We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes (Still Me; Me Before You) is deeply moving and comical, following writer Lila Kennedy as her life seems to fall apart. "Some days, Lila feels as if she's battling everything: the furious, slippery contents of her brain, her wavering, unreliable hormones, her weight, her ex-husband, her house's attempts to fall down around her ears, the world in general." And it seems as if the list of obstacles only grows. After her husband leaves her for a younger woman and her mother's sudden death, Lila's stepfather moves in to lend a hand. But soon it becomes evident he has no intention of moving out. More turmoil stems from navigating co-parenting, her daughters' angst, and her inability to focus on her new manuscript. Finally, Lila's estranged biological father shows up unannounced, raising tensions to an all-time high.
We All Live Here explores the struggles and successes of Lila and her oldest daughter, Celie. Moyes expertly crafts female characters with emotional depth and raw vulnerability. Chapters from the points of view of both mother and daughter composea stunning portrait of family bonds and how together they can overcome dysfunction.
Lila's hardships with her blended family, romantic ventures, and exhausting career impeccably represent mothers who work to keep everything together, despite all the things threatening to tear it all apart. We All Live Here is a novel of an untraditional but undoubtedly loving family with shared grief, shared grievances, and mostly, shared love. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer