Book Review: The Girl Next Door ~ Elizabeth Noble

The girl next door”, by Elizabeth Noble is a charming book; full of character and emotion.

Genre: Fiction

Published: 2009, by the Penguin Group

Personal Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis:

The story takes place in New York’s Upper East Side. The main character in the story is Eve Gallagher and she moves from England to New York City with her husband Ed to begin a new life in Apartment 7A.  Like most things in life, the new journey away from England causes Eve to feel lost, alone and wanting to make new friends. Eve meets Violet an 82-year-old lady who is her neighbor. Throughout the novel, Violet reveals her own tragic life story. 

Along with Eve’s story, there are more riveting stories of supporting characters. First, on  2A there is Charlotte a shy girl who is so timid that she never takes a step forward to achieving what she desires.  Then, there is Jackson Grayling in 5A, a rich boy who changes for the better after falling in love with Emily on 3A. However, Madison in 2B also has a liking for Jackson.

This novel unravels the lives of others to emphasize the true meaning of “The Girl Next Door”? What makes a neighbor become a friend? What is love, trust, and hardship?… How do all these things play a role in finding one’s path and the determination to keep moving forward? 

Personally, I loved “The Girl Next Door” by Elizabeth Noble. I stumbled upon this book while organizing our home bookshelf with my mom. My mother recommended I read it. Perfect timing because I’ve been looking for a good book to read.

The minute I opened up this novel and started reading, the pages basically flipped themselves as I kept my head in the book for a week! My favorite characters to read about were Eve and Violet. It was so beautiful to see their friendship unravel into something so real and true. I feel that Violet was a key character in this book because she brought so much wisdom and advice to the novel. For example, at the end of the novel, Violet writes to Eve saying, ” Don’t let what has happened to you make you who you are as you go on…Let it be a part of you, but not everything (Noble, 2009).” 

I found this quote from the book so inspiring because it spoke a message that I feel that myself and so many people need to hear. An event, struggle, or circumstance that happens in one’s life doesn’t define who they are but is apart of their story, its what one does with it after that matters.

Elizabeth Noble touches on so many different levels of events in a person’s life. From losing a child to divorce to choosing if the guy you are in love with is the one. Noble balanced so many different stories so perfectly. Throughout the novel, it was so easy to understand and feel what each character was going through. This book was magical it made me laugh, cry, think and so much more!

The most important thing I took away from this book is that before we even begin our journey life it is like an empty journal waiting for the pages to be filled. The things we go through, the people we meet, and the lessons we learn are all part of the journey that will be written in the blank pages our the journal. But, the most important thing is that we have a choice to not be just the girl or ‘boy’ next door but to be someone so much more.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book and I can’t wait to read some of her other books!

Later, 

OhEfuaye