Book Review || Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Title: Me Before You
Author: Jojo Moyes
Published: Dec 2012 by Pamela Dorman Books
Avg. Goodreads Rating: 4.30 / 364,701 Reviews
My Rating:

Let me just start with this: AJCOIE:JFOSKCJ:OEIJ:OSIEJOIES:FJ

Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

Me Before You is the story of two main characters: Lousia (Lou), and Will. Lou is in her mid-twenties. She lives in the same town she grew up in… with her parents. Her long-term boyfriend, Patrick, is obsessed with working out and never seems to have time for her. Although she doesn’t know it, it’s pretty clear she’s stuck in a rut. The abrupt loss of her waitressing job at the coffee shop she loves throws her into motion against her will, and this is where the action begins. Lou’s lack of qualifications land her in a job as a babysitter companion for a quadriplegic man named Will.

Will has lived a “big life”. Before the accident, he was rich, handsome, ambitious, adventuresome – you name it. One fateful morning, he walks outside and is hit by a motorcycle driver and is left almost completely paralyzed from the neck down. His life will never be the same, and he cannot accept it. Enter: Lou.

Don’t be fooled by the title or description: this is not a love story. It’s a story about life. Real life is messy and painful, but it’s still beautiful – and that is the message this book carries. We’ve got family problems, relationship problems, health problems, traumatic past events, you name it, it’s in here. You may think that it sounds like overkill for one book. While it does make it incredibly difficult to review, I give you my word that it is not one of those books where the author tried too hard to pack a punch and ended up over-doing the drama. It’s an incredibly realistic portrayal of all of the things you may be balancing in your own life, all layered in one deliciously tiered wedding cake of a book.

I’m not going to say anything more, because this is all that I knew going into it and I wouldn’t change that for the world. This book affected me in a way that a book hasn’t in a very long time and it is definitely on my list of all-time favorites.

My only potential warning for you is that this book is slow-paced. It’s definitely a character-driven plot, which I personally favor, but I know some of you don’t! Honestly, though, I would recommend you give Me Before You a shot regardless of your reservations, because I will be recommending it to everyone I meet from now until forever.

If that’s not convincing enough for you, the movie starring Sam Claflin will be out soon! I know you all miss that Finnick grin.

If you want to see my emotional failure of a spoilery discussion, check out my video review here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Cnrz3TQFpI

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I’ll write again soon. Until then, keep reading!

J. Bookish