Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Me Before You


















Jojo Moyes has definitely written a love story that will last through the ages. Me Before You will make you laugh, cry and everything in between. 

Our story is set in England. Louisa Clark is one of its main characters, and the story's eyes and ears. Louisa is twenty-six, unemployed, living with her parents and out of options. So she takes a job as a caregiver to a quadriplegic, Will Traynor. Sure, he's devilishly handsome and wealthy, but he's also severely depressed. You see, Will wasn't always a quadriplegic. He was rundown by a motorcyclist two years before Louisa became his caregiver.

And quite the caregiver she is. She's never been anything close to a caregiver in her life, but her family and boyfriend think she is up to the task. I have to give Moyes credit here, Louisa is so unconventional and odd. She's not perfect by any stretch of the word, which humanizes her for the readers. At first, Will is distant with her, and she gets angry. She wonders why she was even called to the Traynor's house in the first place if all Will is going to do is ignore her anyway. After all, what's the point in being a caregiver if the person you're caring for doesn't want your help? 

However, Will is susceptible to many different illnesses because of his condition. One night his temperature spikes, and his Nurse is unable to stay with him, so Louisa has to. They end up bonding over Louisa's poor singing. Once will gets better, he begins to open up to Louisa little by little. He tells her of his life before the accident. How he was an adventurer and a businessman. How he loved to read, and even had a girlfriend, who he inevitably drove away because he was one of those "can't be tied down" types. And, in turn, Louisa opens up to him. She tells him about her childhood, her family, and her boyfriend Patrick. 

Soon, Louisa starts to adopt Will's way of living before the accident. She starts to read more, she becomes a little more daring and speaks her mind even more often than she used to. She thinks that her life is going swell! But, it ends up that Will's parents are harboring a secret; which is the actual reason she was hired. Now she is faced with a choice, abandon both Will and a steady income, or toughen up and make her life mean something.

Moyes' novel is expertly written. I even told her as much in a Tweet, which she was so kind as to reply, "So glad you're enjoying it." And I really did enjoy it...immensely. This is one of those books I recommend to everyone. Even those of you who aren't big fans of romance! It doesn't matter, this book will find its way into your life no matter how much you try to convince yourself you're just not into romance novels. That's probably because this novel is so much more. It explores depression/sadness, friendship, happiness and what it truly means to live your life to the fullest.

I'm sure by now you have all seen the movie trailer that has been making the rounds on social media. Yes, Me Before You is another one of those book-to-movie type deals. But, I'll be honest, the trailer looks like it holds true to the book. I was a little worried about Emilia Clarke being cast as Louisa, because she's so pretty, and Louisa is a bit more unconventionally charming. But it looks like she is going to nail the role. Even so, this is a book you have to read before seeing the movie. You just have to! The book is so great. And just in case the movie isn't, you shouldn't deprive yourself of the perfection that is Me Before You.

As you can imagine, I give this novel 5/5 stars.

Photo# 01 Credit: http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357108762l/15507958.jpg
Photo #02 Credit: http://www.sparklesenseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/quote.jpg

2 comments:

  1. We actually talked about this movie in my gender studies class. It sounds interesting, but I wish companies would offer something other than romance movies/novels, especially ones where the girl fixes an undeserving loner.

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    1. It is a great book and the book focuses a lot more on the disability than I'm expecting the movie to. But, I totally get where you're coming from and I definitely agree. We don't see enough independent women on the silver screen!

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