Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose

I dare you to read this book and not picture Kyle Chandler in your head for all 433 pages. Go ahead. I dare you.

It can’t be done.

And really, that’s fine with me. It only made the book more enjoyable for me.

The One & Only is the story of Shea, a 30-something woman in a Texas town that is all about it’s local college football team. Shea works in the athletic department at Walker, her alma mater, and never misses a football game. She lives and breathes football, much to the confusion of her best friend, Lucy. Oh, and Lucy just so happens to be the daughter of Coach Carr, the winningest coach in Walker football history.

When Lucy’s mom dies suddenly from a fast-moving cancer, Shea starts to re-examine her life. Is working in the athletic department all she really wants in life? What about her love of writing?

Can she do better than her stoner boyfriend, Miller, the former Walker back up quarterback? Or should she move on to Ryan James — former Walker QB and now Dallas Cowboys superstar? He’s shown interest in her, and everybody just adores him.

And what about Lucy and her family? Will they be ok after losing their mom, who held their family together? Will Shea’s complicated friendships with Lucy and with Coach Carr make it easier for them to move on?

Like in her previous books, Giffin tells a pleasant story, and often dances around difficult social situations. Here we deal with adultery, grief, and domestic violence, but I never really found this to be a “difficult” book.

And then we have Coach Taylor. I mean Coach Carr. If you aren’t rooting for him to have a happy ending at the end of this book, well, then I guess you haven’t watched Friday Night Lights before.

I guess the biggest compliment that I can give this book is, that after 433 pages, I was disappointed there wasn’t more. I could have read about Shea and Coach for another 433 pages. 3 stars for the book, plus one extra star for Coach Carr.

You can read more of my reviews on my blog.