Quarter 2 SSR

     One of the books that I read for SSR was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. My favorite character from the novel is Liv Halston. She is one of the main characters in the book. She gets caught up in a legal situation because of a painting that her late husband, David, bought in Spain. The painting of Sophie Lefèvre went missing during World War I and Sophie’s relatives are trying to get it back so they can sell it.
     Before David died, he had a very successful company and had built a magnificent glasshouse for him and Liv to live in. Liv has been struggling financially ever since he died, so she could barely afford the house anymore. When she decided to take the painting situation to court, she was warned that she would lose almost all of her money. This brings up one of the reasons I liked this character because she didn’t care that she would lose all of what she had as long as she kept the painting. She saw the beauty in the painting and felt the emotions portrayed and cared about Sophie. She actually cared about the painting itself and not the money it could get her.
     Throughout the trial, there was overwhelming evidence that benefited the prosecution, but Liv wouldn’t give up. She was confident and strong by not giving in and she defended what she believed was right.
     I think Liv is a dynamic character. When we first meet Liv, she is drowning in grief for her husband’s death a few years ago and only goes out of the house if she has to. As the book progresses, she meets a guy named Paul and he begins to show her that it is ok to live even though David is gone. She is out of her shell and has found her confidence again by the end of the book. I think that this helped the book because the reason why she was so protective of the painting in the first place was because David got it for her, but she begins to see the depth of the painting as the book goes on and her motive for holding onto it drifts from David as her character changes.