Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Title: Me Before You (Me Before You #1)

Author: Jojo Moyes

Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Published: 31st December 2012

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking

Pages: 481

My Rating: ★★★★☆

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 Synopsis from Goodreads

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

First Line: 

“When he emerges from the bathroom she is awake, propped up against the pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed.“

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General Thoughts (non-spoiler)

This book was lovely in every way, and surprisingly, not what I was expecting. I thought this story would be all cute and lovely dovey but it had way more substance than that. I was even surprised at the amount of romance in this book, it was way less than I was expecting! Anyway, yes, I’d definitely suggest this one. I flew through it within a day and enjoyed mostly every second of it ❤

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Review (contains spoilers)

I just want to make a quick apology incase this review sucks a little bit more than my others. I picked this book up on a whim and before I knew it I was 300 pages in and hadn’t taken any notes, oops.

Although I love this book, I do think it has been hyped up wayyyyyyy too much. I just feel like everyone was going on about the romance in this book, even though it’s pretty non-existent right until the end. Saying that, I was fond of watching Will and Lou’s relationship go from hate to tolerance, friendship and then eventually more (even if we didn’t get to see much or that “more” *cries*).

Jojo Moyes definitely did a fantastic job with this, and in particular, the characters. I love how unique and quirky Lou is, even though she lacks the desire to travel and progress. Her cheerfulness is so refreshing and I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of a character like her.

I guess I should also probably talk about Will now *cries again*. I’ve never really experienced a character like Will in literature before. Of course I’ve witnessed snarky characters, and characters who want to die for whatever reason, but none like Will. I always found myself being more interested in the scenes where he featured, just hoping that out of the blue he would change his mind about going to Switzerland.

Watching Will and Lou’s relationship form and grow was such a lovely experience and a good laugh. I wish we had seen more of the romance between them though! I also wish being with Lou as he was would have been enough for him, even though I completely understand why it wasn’t (the ending was slightly anti-climactic, I really thought Will would choose to live). I just hate having to watch characters I adore die :(((((((((( Saying that, the impact she had on his life was astronomical, and vice versa. I’m so glad that she made the last six months of his life happier and more fulfilling, and that he motivated her to strive for a better life (and leave her with the resources to do so).

Another thing I love in this book is Lou’s family. They have such a great dynamic and having everyone making jokes about each other and struggling with money etc made them feel like they could be any ordinary family, like a family who lives just down the street.

On the other hand, Will’s family – not so much. I honestly felt bad for them, considering how unhappy they all are. With them all constantly worrying about Will, and his dad having an affair, and his sister being abroad in Australia. I did find it quite interesting that Will’s mum left her job at the end because of the bad press she was receiving and that his dad eventually divorced her too though.

Although this book is sweet, funny and heartbreaking, it also raises an incredibly important issue: euthanasia. I know that a lot of people don’t agree with it, and a lot of people do for whatever reasons (religious or moral). I definitely support this cause and don’t believe that people who are in a serious amount of pain in an unhappy life should have to deal with that for years on end, I certainly wouldn’t like to (I do understand why some people would be against it though too). I’m also glad that this book is shining a light on how the family of people who choose to commit aided suicide are treated, because sometimes it can be horrible (like Will’s mum having to give up her job and Lou’s mum for kicking her out of the house). 

Anyway, back on to a lighter topic. I know that there is a second book in this series and up until Will died I had intended to read it but now I have no desire to. It’s not that Will was the only reason I read this book, and I do understand that it’s more about how he changed Lou for the better anyway. I just don’t really want to read about her falling in love with someone else, y’know? I don’t know, maybe I’ll reconsider but as for right now, I like this book as a standalone.

Finally, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT THE MOVIE ADAPTATION???! The trailer looks so true to the book, I recognised all of the lines and love the actors portraying the characters. I can already tell that I’m just going to be sitting in the back row bawling. If you haven’t seen it yet, then here you go:

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Extra Ratings

• Characters: ★★★★★
• Plot: ★★★★☆
• Ending: ★★★★☆
• Originality: ★★★★★
• Cover: ★★★★☆

Speaking of the movie again, I couldn’t not include this lovely poster. I feel like it definitely captures the feeling of the moment and Will and Lou’s feelings for each other *screams internally and cries profusely, for the twentieth time since finishing the book*.

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Favourite Quote

“You only get one life. It’s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.”

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Did you cry at this book? Are you excited for the movie?!?! Tell me below 🙂

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