You Will Know Me

Last updated
You Will Know Me
You Will Know Me.jpg
Author Megan Abbott
CountryUSA
LanguageEnglish
Genre Mystery fiction
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Publication date
July 26, 2016
Pages352
ISBN 9780316231077

You Will Know Me is a murder mystery written by Megan Abbott, published July 26, 2016 by Little, Brown and Company. The book follows the Knox family after a family friend is killed in a hit-and-run car crash before the daughter's gymnastics competition.

Contents

Plot

At the beginning of You Will Know Me, a young man who is a family friend to the protagonist is killed in a hit-and-run car crash shortly before a gymnastics competition. The narrative follows Devon Knox, a hopeful Olympian gymnast, and her parents, Katie and Eric Knox, who have imposed excessive burdens on themselves, emotionally and financially, to support their 15-year-old daughter. The story is told according to Katie's point of view and showcases the family unraveling as Eric is suspected to be tied to the young man's death.

Background and publication

The author Megan Abbott was inspired to write You Will Know Me because she was curious how having a prodigy child would affect a family and its dynamics. While researching for the novel, she read Andrew Solomon's book Far From the Tree: Parents, Children and the Search for Identity , about families whose children are disabled, transgender or prodigies and the complex effect this can have on the whole family. [1]

Themes

There is an element of Greek tragedy in the narrative, exemplified by Drew developing scarlet fever and Katie's worry that she is living in a "sick house". The tension within the family is amplified by the other gymnasts, coaches and parents at BelStars, who become more ominous as the story unfolds. [2] Abbott often writes about teenage girls, as it is an age that she describes as "the most thrilling and most awful period in one's life". [3] In an interview with the Los Angeles Review of Books , she explained that she found it to be an age when girls spent a lot of time thinking about themselves. [3]

Reception

You Will Know Me was well-received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist , [4] Kirkus Reviews , [5] and Library Journal . [6] Booklist called the novel a "dazzling tale" that "explor[es] the agony and urgency of their desire, the unknowability of others, and the burden of expectations laid on the gymnasts. It’s vivid, troubling, and powerful—and Abbott totally sticks the landing." [4] Library Journal highlighted Abbott's strength for creating unpredictable plotlines, noting that "the plot consistently confounds expectations with its clever twists and turns." [6] Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Abbott proves herself a master of fingernails-digging-into-your-palms suspense." [5]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette echoed Kirkus's review, writing, "Rather than curve balls in the plot, it’s the chilling emotional twists that make the story so intriguing." [7] The New York Times continued Abbot's praise for plot and suspense, saying she"is in top form in this novel. She resumes her customary role of black cat, opaque and unblinking, filling her readers with queasy suspicion at every turn." [8]

Multiple reviews also highlighted a common theme in Abbott's novels: psychosocial relations. NPR's Maureen Corrigan called the book "a masterful thriller that also offers an eerily precise portrait of the way teenage and parental cliques operate." [9] Shelf Awareness continued, "Abbott is working at the top of her craft, and You Will Know Me is a crime novel where the crime is only a catalyst for an accomplished exploration of ordinary people's unraveling when they become obsessed with the extraordinary among them." [10]

Publishers Weekly focused their review primarily on the book's characters: "Eric usually sounds uptight and anxious, and when he and Katie are alone, a little furtive. Devon is brimming with entitlement, impatience, and intolerance. Her fellow gymnasts are humorless, snarky, soft-spoken or arrogant. All are almost as driven as their parents, for whom Olympic excellence is all that matters in their lives." [11]

In reviews, Abbott's writing skill in You Will Know Me was likened to literary giants Richard Yates, [12] John Cheever, [12] and Stephen King.

Awards for You Will Know Me
YearAwardResultRef.
2016 Booklist 's Best Sports FictionTop 10 [13]
2017 Anthony Award NovelShortlisted [14]
ITW Thriller Award NovelShortlisted [14]
Macavity Awards Mystery NovelShortlisted [14]
Steel Dagger Shortlisted [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libba Bray</span> American writer

Martha Elizabeth "Libba" Bray is an American writer of young adult novels including the Gemma Doyle Trilogy, Going Bovine, and The Diviners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonya Sones</span> American poet and author

Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written seven young adult novels in verse and one novel in verse for adults. The American Library Association (ALA) has named her one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Megan Abbott</span> American writer (born 1971)

Megan Abbott is an American author of crime fiction and of non-fiction analyses of hardboiled crime fiction. Her novels and short stories have drawn from and re-worked classic subgenres of crime writing from a female perspective. She is also an American writer and producer of television.

<i>Dare Me</i> (novel) 2012 mystery novel written by Megan Abbott

Dare Me is a 2012 mystery novel written by Megan Abbott. The novel centers on American cheerleading. The book explores themes of friendship, obsession and power.

<i>The Fever</i> (novel) 2014 novel by Megan Abbott

The Fever is a novel by American writer Megan Abbott first published in 2014 by Little, Brown and Company. It is Abbott's seventh novel.

<i>Out of Darkness</i> (novel) 2015 historical young adult novel by Ashley Hope Pérez

Out of Darkness is a historical young adult novel by Ashley Hope Pérez, published September 1, 2015 by Carolrhoda Lab. The novel chronicles a love affair between a teenage Mexican-American girl and a teenage African-American boy in 1930s New London, Texas, occurring right up to the 1937 New London School explosion.

