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Me Before You

4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 · rating details · 22,803 ratings · 4,740 reviews

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 hi...more

Paperback, 482 pages

Published January 5th 2012 by Michael Joseph (UK)

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The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa Young

Richard And Judy Spring Book Club 2012

1st out of 28 books — 81 voters

TO DIE FOR 2012 - 2013 STAND-ALONES

43rd out of 433 books — 2,318 voters

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Community Reviews

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Oct 15, 2012 Lynge Munk rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, owned, 5-star-books

Being a male reader on a booksite you kind of expect to be outnumbered when it comes to the sexes. But that doesn't keep alarm bells from blaring like a convoy of reversing trucks when practically every reviewer of a book is of the female gender. And when the author in addition is touted as the winner of multiple romance novel awards your primal male instinct is to run like your being chased by some primordial predator.

So it was really against my instinct and better judgement that I began readin...more

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Jan 07, 2013 CaroB rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, adult, contemporary, drama-angst, favourites, 3rdthursbc, romance, chick-lit

I'm sitting here with tears running down my face having just finished this book. I know I should probably let my emotions settle before reviewing but I want to get all the feelings down...

Firstly I want to say that the cover does not do this book justice. It gives the impression of a bland and fluffy read when in reality this is a heartbreaking story, with subject matter that may be difficult for a lot of readers.

The characters begin as likeable, yet maddeningly realistic in all their egocentri...more

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May 02, 2013 kristina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, contemporary

I'm not going to write a proper review about this book . I dont want to spoil anything for you. Just read it,you wont regret it.

Oh my god this book was so mind blowing but mostly heartbreaking.

Will
Best before : 19 March 2007

Lou

Lou has to work for Will and in the beginning things are very difficult for both of them . Given the circumstances Will is all the time cranky, rude , vile to her because his life is miserable. However, they start getting along because Lou is the only person who contradict...more

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May 02, 2013 Desiree rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 5-stars, contemporary, favorites, read-2013, cry-me-a-river, sad, romance, adult

5+++ Remarkable Stars

I can’t even put into words how incredible, heartbreaking, and beautiful this story was. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes was without a doubt why I love reading. It moved me, really moved me. When an author can invoke a readers emotions, someone who can make you feel genuinely sad when the characters are sad and make you feel genuinely happy when the characters are happy. It’s just an amazing feeling so thank you Ms. Moyes.

The story is about Will Traynor’s life internal struggl...more

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May 02, 2013 Pavlina Michou rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, favorites-2013, pavlina-2

I'm sitting here with tears running down my face having just finished this book.

Reading about the six months Louisa Clark and Will Trayner spent together made me laugh then cry.I have not stopped thinking about this book since I put it down and it will stay with me for a very long time.....

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Will Traynor lived a full adventurous life until it was cut short one rainy London day. Will is a quadriplegic who needs care for his physical ailments but for his emotional state-of-mind his mother has hired...more

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Sep 05, 2012 cEe beE rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: couldn-t-put-down, fab-faves, made-me-tear-up, spirited-heroine, my-audio-books, 5-star-reads

Me Before You is NOT a romance nor is it romantic, despite what the blurbs on the silly front cover claim. It is however a very moving and thought provoking LOVE STORY.

Reading about the six months Louisa Clark and Will Trayner spent together made me laugh then cry, then laugh and cry again. I have not stopped thinking about this book since I put it down, and it will stay with me for a very long time.

Jojo Moyes treats a difficult and controversial topic with sensitivity and a realism that isn't f...more

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Feb 24, 2013 Lise *friends don't flag* rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: life-changing, made-me-feel, wrecked, 2013-faves

“Just live well. Just live.”

This is such a hard book to review. There is so much I could say, but I know I would simply ramble on and on about how wonderfully written this book is, how the characters affected me, how the story broke my heart but made me feel so happy.

I smiled, I laughed and I cried buckets of joyful and heart wrenching tears.

Will Traynor lived a full adventurous life, until it was cut short one rainy London day. Will is a quadriplegic who needs round-the-clock care for his phys...more

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Apr 13, 2013 Tracy Dalton rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: best-of-2013

10 stars!!!!! More review to come after I process and dry my tears.

