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kimberly_b 's review for:
The Girl You Left Behind
by Jojo Moyes
Overall, this was another great book by Moyes. TGYLB captured me from the beginning; I really loved Sophie's character. And, all of the parts of the novel set during her life were completely engrossing.
Where the book left more to be desired was in Liv's story. I didn't like her character very much I got tired of her alternating between running, being mad, and feeling sorry for herself. I don't want to make her out to be a terrible character, she's not, but she definitely isn't someone I'd want to be friends with or know. The middle of the book felt a bit labored and the trial turned out to be unbelievably serendipitous. But, my biggest complaint is about Paul. Now, I liked his character, but there was no way that I bought he was an American. Paul was only supposed to have lived in England for less than 10 years, but everything in his POV was full of Britishisms, things that would take longer than that amount of time to stop saying/thinking. It's disappointing to me that Moyes couldn't have found an American to read through and edit those passages. The off idioms and slang just made Paul's voice sound too much like Liz's.
Although I've listed several complaints about the book, I really did enjoy the story. I even got a little teary-eyed near the end. I'm a little torn about my rating since I loved Sophie and only tolerated Liz. The story Moyes built is solid enough that I'm rating it 4 stars.
Where the book left more to be desired was in Liv's story. I didn't like her character very much I got tired of her alternating between running, being mad, and feeling sorry for herself. I don't want to make her out to be a terrible character, she's not, but she definitely isn't someone I'd want to be friends with or know. The middle of the book felt a bit labored and the trial turned out to be unbelievably serendipitous. But, my biggest complaint is about Paul. Now, I liked his character, but there was no way that I bought he was an American. Paul was only supposed to have lived in England for less than 10 years, but everything in his POV was full of Britishisms, things that would take longer than that amount of time to stop saying/thinking. It's disappointing to me that Moyes couldn't have found an American to read through and edit those passages. The off idioms and slang just made Paul's voice sound too much like Liz's.
Although I've listed several complaints about the book, I really did enjoy the story. I even got a little teary-eyed near the end. I'm a little torn about my rating since I loved Sophie and only tolerated Liz. The story Moyes built is solid enough that I'm rating it 4 stars.