After You by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is back with her new book, After You, the sequel to her New York Times bestselling Me Before You. After You follows Louisa Clark after Will Traynor's assisted suicide. Louisa finds herself in the throws of grief, unable to move on. Much to her dismay, she's joined the Moving on Circle for those dealing with the loss of a loved one. She's working at a job she hates, with a horrible boss that makes her wear the outfit of an Irish dancer, right down to the curly haired wig. Though her luck can't get much worse, Louisa winds up taking a tumble off of her balcony, severely injuring her hip. Her life is a mess.

As if Louisa's life needs any more chaos, a teenager named Lily shows up to Louisa's flat with some shocking news--that she's Will's daughter. Wanting to know what her father and his family was like, Lilly befriends Louisa. For Louisa, already struggling with the loss of Will, the constant memories and once again dealing with the Traynors is often a bit much. Even though Lilly creates some chaos while she's staying with Louisa, she's the catalyst for Louisa's ability to begin to let go of her grief. Louisa finally feels complete enough to begin dating someone and do things she never thought she'd be able to do, including contemplating taking a caregiver-type job in the New York City.

With many of the same characters from Me Before You, Moyes' new book will make you laugh while also pulling on your heartstrings. From the sad ending of Me Before You, it's nice to see where Louisa's life ends up.

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes weaves the tale of two stories together to create a captivating book. The first story, set in World War I France follows a young woman named Sophie, the owner of a hotel. When the Germans make their way into France, Sophie and her sister are forced into using their hotel restaurant to feed the German soldiers and their Kommandant. With her husband gone to war, the Kommandant and Sophie begin to chat about art, particularly the piece entitled The Girl You Left Behind which was painted by Sophie's husband. Not hearing from her husband for several months has Sophie desperate to do just about anything to ensure that he is safe, even if it means sleeping with the enemy. When things don't go according to plan, Sophie is sent to a prison camp in Germany and little is known about after that.

Fast forward to the year 2000 in London, where Liv is still grieving her architect husband. On a whim one night, Liv decides to go out on the town where she meets Paul, a former cop. The two strike up a relationship only to have that relationship go awry when Liv finds out that Paul is working for a firm that recovers stolen art work. When Paul realizes that Liv is now the owner of the once looted, now sought after painting of The Girl You Left Behind things get far more complicated.

Moyes does an amazing job of weaving together two captivating stories so different from one another. Who will keep the painting? What happened to Sophie? Can Paul and Liv work things out? All of these questions come down to the final few pages. Using beautiful language, Moyes once again wrote a book that's unable to be put down.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

When Elspeth Noblin dies of cancer, she decides to leave her London flat to her twin sister’s daughters, who also just so happen to be twins. The catch is that her inseparable twin nieces, Julia and Valentina have to spend a year living in the flat which overlooks Highgate Cemetery.  Throughout their year living in the flat, Julia and Valentina encounter the building’s unusual neighbors including Martin a crossword-making, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder suffering genius and Richard, an expert on Highgate Cemetery, who just so happens to be Elspeth’s former lover. Perhaps the most interesting inhabitant of the building is Elspeth’s ghost, who just refuses to leave. Through a series of events, the twins are forced to see just how far their bond will go.

Check out Her Fearful Symmetry @ the library.