After two days, my tears have dried, but my heart still aches for Will and Lou. What a well written, wonderfully told story. The journey of these two is simply amazing, the gifts they each bring into each others lives. This is truly a story of love, determination and tough choices. I cannot even imagine being put into either of these situations. This is such a powerful book that will stay with me for a long time to come. If you...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Joana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: broken-tortured-tormented-hero, contemporary, favorites, one-of-a-kind-book, read-2013, so-much-angst, tears-streaming-down-my-face, it-ll-stay-with-me, arc-or-egalley

I wasn't prepared for this book.
I wasn't prepared to the range of the emotions i felt while reading it, how emotional invested i truly was.
I wasn't prepared for the beauty of it.

Me before You is not a romance but it's indeed a love story,and how they changed each other lives irrevocably.

I told him a story of two people.
Two people who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understo...more

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Mar 22, 2013 Marta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sobfest, favorites, inspiring-and-beautiful, heartbreakingly-beautiful, emotionally-draining, life-altering, thought-provoking

I told him a story of two people. Two people who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have understood each other.

Oh my god. This book took me on such an incredible, beautiful, real, inspiring and touching journey. It's probably one of the hardest reviews I'm going to have to write. Throughout the story I was so anxious, nervous, excited and panicking, because I had no idea how it was gon...more

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May 02, 2013 Mo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Wow! Not an easy read - as other reviewers have said don't be fooled by the cover - it is not MY usual lighthearted romantic read. Is it Romance? Yes I think so but it is so much more ... very emotional - I laughed, I cried, had a sappy grin on my face and did I mention that I cried but don't let that put you off - give it a chance - it is a beautiful story.... Just reading all a the wonderful new reviews about this book brings a tear to my eye.

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Mar 09, 2013 Ingela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-swedish, novel-other-contemporary, a-must-read-loved-by-me

5 huge Stars

Gripping, funny and strong. A great love story - a book to love!

The previously successful Will is severely handicapped after a traffic accident. Lou living a small life takes a job as his assistant. They affect both each other's lives and a wonderful story begins.

The story about Lou and Will is a wonderful story about life, the transience of life, our fortunes and great tenderness and real love. This novel is not a traditional romance but a great contemporary love story. This story w...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult

3.5 stars.

Warning : There is an extremely misleading cover blurb on this book.

'Gorgeously romantic and partner-ignoringly compulsive.'

Is the story gorgeously romantic? Yes, it was in parts. Make no mistake though. This is not a "romance" book in the traditional sense.

Me Before You is the story of a quadriplegic man who had everything and lost it all in the blink of an eye after an accident left him helpless. Before the injury, Will lived on the edge and took risks. He had money, love, adventur...more

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May 03, 2013 Liz rated it 3 of 5 stars

Will changed. He used to live life to the fullest and enjoy it, but now his life is nothing but a torture. He is quadriplegic after a horrible motorcycle accident.
His desire to live was taken. Will is only miserable now.
Best before : 19 March 2007

Lou has a comfortable life. She lives in a shell and refuses to come out of it.
She just lost her job but her family really needs money so Lou is ready to work nearly everywhere.
Will's family on the other side is searching for somebody chatty for W...more

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Feb 04, 2013 Jeanette rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-fiction, europe-and-british-isles, domestic-and-relationship-fiction, four-star-fiction

I wonder whose bright idea it was to dress up the cover of this book like a loud Valentine's Day card. It's not an accurate reflection of the tenor of the book.

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Dec 27, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites-contemps, needs-more-hype

Jojo Moyes was not really on my radar. I'd seen her name a couple of places, memorable because of its uniqueness, but had not really marked her down as an author whose work I suspected I needed to experience. Still, when I got an unsolicited ARC in the mail, I determined to go ahead and read it, because it's British and has gotten overwhelming acclaim. In this case, I deem the buzz and all the positive reviews to be completely accurate.

