Me Before You (Me Before You Trilogy, #1)

by Jojo Moyes

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

My Mum has been trying to persuade me to read Me Before You by Jojo Moyes for years, but it's been years since I read an adult romance, thinking I preferred YA. I did promise her I would read it - my Mum isn't a massive reader, nor does she cry at books, so the fact that she was imploring me to read this book that made her cry, well. I knew I had to read it. But I always had my own books to read, so years went by without picking it up. I recently saw the trailer for the movie of Me Before You, and it looked brilliant, and knew I had to read the book before I saw it, and picked it up as soon as I was able - to Mum's exasperation. Now, I wish I had listed to Mum all those years ago. Me Before You is an absolutely incredible and moving novel.

After losing her job at The Buttered Bun cafe, Lou Clark is struggling to find a job she can stick at - she just isn't cut out for working at the chicken factory. Her adviser at the Job Centre suggests she become a carer for a quadriplegic. Lou is unsure, but there are very few options she's willing to try. And so she meets Will Traynor, who was injured in a motorbike accident two years ago. Will used to have a go-getter lifestyle; he climbed mountains, he bungee jumped, he lived life to the full. Now, he's paralysed from the neck down, apart from some movement in one of his hands, and requires help for everything, and he hates it. He has Nathan, his nurse, to see to his medical needs, but Camilla Traynor, his mother, has hired Lou to be Will's companion, to prepare his meals and feed him. The next six months will see Will and Lou change each other in ways neither of them expected.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adored this book! I absolutely loved Lou. Despite wanting to read the book before seeing the movie, I was still a little unsure as to whether I would enjoy it. As I said, I thought I preferred YA. But as soon as Lou started narrating, I knew I was going to love this book, even if just for her. She's kind of zany, wearing strange, bright coloured clothing and shoes. She lives in her small little town, still at home with her family despite being 26, and was quite content with her little life working in the cafe. She's been with her boyfriend Patrick for seven years, and is happily breezing through life. She's not ambitious in the sense that she doesn't feel her life is wanting. She's perfectly happy with the life she has, and was such a breath of fresh air! She's optimistic and positive, and the kind of person who finds something wonderful in the ordinary, always cheerful and chatty, and in that sense I found myself really relating to her. We're not exactly alike, but I could see parts of myself in Lou.

Will is such a fantastic character. At first, he has a serious attitude problem - but it's understandable. He is rude to Lou, acting superior and making her feel stupid. He quite obviously does not want her around. He doesn't expect her to stick up for herself though, and is surprised by her calling him out on his crap, and begins to thaw a little. As he warms to Lou, I warmed to him. He's not a happy guy, he doesn't like the way his life has panned out, and he's so angry and so miserable. But he still has a sense of humour, and maybe because of his circumstances, or just because of who Lou is, he encourages and pushes her to want more from her life, to experience more. Although Lou is quite happy with her life, Will shows her how there is so much more to the world than just their little town. And Lou tries so hard to bring a smile to his face. She organises so many outings and things she thinks he'll enjoy, rather than him staying stuck in his annexe, seeing nothing more than the four walls. She shows him that he can find some happiness again.

I don't want to say too much more because I don't want to spoil the story (though is there anyone who doesn't know the general gist of the story?), but I absolutely loved this book. It's incredible. It's as inspiring as it is completely heartbreaking. I simultaneously wanted to curl into a ball and cry until there were no tears left, and also go out and see the world and experience life. I was completely swept away by Will and Lou's story, by how their relationship develops, and I was completely hooked, desperate to know exactly how it would end. I finished Me Before You feeling depleted. My heart was hurting, and I was all out of emotion. But I also finished with so many thoughts, just wanting to talk about it, the subject matter, how this specific story ended. Me Before You is a hard but beautiful, thoughtprovoking and inspiring read, and I absolutely cannot recommend it enough. And I will most definitely be picking up more adult romance from now on.