Me Before You Book Review

Book: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Genre: Contemporary Fiction (Adult)

Rating: ★★★★★ (all of the sad stars)

Goodreads Blurb

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

How to even begin expressing the things I felt while reading this book.

To start of, this book isn’t intended for young readers.  There are some really serious themes involved in the plot and I don’t recommend it to anyone under 16 years of age.

The story presents us this woman named Lou who has just recently lost her job and is now looking for employment.  Her search for a new job leads her to Will Traynor, a paraplegic who’s desire to live has been depleted.  What shall be the outcome of this odd meeting?

There were so many aspects that could have gone wrong with this book, starting with the premise.  I’m a fan of contemporary fiction or chick lit and as a fan I’ve seen a certain pattern with these types of books.  They become repetitive and kind of bland, so the characters are easily forgettable and don’t have any sense of identity.  Also, when serious topics are included in the mix of thins, they tend to just skim over the details of the tragedy and struggle.  I was scared of something like this happening with this piece.

To say I was pleasantly surprised by this novel is an understatement.

From the beginning I was hooked.  It’s set in England, a place that is far far away from where I’m from.  Though it’s a small town setting, the fact that it was a foreign territory made it even more interesting.  The narrative style is descriptive but humorous and in some areas I just straight up laughed out loud at how witty Jojo’s writing style is.

The characters have life! Lou is a lovely girl and her character grows immensely along the way.  I was never annoyed by her actions, in fact, I felt a kind of understanding with the way she handled everything.  Her character is quick as whip, fun, lively and with lots left to figure out.  She could be petty sometimes but really, who isn’t?  And I think these “imperfect” personality quirks just added to the realistic feel of this novel.

Will…

Will was an asshole. Straight up broody, stubborn and impossible.

And I loved him.

The first time we meet him, I laughed so hard I had to put down the book.  It takes some time to warm up to him but oh god, is it worth it.  He is perfect and not at the same time.  He’ll make you laugh and he’ll make you angry and he’ll make you cry.   But you’ll love him anyway.

I read this book in two sittings, that’s how in love I was.  And when I was done I cried for two days.  Yep, two whole days.

There was snot and tears and just straight up sobbing by the end because that’s what this book does to you.  IT DESTROYS YOU.  AND YOU’LL LOVE THAT IT DID.

I wasn’t prepared for the impact this book would have on me, I can’t even talk about it in public because I’ll just start crying.

So, my recommendation is, grab a tissue, grab two. Heck, grab a towel and prepare for a story that’ll make you ache.