The novel opens in 2007 with Will Traynor, successful, fabul...more Jojo Moyes was not really on my radar. I'd seen her name a couple of places, memorable because of its uniqueness, but had not really marked her down as an author whose work I suspected I needed to experience. Still, when I got an unsolicited ARC in the mail, I determined to go ahead and read it, because it's British and has gotten overwhelming acclaim. In this case, I deem the buzz and all the positive reviews to be completely accurate.

The novel opens in 2007 with Will Traynor, successful, fabulously wealthy businessman, in a state of post-coital bliss with his model-gorgeous girlfriend. He just oozes privilege, self-satisfaction, luxury and hot sex, a woman's fantasy. Then he gets hit as he tries to get into a cab. This accident leaves him a quadruplegic, unable to control his body from the neck down, except for a small range of motion in one hand.

Moyes tells the story from the first person perspective, with a few exceptions, of Louisa, a 26-year-old woman who has just lost her beloved job working at a local cafe. She still lives with her parents, and the whole family desperately needs her income. With the recession, she has to try alternative careers and winds up getting a job as Will's caregiver, two years after his accident. Though they initially do not get along in the slightest, she becomes the person he can truly open up to and who can really make him feel alive.

Before I started, I admit I was skeptical of the subject matter. That sounds like it could so easily turn into a depressing tearjerker, and, much as I like depressing stories, I don't like them to be one note or more dramatic than they need to be. Moyes manages to confront this story without straying into melodrama. She depicts both the hardships of Will's state and also the moments of beauty. I never felt like she added in an extra bit of sadness just to pull on the reader's heartstrings more. Everything felt purposeful and essential to the story, with no needless tragedy added.

Now, do not get me wrong, this book will probably make you cry, because it sure as hell made me squeeze out a few tears, and I rarely cry at books. I almost made it through without crying, but Moyes got me in the end. The situation really is just incredibly heartbreaking. The relationship between Will and Louisa reminded me a bit of The Secret Garden, and how Mary was just what Colin needed, even though she lacked medical knowledge. I wished so hard for Will, like Colin, to be healed through hard work and magic.

Will and Louisa have such vibrant personalities. I did not initially warm to either of them, but they became increasingly more dear to me as I read. In different ways, both of them are failing to really live when they first meet and help one another open up to new experiences. From mutual hatred, they ever so slowly carve out a rapport and eventually come to care about one another so very deeply. Their connection is one of the mind, not of the body. I really didn't think that Moyes could make me root for such an impossible love, but she really, really did.

Moyes brings up a lot of dark subjects, really considering the ethics and options of a person in Will's condition. She does not preach in the slightest, leaving conclusions to be drawn by the reader. I imagine this would make a marvelous book for a book club, because there is much to be discussed. Moyes delves into what really makes life worth living and how much one can accomplish when trapped in a largely useless body.

My only reservation about Me Before You is an odd storytelling device Moyes used. While the bulk of the novel is from Louisa's perspective, she includes one chapter each from the perspective of another character: Will's parents, his other caregiver in charge of his medical well-being, and Louisa's sister. While I can appreciate the skill in crafting these, since these first person snippets did have a unique feel for each character, they did not add to the story in any meaningful way. The information I glean from them does not add anything I had not already gotten or could not have gotten from Louisa.

For those of you who like books that make you cry and think, Jojo Moyes' Me Before You is a must-read. Moyes has a bunch of other books out already, and I can only hope they'll break my heart like this one did.(less)

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Mar 23, 2013 Amy (BW) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mar-2013

Crying gifs photo: Crying tumblr_lv3l98sxVx1qa2meg.gif

I can barely see through my tears! This book! OMFG! Read this in one sitting. I need a moment to process it all!

Having not read the synopsis of this book before I started, I had no idea what to expect. I only saw it appearing on my feed and every single one of my friends that read it, loved it. As soon as I marked it "to read", some of these same friends were reaching out to me and offering their support....BEFORE I STARTED READING! I should have taken that as a sign ... but I didn't. And once...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Bonnie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, contemporary, romance, arcs-read, read-in-2012, full-of-wonderful, netgalley, owned-book

A copy of Me Before You was provided to me by PENGUIN GROUP Viking and Netgalley for review purposes.

My heart was not prepared for those kind of feels... *sigh*

'The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life - or at least shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window - is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.'

Louisa's life is lackluster and she's completely content...more

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Feb 23, 2013 Sarah Null rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Sarah by: Sally Ross-Moore

Shelves: book-club, hot-lit, romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I'm finding that I can't write about how this book made me feel without talking about what happens in it. And I mean every major plot point, not just the ending. What makes this a four star book isn't that the prose is particularly good or that I learned anything profound about myself or the world in which I live. It's the story, and these two characters, and the things that happen to them, and to say what that means, I have to talk about spoilers. So I'm marking this whole review as a spoiler,...more I'm finding that I can't write about how this book made me feel without talking about what happens in it. And I mean every major plot point, not just the ending. What makes this a four star book isn't that the prose is particularly good or that I learned anything profound about myself or the world in which I live. It's the story, and these two characters, and the things that happen to them, and to say what that means, I have to talk about spoilers. So I'm marking this whole review as a spoiler, and if you continue to read on - if you click that little link - then on your own head be it.

(view spoiler)[This book did not end the way I wanted it to. I really want to hate it for that, to be totally pissed off at it for manipulating me into rooting for these characters and then rip out my heart at the end. But I just keep thinking of a quote from The Silver Linings Playbook: "Life is not a PG feel-good movie. Real life often ends badly. Literature tries to document this reality, while showing us it is still possible for us to endure nobly."

And that is so true. Sometimes, life just plain sucks. Sometimes, you are rich and handsome and vibrant and happy and then you get hit by an asshole on a motorcycle and end up a quadriplegic. Sometimes, you get to live in a town with one of those beautiful English castles and then one night, you get a little drunk and a little high and before you know it, you're being gang raped by a bunch of frat boys in the middle of a maze. Sometimes, you can go on a fabulous dream vacation with the man you love and on the last night you get in a huge fight and it ruins the whole experience. Sometimes, the boy doesn't get the girl. And sometimes, the boy does get the girl, but he chooses death anyway.

I knew how it was going to end. I'd accidentally seen a spoiler in a Goodreader's review. I had not been warned repeatedly, as you have, that the review would have details about the ending. And yet, even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn't help but hope I'd read it wrong. As Louisa kept hoping that she'd change Will's mind, that this would be the outing that turned it all around, I also kept hoping right alongside her.

I'm not going to make any judgments or statements on the ethics or moral question of euthanasia. I really don't think, as a reader, it matters whether you think it is right or wrong. What matters is the way these two characters are able to touch and change each other.

And, yes, the supporting cast are all cookie-cutter and cliche: The sibling who's always overshadowed the heroine; the beautiful ex-girlfriend; the boyfriend who is such a fitness fanatic that he really only serves to be the polar opposite of a paralyzed man; the daffy parents. And yes, some of it is just too precious and contrived, like the family of the disabled person being so fabulously wealthy that money is no object when considering his treatment or the efforts to give him the will to live. His money even makes for a nice, tidy little epilogue where the money he leaves to Lou magically solves all her problems, except for the one where the love of her life commits suicide in her arms. That part actually does piss me off a little, as I know some real-life families who have to struggle and figure out how to make ends meet while paying for the care of a disabled family member, and remodeling their houses to be wheelchair accessible, and buying a car with a chair lift, etc., and the insurance money doesn't even begin to cover it. But I suppose if this book had focused on those very real struggles, we would have been distracted from the will-they-or-won't-they drama of two people falling in love. These are the reasons this book is not five stars.

But the fact remains that I did not want to put this book down. I stayed up way too late last night reading, and after I made myself turn out the light I still lay in bed thinking about this story. Today at work, I had the Kindle app on my phone open so I could sneak in a paragraph whenever I could. And when I finished, I just sat for a while and cried. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Mar 28, 2013 Sleepy rated it 5 of 5 stars

O wow!!
This book touched my heart in so many ways, it opened my eyes to Will's situation and why he wanted what he wanted. It broke my heart but also in the end I was satisfied with the outcome. I knew what was inevitable but the friendship and love that came out of the 6 months was amazing.
Full review to come. Amazing story!

