‘Me Before You’ by Jojo Moyes is an adult fiction novel, it was first published in 2012 by Penguin Books and consists of 480 pages. This is the first of two books, with its sequel ‘After You’ that was published in 2014. Louisa ‘Lou’ Clark is a freshly redundant 26 year old who is the soul income for her parents, sister, nephew and grandfather. When she looses her job, she immediately begins searching for a new job, and that’s when she meets Will Treynor. William was once a very successful and adventurous 36 year old, but now he’s a quadriplegic living with his parents and moving through carers like water on a ducks back. Together they learn they learn to live, love and tolerate one another.
Compared to everybody else, Lou is a sparkling diamond, her eccentric personality and unexpected fashion sense set her apart from everything normal. She is intelligent, witty, humorous and very different to anything Will’s ever seen, but she doubts herself. Will is spiteful, angry, bitter and sarcastic to those who can’t be bothered to look past his disability, but Lou thinks he’s brilliant. At first, they can barely stand to be in the same room as one another, apart from when Will needs Lou’s help. But as the novel progresses, their friendship blossoms and they become almost inseparable. But this newfound relationship isn’t a blessing to all; Lou’s boyfriend Patrick becomes jealous and Will’s mother Camilla considers Lou a thorn in her spine. When secrets surface, relationships are tested and hope crumbles. Will Lou crumble under the pressure of her new life, or will she pull through and save the day?
‘Me Before You’ is a moderately paced novel that is told through a first person narrator, which is Lou. This allows the audience to understand the protagonist’s emotions and relate to their situation. The book is extremely expressive and does well to create the scenarios visually, I never found myself bored with the story or characters. Moyes has succeeded in writing a book that comes full circle, everything about it is brilliant and perfect, from the relationship between Will and Lou to the emotions I couldn’t help but feel while reading. I’m not going to lie, not many things have the ability to make me cry, but I sobbed like a baby at the ending. There was joy, laughter, sadness, hope and anger weaved between the pages of this story, and I can’t wait to see what ‘After You’ has in stall for me!
I give ‘Me Before You’ five out of five stars, for its fantastic character development, realism and effortless perfection. It took me less than two days to finish this book, and I don’t regret it for a second! I urge anybody who enjoys a bit of realistic drama and a tad of romance to go pick up a copy before the film adaptation arrives!
A most bookish of regards,
The Book Owl.
Tea, Books and Honey 