I have finished at least half of the Jojo Moyes’s books that I’ve read in under 48 hours. This one took me six days. That probably tells you everything you need to know. In the 1960s, wild child Athene Forster was called the “Last Deb” — the last of the young, monied women expected to present themselves to society and marry well. Athene selects Douglas Fairley-Hulme — which comes at quite a blow to Vivian, who’s head over heels in love with him — gets married, and […]
Mush and Melodrama
My friend A has already announced our June book club pick, and when I tried to get Me Before You from the library, I was on a superlong waiting list. Thankfully, A was glad to loan The Chancellor and me her copy so we could bypass the waiting period. Now that I’m caught up with Book Club, I can focus on getting back on track with my reviews. And it’s becoming clear that there are certain kinds of character or story-oriented books that just don’t […]
Even Peacocks need to spread their wings
I thought I was out of Jojo Moyes novels (since some of her early work wasn’t released in the US) but I found the Peacock Emporium on Amazon from a UK seller in marketplace. It’s typical “early” Moyes, a handful of narrators from both past and present with the event of past coming back to shed light on the present day. In the 1960’s, English debutante Vivi Newton has long harbored feelings for family friend, Douglas Fairely-Hulme, and is devastated when he runs off with […]
Literary Equivalent of Peppermint Joe-Joes
Two Jojo Moyes books in the last two months . . . it’s definitely been that kind of semester. Yes, I’m a stressed out teacher and I’ve needed the literary equivalent of comfort food lately. Moyes does a nice job of creating a story that is just real enough, just chewy enough, yet also hopelessly sweet and optimistic. That is, she clearly believes that even when people stumble and muddle their way through things, there is a purpose and ultimately things will turn out all […]
Sometimes Sequels Are Just Unneccesary
I remember reading Me Before You and crying my little eyes out at the end. It was such a beautiful constructed book that let the layers build up until you really felt the emotions the characters were going through. It never felt cheap or manipulative (to me) and so when the end finally came, it was an emotional payoff. When I heard there was going to be a sequel, I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to see where Lou was and how she was dealing […]
Insider Trading, Maths Competitions, and One Big Hairy Dog
I read Me Before You for CBR7 and enjoyed it, so I thought I’d start 2016 with another Jojo Moyes novel, One Plus One. Moyes is good at throwing you into a story and making you care about her characters—even if you suspect you know how it will all turn out. As in Me Before You, the novel is set in England and there is a class difference between the main characters–Jess Thomas, a single mom of two, actually cleans the beach house of Ed […]
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