Ok i heard about this book a while back,i always meant to get it but as soon as i added it to my TBR list i guess it kind of got lost in the other books. But i finally down...more

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Mar 09, 2013 Kristina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, my-book, literary-fiction, loved-em

I’m always happy when I’m right about a book. I usually have very good instincts about a book and can tell within the first few paragraphs if I’m going to like it or not. Sometimes I’m wrong (wow, have I been wrong), but with Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, I was spot-on. This is a lovely book I read way too quickly. I blame the author for that. The characters are so interesting and I liked them so much I had to know what was going to happen next. This isn’t an extraordinary book or one that captiv...more I’m always happy when I’m right about a book. I usually have very good instincts about a book and can tell within the first few paragraphs if I’m going to like it or not. Sometimes I’m wrong (wow, have I been wrong), but with Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, I was spot-on. This is a lovely book I read way too quickly. I blame the author for that. The characters are so interesting and I liked them so much I had to know what was going to happen next. This isn’t an extraordinary book or one that captivated me with its poetic language; it’s just a very good story about a man and a woman and how they affected each others’ lives.

Louisa Clark is a woman in her mid-twenties, living with her parents in a small (small-ish?) English village. Its claim to fame is an unnamed castle which brings in tourists every summer. She is newly unemployed and needs to find work as her parents depend on her wages to help them keep their struggling household afloat. Her younger sister, Treena (Katrina), had a brilliant future ahead of her…until she got pregnant. She and her young son live at home too. Lou is not having much luck finding a new job as she is unskilled, has an unusual fashion sense, and is fairly tactless. It is only the horror of having to return to work at a chicken processing factory or a fast food chain that forces Louisa to interview for a position as a care assistant for a disabled man. Lou’s interview with Camilla Traynor is a disaster from her point of view, so she is surprised when Mrs. Traynor offers her the position. Lou meets Will Traynor, a man who was once a mover-and-shaker in the corporate world, a man who enjoyed extreme sports and lived his life to the fullest but is now confined to a wheelchair. He is withdrawn, hostile and resentful and Lou is uncomfortable with her new duties, one of which is to feed him. Despite these inauspicious beginnings, they both learn from each other what it means to be alive.

I loved this book. It’s sweet and funny and sad and deceptively simple. I enjoyed Lou’s personal journey and the discoveries she made about herself and life—discoveries she made with the help of (or rather, as demanded by) Will. The friendship and romance between Will and Lou is bittersweet. I wanted to smack Lou a few times, but mostly I rooted for her and cheered when she ultimately had the courage to make the right decision.

I also enjoyed reading a book which features a quadriplegic as a main character. I work in the library of a university that caters extensively to the wheelchair community so I found it weird that Lou and Nathan (Will’s other caretaker) had so many problems getting around with Will. I also found it disturbing how people treated him like a freak. I’m so used to seeing students buzzing around in wheelchairs that I barely see the chair anymore. They’re just people who sometimes need extra help getting books from book bags, making copies, retrieving books from shelves, that sort of thing. I used to help a very sweet kid every night take off all his winter clothes (hat, gloves, coat) and then put them on again when he left. It was a bit odd at first since I have no training for this type of thing (none of us do) but, like Lou, I got used to it. We have the Americans With Disabilities Act which requires public institutions to be wheelchair-friendly. I’m guessing England does not? Will should have come here. Lou could have parked right up front to get into almost anywhere, would have had no problem getting the wheelchair around and no one would have looked twice at them.

On a technical note, even though the book is written in first person (from Lou’s perspective), there are four chapters written from four other characters’ perspectives. I know I’ve complained about this in past books, but it works here. The author clearly informs the reader that a different character is narrating this chapter and seeing the situation as viewed by another character added to my overall understanding of Lou and Will and their relationship.

