Me Before You by Jojo Moyes Series: Me Before You #1
Publication date: December 31, 2012
384 pages
They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose...
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?
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Book Review:
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time. I absolutely fell in love with Will and Lou’s moments together. Characters with that kind of chemistry are rare. These two came to life on the page. But Lou’s characterization and growth from beginning to end was problematic for me and I couldn’t overlook it.
The banter between Will and Lou was so great. Will had a dry and dark sense of humor, with a hint of bitterness. At first, Will was quite standoffish to Lou, but he warmed up to her after awhile. I loved how Lou just shot it right back at him. I enjoyed them together so much. As I read I couldn’t help but smile and laugh at them.
One of my favorite moments of the book was when Lou takes Will to the castle gardens. Lou gets lost in the maze and starts screaming for Will to find her. After this, she shares with Will why she was so upset (I don’t want to spoil it for you so I won’t say). But after this emotional moment, she grabs his hand and thanks him. That moment just really stuck out to me because she gave Will something he probably hasn’t had in a long time—a feeling of being valued, like he was helping someone.
I thought Jojo Moyes did a wonderful job painting the darkness in Will’s mind. I can’t even begin to imagine how terrible it would be to lose the use of all of my limbs. To one day be hugging the person you love the most and the next be unable to lift your arms—it’s heartbreaking
I liked Lou when she was around Will. He gave her a personality. But for most of the book, I found her to be extremely boring and bland. We knew nothing about her except her family and boyfriend are crap and she likes quirky clothes. She had no interests, no ambitions, and no aspirations. I thought that maybe the author was going to use this as a spring board for a massive character change in the beginning, so I just rolled with it. But in the end, she didn’t really grow or evolve as a character. She enrolled in a fashion program because her job with Will was for a finite period of time and she needed something to do—not because she really wanted to better herself..
Lou’s family was the WORST! Every freaking time her crappy sister or her parents would put her down, she said nothing to them! In fact, towards the end before Lou leaves, her mom freaks out and threatens her. This would have been the most opportune time for her to say something, anything, to make them shut up. But she said nothing.
My biggest grumble about the book was the absolute potential there was for Lou and Will’s relationship—not necessarily in the romance department. I felt cheated. I didn’t cry in the end of the book like I thought I was going to because honestly I was too angry at what transpired before that moment to get emotional. I wasn’t angry about Lou’s inability to change Will’s mind, but rather the opportunity the author had to build more on Lou and Will’s relationship. Let me explain.
I get that this is a love story that’s meant to be one that never truly could be. So perhaps that’s why the author opted to give the reader breadcrumbs when she could have given us the whole croissant. But dammit, I wanted more time with them on the page, not with her family or her boyfriend, even if just as friends. As I read the book, I was reading for the next Will and Lou scene. So when we FINALLY got the moment Lou bares her feelings to Will, I was hoping we would at least get a little more time with them before Will’s end. I wanted them to talk about his decision, rather than a huge fight and then separation.
Lou stays with her dickhead boyfriend for almost the entire book. The reader knew the relationship was over, Will knew it and so did Lou, but she stayed. Why? I assume for the same reasons she kept her job at the diner or put up with her insanely manipulative parents—it’s comfortable and easy. Everything Lou does is what’s expected of her or what she’s told to do, even after Will. She couldn’t make a decision to save her life. Even when she and Patrick broke up, it was him who ended up. I’m quite certain that she would probably still be with Patrick if he hadn’t ended it first.
I loved Lou and Will together. Those rare moments where she was able to pull Will out of his darkness and into a period of happiness, albeit brief, were beautiful. The scenes of them bickering back and forth made the book for me. I would recommend this book if you like emotional reads featuring a couple with great chemistry.
Movie Trailers:
I had watched the movie trailer when it released but went back and watched it again after I finished. The casting is absolutely perfect and I think the movie might wreck me.
