lissac 's review for:

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

3.0

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Sophie Lefevre, wife of accomplished artist Edouard Lefevre, lives in occupied France during World War I. The Germans have slowly taken everything from her family’s hotel, but they have yet to take her most prized possession – a portrait of herself painted by her husband who is fighting in the war. When the new Kommandant takes an interest in Sophie’s portrait, she must decide what she is willing to risk to keep her family safe and to see her husband again. In present day, Liv is a widow who’s husband passed away unexpectedly years ago. Her husband gave her Sophie’s portrait as a wedding present without knowing any of its history, and for Liv, the portrait is linked with her husband’s love and devotion to her. When Lefevre descendents come forward claiming that the portrait was stolen by Germans, Liv must decide if she wants to fight to keep the portrait and face financial ruin. I have a lot of thoughts about this book. I absolutely loved Sophie’s story, and I wish that the whole book would have focused on her. I did not like Liv’s story, and found myself hoping it would move faster. The long and short of it is that I never developed a complete understanding for why Liv was so attached to the portrait that she was willing to face complete financial ruin. There were also several story lines that I didn’t think were adequately wrapped up at the end and a few that were too neatly wrapped. Overall, the general feeling I get from this book is that it was rushed when both written and edited. I feel like the potential was there, but for me, the execution failed for Liv’s storyline.

You can read my full review here: http://outwardlyintroverted.com/book-review-girl-left-behind-jojo-moyes/