(view spoiler)[

I don’t often read books in which the main character is not completely able-bodied. But in Me Before You, not only is the main character confined to a wheelchair, but he is clearly the romantic leading man. Will is such a strong character that I ceased to think of him as disabled. He is intellectual, charming, handsome, sexy but also hostile and desperately unhappy. But I fell in love with just as Lou did. It’s a tragic romance because there is no magic ending. But I liked the ending. It ended as it should, the only way it could: Will still chooses suicide. Despite his love for Lou, despite knowing they could have a somewhat normal and happy life, he never wavers in his decision to end his life. His conversation with Lou on their last evening in Mauritius had me in tears, but I understood his reasons. He was being incredibly unselfish and honest: “I can’t be the man I want to be with you…I am not designed to exist in this thing—and yet for all intents and purposes it is now the thing that defines me. It is the only thing that defines me…I can’t be the kind of man who just…accepts” (323, 325). Will has a quiet dignity and strength I admire. He doesn’t bitch and complain and cry and whine. He just gets on with it. He doesn’t pity himself. He accepts the truth that he’ll never be able to adjust to a life so confined, so dependent on others, existing in a body wracked with pain with no hope of getting better, only worse. I love him so much in this instant. This is of course when Lou refuses to accept his decision and behaves badly. I'm very angry with her then because she allows her selfishness to overcome her, but I also sympathize with her. She loves him, he loves her, so she doesn't understand why it won't work for them. Love is supposed to conquer all, right? (Personally, I've always thought that idea juvenile and ridiculous and in this case it's highly unrealistic.)I wanted to yell at her because this wasn’t about her, it was about Will, and she was wasting the time she had left with him. For those few days, she felt only her fear of losing him, her sadness, and didn't see how much more tragic it is for Will. But when she does make the decision to support him, she does so even at the risk of alienating her family and I applauded her courage.

I loved the juxtaposition of Will, a man planning to end his life, teaching Lou, a woman who had been so fearful, how to live. I liked that Lou is presented as being fearless because of the clothes she wears and her sometimes uncontrollable mouth, but those are just a layer of protection. She stays in the same sleepy village, living with her parents, dating the same jerk for years. She’s afraid to take chances until Will shows her that’s what life is about. Of course, it also helps that he left her a decent supply of cash to do this, but I’m not going to quibble over that. Lou would give up all the money just to have another day with Will.

From a moral point of view, I stand with Lou and Will. I’m a firm believer in being able to have the right to die. Life isn’t simply a clinical definition of possessing brain waves and a pumping heart. Quality of life is extremely important. If due to an illness or accident your quality of life has lowered to such a degree that you are miserable and wracked with pain and wish for death, then you should be allowed to choose that. Obviously, legal safeguards need to in place to make sure a husband or wife or relative isn’t trying to off you for financial (or other) reasons, but I think that would be a rare situation. There is such a thing as dignity in death and having a compassionate death. This should be a legal option in every country. For those who disagree, I say: well, then don’t do it. But who made you the authority over another’s life? (hide spoiler)]

This is a lovely book. I highly recommend it. It’s not for everyone, and some people may hate the way the book ends, but I thought it was well-written and heartwarming. And I rarely use the word “heartwarming.”
(less)

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Jan 12, 2013 Janet rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, arc, 2012-libfavs

Louisa Clark is 26 years old and lives at home with her parents in a small English village. She’s just lost her job as a waitress at The Buttered Bun café, a position she loved and held for seven years. Now she’s casting about, trying to figure out what to do next. She needs to find something fast; her family can’t afford for her to be out of work. She turns to the local job center for help but is underwhelmed, to put it mildly, by the positions on offer. More out of desperation than anything el...more Louisa Clark is 26 years old and lives at home with her parents in a small English village. She’s just lost her job as a waitress at The Buttered Bun café, a position she loved and held for seven years. Now she’s casting about, trying to figure out what to do next. She needs to find something fast; her family can’t afford for her to be out of work. She turns to the local job center for help but is underwhelmed, to put it mildly, by the positions on offer. More out of desperation than anything else she applies to be a personal caregiver to a quadriplegic, Will Traynor. She’s not enthusiastic about the job description and is worried she doesn’t have the necessary medical skills. But she is naturally cheerful and friendly and it turns out those qualities carry more weight than medical knowledge, especially since Will already has Nathan, a personal medical attendant.

