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?
Flo's Review
Holy cannoli. I'm still in book hangover mood trying to write this review, but here goes. I'd heard about this book for awhile, but I didn't really know what it was about. But then I saw the movie trailer (posted below) a few weeks ago and decided that I wanted to read it before seeing the movie later this year. I did see everyone's reactions to the trailer: "I'm gonna cry!!" That's all I knew.
This book was intense. I don't want to say too much about the plot because I went into it not really knowing what it was going to be about and that, I think, made it a richer experience for me. But this book was definitely way heavier than I thought it would be. Not in a bad way. Definitely not in a bad way. I have a pretty solid stance on this issue, and this book made me consider the alternative. Will I do a 180 on my beliefs? Probably not. But it absolutely makes me understand and empathize. It gives me the reality of a different perspective and the worldview of those making the choice.
I loved Lou. She is honest, passionate and compassionate. And I applaud her bizarre sense in fashion! Lou and Treena's relationship was lovely and honest. The Q&A in the back of the book touches on this, and Jojo explains how she finds the relationship between sisters mesmerizing: "What I'm most captivated by is that ability to be at each other's throats one moment and yet totally bonded and presenting a united front in the next." #truth, Jojo.
The characters can be frustrating, but their lives are frustrating -- I'm looking at you Will and Camila Traynor! So you want to be cross with them, but you just can't.
I am so excited for this movie. After reading the book and then watching the trailer again, I see how the movie might do a wonderful job bringing this story to life. But everyone was right: I am SO going to cry. A lot! How am I going to handle actually watching some of these more emotional scenes?!? Seeing them played out in front of me?! I'm kinda getting teary eyed just thinking about it...
This book has some fantastic quotes. I listened to the audiobook and followed along with a copy from the library, but I may have to buy my own copy of the book just so I can highlight and flag some of these. This is my favorite, said by Will: “You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”
I absolutely encourage you to read this book. It will make you cry, as has been mentioned. But I loved that it made me question and expand my mind to be open to understanding the whys of something I can't fully understand. But it also made me smile -- a lot. It made me laugh. I was frustrated with the characters, then I felt sorry for them. Then I wanted to give everyone a hug. Basically -- the full range of feels.
But back to the movie. Here's the trailer. If you haven't read the book, it won't spoil you. If you have read the book, it will immediately bring back all the feels:
Question for you, if you're read Me Before You: the reviews for the sequel, After You, are not stunning. I know, and a lot of reviewers admit, that it can be hard to follow up something so great like Me Before You was. Have you read After You? Knowing that I will probably not like it as much as Me Before You, is it still worth reading?
Yay!! I just recently read this too and loved it. I avoided the trailer until I read the book because I didn't want spoilers... and after now watching the trailer, yeah... this movie is going to tear my heart out. >.< Great review!! :)
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