<i>Rare Objects</i> 2016 novel by Kathleen Tessaro

Rare Objects is a 2016 historical fiction novel by American author Kathleen Tessaro. The book was released on April 12, 2016 through Harper and is Tessaro's sixth published novel. Katie Holmes adapted the book into a screenplay and went on to produce, direct, and act in the film, which opened in theaters and online streaming on April 14, 2023.

<i>All the Truth Thats in Me</i> Young adult novel by Julie Berry

All the Truth That's in Me is a 2013 young adult novel by Julie Berry. The novel tells the story of Judith, a young woman from a deeply religious community who is kidnapped for two years and brought back with her tongue partially removed. The story deals with her life after returning and how she is treated by the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Thomas</span> American author (born 1988)

Angie Thomas is an American young adult author, best known for writing The Hate U Give (2017). Her second young adult novel, On the Come Up, was released on February 25, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kekla Magoon</span> American author (born 1980)

Kekla Magoon is an American author, best known for her NAACP Image Award-nominated young adult novel The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, The Season of Styx Malone, and X. In 2021, she received the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association for her body of work. Her works also include middle grade novels, short stories, and historical, socio-political, and economy-related non-fiction.

<i>Nightcrawling</i> 2022 novel by Leila Mottley

Nightcrawling is a 2022 novel by Leila Mottley. Along with other honors, the novel was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, making Mottley the youngest author to have been nominated for the award.

<i>Bury Me Deep</i> 2009 mystery novel by Megan Abbott

Bury Me Deep is a 2009 mystery novel written by Megan Abbott and published by Simon & Schuster.

<i>The Turnout</i> 2021 mystery novel by Megan Abbott

The Turnout is a mystery novel by Megan Abbott published August 3, 2021 by G.P. Putnam's Sons. That year, it won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller.

<i>The Final Revival of Opal & Nev</i> 2021 historical fiction novel by Dawnie Walton

The Final Revival of Opal & Nev is a 2021 historical fiction novel by Dawnie Walton published by 37 Ink. It received the 2022 Virginia Commonwealth University Cabell First Novelist Award, the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize, and was nominated for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

<i>Give Me Your Hand</i> (novel) 2018 novel by Megan Abbott

Give Me Your Hand is a 2018 thriller novel by American author Megan Abbott. The book follows Kit Owens and Diane Fleming, two postdoctoral research scientists studying premenstrual dysphoric disorder, as each grapples with the consequences of a secret the other has revealed to them. The story alternates between their experiences and relationship in high school and in the lab as postdocs.

Brenda Janowitz is an American writer and attorney.

Robin Stevenson is a Canadian author of thirty books for kids and teens. Her writing has been translated into several languages, and published in more than a dozen countries. Robin's books regularly receive starred reviews, have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize and a Stonewall Book Award, and have been finalists for the Governor General's Awards, the Lambda Literary Award, and others. She writes both fiction and non-fiction, for toddlers through teens.

The Schuyler Sisters novel series written by Beatriz Williams consists of three books: The Secret Life of Violet Grant (2014), Tiny Little Thing (2015), and Along the Infinite Sea (2015).

Beware the Woman is a 2023 novel by American author Megan Abbott. The story follows Jacy as she visits her new husband's family in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the first time. Published by Putnam on May 30, 2023, the novel was inspired by Gothic literature and themes of female bodily autonomy being violated. The novel received positive reviews, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was listed as one of the best novels of 2023 by newspapers such as NPR, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian, The Irish Times, the Tampa Bay Times, the Sun Sentinel, and Literary Hub.

Die a Little is a 2005 novel by American author Megan Abbott.

References

  1. "Five Surprising Influences on You Will Know Me". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  2. Writer, Staff. "Book review | 'You Will Know Me' Family pays price for its one-track focus". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  3. 1 2 "The Mask and the Mask Slipping". Los Angeles Review of Books. 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  4. 1 2 Graff, Keir (2016-04-01). "You Will Know Me". Booklist. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
  5. 1 2 "You Will Know Me". Kirkus Reviews. 2016-05-05. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  6. 1 2 Thorsen, Frances (2016-05-01). "You Will Know Me". Library Journal. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  7. "'You Will Know Me': A murder mystery in the maniacal world of Olympics-bound gymnasts". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  8. Senior, Jennifer (2016-07-18). "Review: In Megan Abbott's 'You Will Know Me,' Gymnast Girl and Cute Dead Guy". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  9. Corrigan, Maureen (2016-08-08). "Novel Explores The Fierce And Frenzied World Of Competitive Gymnastics". NPR. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  10. Jacobs, Bruce (2016-07-26). "You Will Know Me". Shelf Awareness. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  11. "You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott". Publishers Weekly. 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  12. 1 2 Sachs, Lloyd (2016-07-19). "'You Will Know Me': Megan Abbott sticks landing in novel about driven gymnast". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  13. Ott, Bill (2016-09-01). "Top 10 Sports Fiction: 2016". Booklist. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Megan Abbott". Stop, You're Killing Me!. Retrieved 2022-08-04.