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Me Before You (Me Before You, #1)

Jojo Moyes

Start date: February 1, 2023

Finish date: February 28, 2023

Discussion: Series of the Month 2023

Why we're reading this: Feb 2023 SOTM
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Series of the Month 2023

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What Members Thought

Dec 31, 2013 Antonia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-books, i-own, favourites

"Me Before You" is one of these extraordinary novels that make you want to love and hate the world -and its people- at the same time. It makes you want to laugh and sob and hope at the same time and it reminds you both the happy and the hearbreaking sides of life. This book is a special, beautiful and truly mesmerizing novel that captured my heart and made it its own.

I really don't know if I'm able to write a good and detailed review on this book, given the fact that I can't even process all the "Me Before You" is one of these extraordinary novels that make you want to love and hate the world -and its people- at the same time. It makes you want to laugh and sob and hope at the same time and it reminds you both the happy and the hearbreaking sides of life. This book is a special, beautiful and truly mesmerizing novel that captured my heart and made it its own.

I really don't know if I'm able to write a good and detailed review on this book, given the fact that I can't even process all the things that took place from the very first page to the last. To be quite fair, I had a very good idea about most of the plot of this book due to various posts I'd already seen about it on Instagram, Tumblr and, yes, Goodreads. I knew I would laugh, but I also knew that I would cry. And I did. No matter how much prepared I was for the blow, it still hit me hard in the guts and I couldn't even see the letters due to all the tears, I had to put the book down and stop reading for a couple of seconds until I felt somewhat relaxed again. Jojo Moyes has got this brilliant ability of capturing the audience and knowing exactly how to make them feel whatever she needs them to feel.
I loved everything about this book. The plot was magical, with the right dosages of humour, sadness, hope and love. The characters were witty, sarcastic, hopeless, hopeful, ready to go wherever their heart leads them to. To be quite honest, this wasn't exactly an easy book to read, but it wasn't absolutely depressing either. There were humorous moments and shattering moments and I loved every single part of the plot. I loved Lou and I fell in love with Will. Will must be my second most favourite character of all time, when it comes to romantic books. His words and actions will haunt me for many years to come and I will always remember my feelings about every time his mood changed, every time I hoped for something different for him. I loved Lou's family a lot, even though Lou's mother seemed kind of harsh to Lou towards the end.
Lou's and Will's relationship will always be tattooed on my heart and mind. Their feelings were something more, something deeper from what we usually get in other modern chick-lit books. The intimacy they had between them and the dialogues they exchanged felt like the core of pure love. I loved their interactions and the depth of their feelings. I loved the flights and the falls of their emotions and how everything was wrapped up by the end of the last page. Everything mattered, in every single chapter, and I was actually quite surprised when I read the perspective of Mr. Traynor and Katrina. I expected them to be very different and they both surprised me, both positively and negatively.
Overall, 5 out of 5 stars, of course. I would give it infinite more if I could. "Me Before You" will be an unforgettable book for me and I loved it to shreds. It must be read by everyone out there and especially by those of you who don't really like Romance/Chick-Lit literature. I think that this book must be read by men as well. Yes, it's romantic and dramatic and heartbreaking, but this doesn't mean that men won't be touched by it. "Me Before You" is a beautiful book and it must have its steady place in everyone's library. Please read it. After all the movie is about to be released, so it won't hurt to be prepared. ;-) ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Apr 29, 2014 Diana S rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 52-weeks-52-books-2014, read-in-2014, remember-2014

