Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Series: Me Before You, #1
Published: July 2013, Penguin Books
Format: Paperback, 369 pages
Source: Personal copy
Louisa Clark is an
ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend,
close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village.
She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will
Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always
lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now
he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.Will is acerbic,
moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his
happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will
has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is
still worth living.A love story for this generation, Me Before You
brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a
heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the
person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?
My thoughts: I am a huge Jojo Moyes fan and have had the pleasure of meeting her! She came to the US back in 2013 and happened to come to a town near me. She was promoting both Me Before You and The Girl You Left Behind, which had just come out. Most of the night had been spent talking about Me Before You and while I hadn’t read it, I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to pick it up.
Well, I finally got around to reading it and I absolutely loved it!!! Oh my goodness – I can not believe I waited so long to read this book…it was both heartbreakingly beautiful and wickedly humorous in equal parts and yet it is also a book that makes you think about things. You might not agree with the decisions that are made in the book, the decisions that the characters make, but I would imagine you will find yourself wondering what you would do if you or a loved one were ever to be in that position. It’s hard not to.
This book is filled with imperfect characters that you just can’t help but fall in love with and yet, you never know what is going to happen next with them. All the characters are richly developed as I have come to love and expect from a Jojo Moyes book. She definitely creates memorable characters.
Since I read this book so late, I knew that there was a sequel, After You, however, I have not read anything about it. I do have it sitting on my shelf, but I have refrained from reading the book jacket or anything on social media so as to not spoil my reading experience of Me Before You. I definitely plan on reading it soon, but will probably wait just a little while – I want to savor and reflect on this one just a little longer.
Books in this series:
- Me Before You
- After You
Great review!
Any book that makes you think what if it had been me? is pretty good in my opinion. WIsh to read this one sometime. Nice review
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I had read this book some time ago and was blown away. It's easy for one to judge immediately. I found this story to make ppl out there really think about how'd it be to walk a mile in Will's shoes.
Kristin, I'm glad you also enjoyed this incredible book. How wonderful that you met the author! I hope to read more book by Jojo Moyes this year.
I know wasn't it great! I only read it last year I think and loved it. Yes a little space before reading After You is good!
One of my favorite books! So happy you finally read it!
I read this, too.
I hate romance books. But I agree with you about this one. I think that, even if you wouldn't be caught dead with a romance book, this should be an exception.
I admit, though, the first 30 or so pages are a bore. But it gets better, so much that I didn't want to put it down.
Only one criticism: Will, the quadriplegic man, is pretty much left to rot for two years before Lou comes on the scene. His parents could have come up with things like different wheelchairs and voice recognition software, yet nothing happens until Lou.That is not realistic. But it does serve the story well.
One of my absolute favorites, I could not put it down (it was one of those that I carried as I walked from room to room)! I have read the sequel, and it was well written, but kind of a let down for me.