove- if not to everyone else then at least to myself- that I can do things on my own. Janice said that Jonathan needs me to step up, to be the kind of person he can depend on not to retreat when things get rough. This time, I won't hide in my childhood bed hoping the world will right itself. Jonathan would do anything to help me, but now he's the one who needs help, and I'm going to dig deep and be the one to give it to him.”

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Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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“You can't take risks like that." "Everything turned out fine." My mom probably thinks she was right and I'm not capable of making a trip like this on my own without someone to guide me and keep me safe. But someday they'll be gone, and I'll have to live my life without their guidance. Maybe without Jonathan's, although that thought fills me with immeasurable pain and sadness. This road trip isn't my first or only attempt at independence, but it's an important step toward laying down a foundation for the years to come. And I'm not so dense that I don't know that most people are younger than thirty-two when they achieve it. I've lagged behind everyone my whole life, so why would my adulthood be any different?”

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Book:The Girl He Used to Know
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