Needed: A new box of Tissues
You will definitely be on an emotional roller coaster ride with this book! One minute, you'll find your heart-strings being pulled and then your heart breaking.:S
This is no typical romance. Louise & Will are memorable! A Great Story! A Good Read! ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Nov 19, 2013 Shruti morethanmylupus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I was a little hesitant about this book. The cover makes it look flighty and fun (it isn't.) The synopsis made it sound like a book written just for a book club discussion (it kind of was.) Plus, I actually worked as a caregiver for a man who was essentially a quadriplegic due to a disease that he developed later in life. He wasn't too far off from Will's age. He was successful before this disease took the music he loved away from him. So I picked up this book hesitantly, not because I couldn't I was a little hesitant about this book. The cover makes it look flighty and fun (it isn't.) The synopsis made it sound like a book written just for a book club discussion (it kind of was.) Plus, I actually worked as a caregiver for a man who was essentially a quadriplegic due to a disease that he developed later in life. He wasn't too far off from Will's age. He was successful before this disease took the music he loved away from him. So I picked up this book hesitantly, not because I couldn't deal with the topic of assisted suicide but because I wasn't sure I could handle it if the book completely botched the realities.

In the end, I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was fairly well done other than some glaring issues with Louisa getting the job in the first place. Most of my complaints were about Louisa herself or about how the book was written rather than about how Will’s medical conditions are characterized. It wasn’t perfect, but it was well enough done for a lay person to get at least a basic understanding of the realities.

Obviously, the underlying theme in this book is about assisted suicide. However, I think what I liked most about the book was the fact that it was about the characters and their emotions and not about the politics and the religious debate.

There were some things that the book did really well:
(view spoiler)[
• The fear Louisa has of messing up his care and endangering him - and the fact that she actually does more than once.
• People deal with this sort of situation and grief differently. Camilla’s coldness. Mr. Traynor’s detachment.
• The impact that decisions about assisted suicide have not only on the immediate loved ones, but on the people whom the loved ones rely on. The varying ways that Louisa's family reacted were well done as was the fact that while Will’s quadriplegia didn't initiate the issues in the Traynor’s marriage it did drive them farther apart.
• The fact that his family supported Will in the end but clearly still didn't agree. They didn't magically say "Ok, you're right, I get it now." And the way that Louisa said what he needed to hear even as we see her actual thoughts.
• All the things that Louisa discovered could be adapted so that Will could participate in them.
• Will’s frustrations.
• The complexity of the care that Will needed (though even this was simplified in many ways.)
• The repetitive and highly timetable-oriented nature of his day to day life.
• The frustrations Louisa and Camilla express about what they should or shouldn't be doing for him.
• The reactions of the people he meets when they go out: supportive, curious, overly friendly, normal.
• The realities of trying to take a huge van somewhere where you can find parking, ramps and elevators. The fact that going to a movie requires a certain amount of space that not all theaters have. These were shown well.
• How much Will could still enjoy doing and discussing in general. People seem to hear “quadriplegic” and assume that they aren't capable of understanding or enjoyment.
• Will’s elaboration of what is or isn’t enough. That conversation in general was well done as was the one in the clinic.
• The fact that everyone is trying to show Will what's "right" for him instead of discussing with him. It was as if they were going to sneakily change his mind because they know better.. and he wasn't going to notice what they were trying to do. He wasn't an idiot. Yet people seem to do that all the time in so many situations that it felt realistic.
• Will’s letter to Louisa.

(hide spoiler)]

There were some things about the book that detracted from my love of it overall:
(view spoiler)

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2016 Shelley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Will is a once corporate driven go getter yet at the age of thirty-five he is in an accident which leaves him a quadriplegic. Louise suddenly finds herself without a job and takes employment as Will's caregiver. Neither of them seem to enjoy the others presence so the relationship is strained to say the least. But as time goes on, a friendship develops and Lou finds that Will has a secret that he has been keeping from her, he wants to end his life. Louise will do anything in her power to change ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 16, 2018 🐉 PrinZessBookDragon 👑🌶️ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

this was a good book and had a great plot. i didn't care for the pace... moved from the hardback to the audiobook and that helped to get through it a bit faster. Moyes is however a great writer, i found myself easily relating to how Will felt being trapped in his wheelchair and being limited in his activities.
i hate hate hated the way this story ended....it was so sad.
i probably won't be reading the rest of the series. ...more

1 like · Like · see review