So starts the story of how Louisa, who you realize is emotionally crippled, and Will, who is physically handicapped, meet and develop a relationship that evolves from strictly business to much more. The town they live in is dominated by a castle and there is a fairy tale quality to this book. It features the requisite beautiful girl from a humble background, and the handsome, rich man. Will’s father is in charge of running the castle, now a tourist attraction, and Will’s mother would give any fairy tale evil queen a run for her money. But this is not a typical young-girl-finding-her-Prince-Charming tale. It’s a story about what makes life worth living and who decides that---the person living the life or the people who love that person. It's a story about people realizing there is no fairy godmother who can wave a wand and solve their problems---they will have to do it themselves as best they can.

I thought the writing was exceptional. There are scenes in this book that are among the most romantic I’ve ever read and others that are heartbreaking without being sentimental or preachy.

I can see recommending this book to readers of One Day by David Nicholls and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. I also think fans of Jodi Picoult would find much to love in this story. I hesitated to add that last recommendation because I know many people don’t like Picoult. Let me say to them that this book, in my opinion, has better character development and a more believable plot. But it does, like Picoult’s books do, address an issue that is controversial and presents a circumstance to which there is no easy way out.

This is the first novel I’ve read by JoJo Moyes. I’ve heard great things about her previous book, Last Letter from Your Lover, which is what made me pick up the galley of Me Before You when it came my way. I’m very glad I did. It’s one of my favorite books of 2012 and I look forward to recommending it – especially to book clubs.
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Aug 07, 2012 Ka-te Lee rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, books-that-made-me-cry, favorite-heroines

I am blown away. My eyes are probably puffy right now because of too much crying over this book last night. The agony still lingers and I couldn't stop lamenting about it. I was surprised about this novel. The cover screams that it was chick lit so I guess it didn't really do justice. This novel is everything that you want in a book all rolled into one. It was touching, entertaining, amusing, enlightening, thought provoking and heartbreaking at the same time. It tackled on a very sensitive issue...more I am blown away. My eyes are probably puffy right now because of too much crying over this book last night. The agony still lingers and I couldn't stop lamenting about it. I was surprised about this novel. The cover screams that it was chick lit so I guess it didn't really do justice. This novel is everything that you want in a book all rolled into one. It was touching, entertaining, amusing, enlightening, thought provoking and heartbreaking at the same time. It tackled on a very sensitive issue which a lot of us may be left dumbfounded.

Lou Clark and Will Traynor are two characters that will perhaps stay and leave a mark on me forever. What they had was something special and incomparable. I was a bit skeptical about reading this book because this is the first time that I've encountered a crippled male character in a chick lit novel and had no inkling whatsoever of what's going to happen. Before anything else, I would like to stress out that this is NO chick lit novel. It is not a ROMANCE novel at all. I just thought that it was because of the cover and stuff but I was more than relieved that it wasn't what I expected. I confess that I am an ardent devotee of books that have happy endings. (view spoiler)

Will's decision may have been selfish but in many other ways, he was being selfless too. He had always encouraged Lou to explore things, discover her talents and come out of her comfort zone. He knows that she will never be able to do that if he decides to stay with her. He will be a forever burden to her and he can never forgive himself if he takes away that freedom from Lou. On the other hand, Lou's character was something that I wouldn't want to be into, not even in a million years. (view spoiler) It was unimaginable. She is also selfish and selfless at the same time. She did everything she can to change Will's perspective. She wanted to give him something to live for, something to look forward to. She loved him just as much as she hated him. In the end, she decided to stay with Will. The idea of not being able to say goodbye to him for the last time kills her and I guess that's how she won me over. She was so bold and self sacrificing that even if it's going to crush her, she wanted to give Will what he wants. Peace.

I could never forget the letter that Will gave to Lou. I will keep it in my heart for a long time beyond any doubt.

