Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes

SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES by Jojo Moyes appeared in the February 2023 Library Reads Hall of Fame list.  It contains all of the romance and angst which Moyes’ devoted readers have come to expect. However, there is quite a bit more as two middle-aged women, Sam and Nisha, who literally (but inadvertently) traded shoes and then experience what life is like for someone else. Set in London, there is plenty of commentary about social class, privilege, friendship, and marriage. Sam’s husband is battling depression and she is worrying about keeping the family together and keeping her job, despite an abusive boss. Nisha’s husband has decided to divorce her and locks her out without any means of support. Nisha’s expensive, fancy red heels give Sam a much needed confidence boost while Nisha ends up wearing Sam’s practical shoes to her new job as a cleaner. The action really picks up when a heist is planned with help from Sam’s cancer-surviving friend Andrea and Nisha’s kind co-worker, Jasmine. I kept seeing this novel as a really fun and emotional movie and will happily recommend it. Be ready to cry and to laugh! SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES received a starred review from Booklist and Kirkus calls it a “compelling, full-of-heart novel about the power of female friendship.”