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Last updated on May 18th, 2024
Someone else’s shoes is about the strength of female friendships, self-discovery, and finding your power.
It tells the story of a group of middle-aged women from diverse backgrounds who come together to form an unlikely sisterhood.
Jojo Moyes created a fun mix of romance, mystery, humor, and wit to give readers an engaging story that will have you laughing and crying simultaneously.
Someone Else's Shoes
GENRE: Women’s Fiction
PUB DATE: February 7, 2023
TWs: Depression, infidelity, age discrimination
Who knew a pair of red Christian Louboutin shoes could cause so much chaos? This is a surprising and unputdownable story about the solidarity of female friendships alongside authentic and relatable characters.
Synopsis
Who are you when you are forced to walk in someone else’s shoes?
Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life.
But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope–she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.
That’s because Sam Kemp – in the bleakest point of her life – has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag–she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat.
When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change—and that thing is herself.
Characters
This book has a rich cast of incisive and diverse characters that are real, honest, and engaging. They were a joy to discover, and by the end, you will be rooting for all of them.
Nisha
Nisha has fought to create the life she has always wanted for herself. But when her world is flipped on its axis, she is forced to question everything she has built and face the truths she’s spent her whole life running away from.
She is hard to like initially, which seems intentional, but she became one of my favorite characters by the end. It was a joy to experience her character development as she proved to others that she isn’t as defenseless as others think she is.
Sam
Sam struggles to keep her home afloat as the sole breadwinner as her husband struggles with depression. She proves to be one of the most relatable characters in this story. The author did a great job detailing her struggles and the overwhelm that comes with trying to be the “fixer” of everyone’s problems.
Without giving away any spoilers, there are specific plot points in her story that some people may not like, but what I loved the most about her character was her flaws and the simple humanness behind her actions.
Jasmine
Jasmine is the first friend Nisha makes as she struggles to get back on her feet, and it becomes evident fairly quickly that Jasmine is the type of friend everyone needs.
She’s fiercely supportive, optimistic, and funny. She remains an integral part of the book and serves as a great sounding board for Nisha.
Plot
One of the more serious themes in this story is depression, as mentioned above. Moyes beautifully highlights how depression affects the various family members in different ways, and how each person struggles to find a new functioning family dynamic under the weight of a mental illness.
Though romance is present, it is more of a subplot, and I never felt like I wanted a deeper dive into that aspect because the story flowed so smoothly with the more significant plot points.
The ending was unexpected, as I did not see all the happy little twists coming. But it was a satisfying conclusion and left me smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
There are elements in this story that reminded me of movies like Sandra Bullock’s Ocean’s 8 and Jennifer Lopez’s Maid in Manhattan. So if you liked those films, then you will definitely adore this one.
Writing
Jojo Moyes has such a unique and painfully accurate writing style in this book that this book was able to get me out of my reading slump.
She included perspectives from numerous characters in this book without confusing or drowning the reader with too much unnecessary information.
Her multiple POVs made for a moving read as we understood the motives behind everyone’s actions. One of the more emotional POVs was that of Phil, Sam’s husband, who suffers from depression, and Moyes did a brilliant job of detailing the inner workings of the depressed mind.
Each perspective ended in suspense before switching to the next one. This was frustrating, but in a good way, because it kept me engrossed in the story and eagerly flipping through the pages to see how it unfolded.
Best Quotes
Conclusion
Someone else’s shoes by Jojo Moyes is a surprising and unputdownable story about the solidarity of female friendships.
If you love reading about female empowerment and standing up to societal expectations alongside genuine and relatable characters, then this is definitely a must-read book of 2023.
Enjoyed this review? Then, add ‘Someone Else’s Shoes’ to your TBR. And if you have already read this book and have some thoughts to share, drop them in the comments below. I would love to hear them!