"So this is it. You are scored on my heart , Clark. You were from the first day you walked in, with your ridiculous clothes and your bad jokes and your complete inability to ever hide a single thing you felt. You changed my life so much more than this money will ever change yours.

Don't think of me too often. I don't want to to think of you getting all maudlin. Just live well.

Just live.

Love,
Will"

I am still in a daze.(less)

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Apr 29, 2012 Rachel rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, audio, cried-like-a-baby, couldn-t-put-down

I have loved this book. There have been lines which made me laugh out loud, I've been absolutely compelled to keep playing this for hours at a time to find out what happens next, it has also made me cry like a baby. The final one and a half hours had me gasping and choking like a mad-thing. I don't think a book has ransacked my emotions like this one has for years, possibly since Love Story in the nineties. This is probably 'Love Story- the 21st Century version' in fact.
Me Before You remind...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Sonja Arlow rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: recommended, favourite-books

I was tempted to give this 5 stars as this book affected me in the same way as Tell the Wolves I'm Home...... I cried my eyes out. Not just because it’s a great story but because a lot of things that happened were almost too close to home for comfort.

Please don’t be put off by the silly pink frilly cover (what idiot at the publishing house approved THAT?) as its not a chick lit romance novel but deals with difficult issues and real human emotion.

I will most definitely read more of this author.

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Feb 18, 2013 Melissa (YA Book Shelf) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Great characters, great story, great dilemma. Jojo Moyes writes a book that will make you laugh, cry, swoon, and rage at various points.

While it's marketed as an adult novel, there is definitely some crossover appeal for the teen audience who will certainly eat up the romance, the humour, and ultimately, will help them to see how one's interactions with people can change their lives forever. Will's life lacks color ever since a motorcycle accident two years before left him with a spinal cord in...more

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Feb 03, 2013 Elyse rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Oh My Gosh...
I recommend this book to 'ALL' my friends!

This really 'is' a "CAN'T-PUT-DOWN-BOOK". My guess, is most people who start this book will keep reading until they finish-(one or two days tops)!

Once you begin this book, you'll only STOP reading if you 'must' do something else in life. You'll pass on a favorite TV show. You'll pass on a walk. You'll pass on going to the movies or out to see a friend....
UNTIL....
You've finished reading "ME BEFORE YOU"

LOVED IT!!!!

elyse

p.s. I am 'forever' ch...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Jaime Arkin rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook-format, have-this, contemporary, favorites, read-in-2013, reading-again, recommend-forever, will-be-rereading, 5-starers, on-my-real-shelves

The thing about being catapulted into a whole new life - or at least, shoved up so hard against someone else's life that you might as well have your face pressed against their window - is that it forces you to rethink your idea of who you are. Or how you might seem to other people.

Firstly, let me just say that this cover makes this seem like Me Before You just might be a lighthearted, sweet romance. While it does have bits of that, it certainly isn't a fluffy read.

This was me when I turned the...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Dem rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, recommended

Me bfore you was recommended by a friend and I bought the book I was disappointed with the cover as I immediately thought Chick Lit, this is not going to be my thing. The cover of the book is pinkish and sort of cover that screamed Love story! and I would have passed by it in a book store without even reading the blurb, How wrong can you be! Never Judge a book by its cover is a lesson I am having difficulty learning.
I loved everything about this novel it is just a wonderful emotional, funny and...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, nancy-pearl-recommendations

I can't giving this anything other than 5 stars. It's more than a love story, it's more than a paraplegic and his caregive, it's more than poor girl meets rich boy, it's just so much more than that. This was a lovely, wonderful, heart breaking book and I so got it why it turned out the way it did. I got it from the beginning.

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About Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes (born 1969) is a British novelist.

Moyes studied at Royal Holloway, University of London. She won a bursary financed by The Independent newspaper to study journalism at City University and subsequently worked for The Independent for 10 years. In 2001 she became a full time novelist.

Moyes' novel Foreign Fruit won the Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) Romantic Novel of the Year in 200...more

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“You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.” — 182 people liked it

“I can't do this because I can't...I can't be the man I want to be with you. And that means that this - this just becomes...another reminder of what I am not.” — 80 people liked it

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