I’m a fan of Jojo. I’ve fallen in love with her characters and lived in the world of her stories before.
So, I had big expectations of this novel. And as you'll find in this book review, I wasn’t disappointed.
Everything I love about historical fiction can be found within the pages of The Girl You Left Behind.
1) Parallel Story Lines You know I love the kind of story that weaves a historical story line with a modern timeline. Our historical story is set in the France of 1916. It follows the love story of artist Edouard Lefevre and his wife Sophie. With her husband serving in WWI, Sophie manages the restaurant and hotel with her sister, brother and her sister’s children. They struggle through the injustice of the German occupation of their town. When Edouard’s portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local German Kommandant, their lives become even more complicated. Presented with the chance to re-unite with her husband, will Sophie risk everything to make it happen? The modern timeline is set nearly a century later, where Sophie’s sits on the wall of copywriter Liv. One of the many gifts and reminders of her late husband that surround Liv. Wrestling with the beast that is grief, Sophie is thrown into turmoil when family descendants of Sophie’s husband try to re-claim her portrait.
2) Women Who Fight Through Adversity Both women are fighting for the thing they love the most. Both willing to do whatever it takes. These women are fighting very adversity. War, inequality, loneliness, depression and bankruptcy. With very few resources the women must find a way to fight for their love, their freedom and what they believe in.
3) The Kind of Emotion that Impacts Your Actions The first part of this novel was horrifically sad. I picked it up with dread, hoping that surely nothing more could happen to these characters to hurt them any further. And then it did… And then there were the triumphs. The ones that made me hug the book to my chest or put it down with a smile on my face.
It’s a number one bestseller with stellar reviews from Marie Claire, Elle, Daily Mail and more.
Have your heart broken and then fall in love again with Jojo Moyes’ stunning novel The Girl You Left Behind.
Find out more about my love for Jojo Moyes by clicking here.
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