After You (Me Before You, #2) in Me Before You Re-read

Sep 27, 2015 Clare CRHL rated it really liked it · review of another edition

After You is the ‘long-awaited sequel to Me Before You’ and I was so excited to hear of it’s upcoming release, while I was reading the first book. Normally I don’t like being late jumping onto a bandwagon, but definitely think it was a blessing this time as I didn’t have long to wait! I pre-ordered. I was keen. I was outraged when my copy didn’t turn up on the day of publication. However, when the postman did finally show up I was thrilled to crack open that hardback cover and re-acquaint myself After You is the ‘long-awaited sequel to Me Before You’ and I was so excited to hear of it’s upcoming release, while I was reading the first book. Normally I don’t like being late jumping onto a bandwagon, but definitely think it was a blessing this time as I didn’t have long to wait! I pre-ordered. I was keen. I was outraged when my copy didn’t turn up on the day of publication. However, when the postman did finally show up I was thrilled to crack open that hardback cover and re-acquaint myself with Lou Clark, still struggling to come to terms with her grief after Will Traynor’s death.

I had a complete jumble of expectations and predictions for After You. Having loved Me Before You so well, I was actually quite nervous that this sequel would not be able to hold a torch to it. No matter what I knew that the plot held the power to surprise as, as a repeat was undoubtedly off the cards- I mean, how many times can one girl fall in love with her quadriplegic patient and accompany him to Dignitas?

After You did not fail to deliver with some thrilling plot lines both familial and romantic. I tore through it just as rapidly as I had done Me Before You. The story is propelled forward by Lou’s attempt to honour Will’s last request, his final nudge for her to let go go of the past:

Just live well. Just live.

Grief is undoubtedly a central theme of this novel, in which everyone is fighting an ongoing battle to move on after Will’s death, and shake off complicated feelings of anger and guilt. When Lou accidentally stumbles from her roof in the book’s opening pages the doctors tell her

You never know what will happen when you fall from a great height,

and this sentiment is continually recalled as Lou, pushes to breakthrough the barriers of her mourning. This event is the catalyst of her recovery, and both her fall and subsequent injuries are symbolic of the trauma of Will’s death. Her emotional and psychological recovery from that is linked with her physical recovery after the fall, and her eventual return to her rooftop garden, to enjoy the view and the crisp breeze, reflect her healing and readiness to move on.

After You catches up with Lou eighteen months after the previous book left off. Having travelled, but felt no freedom, Lou is now living in east London and working in a cheesy Irish pub at City airport. She’s not came anywhere near as far as we’d have hoped, and we realise that despite wanting to live in a way that Will would approve of, she’s not yet learnt to allow herself happiness.

The new characters in the book are surely the champions of bringing real colour and comedy to this book. Lily and Sam are really engaging and complex characters whose roles will make you both chuckle and guffaw as you’re reading. I think it’s fair to fair that they take Lou by an arm each and drag her back to the land of the living. Lou’s ‘Moving On Circle’ explore grief and it’s associated feelings really thoroughly, but I honestly felt those charcetrs were a bit flat.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed After You, which really is just as good as Me Before You, but will make you laugh instead of cry. Once again the story with a beginning- which I love. It may not be the ‘and they lived happily ever after’ which many readers long for, but you know that these fictional friends will keep growing as learnt to roll with the punches. That being said, I’m already seeing fans online asking for a third book, an idea which makes me nervous! What I’ll take away from these 2 books is a reminder that you can chart your own course and it’s never to late to grow- just look at Lou’s mum, Josie, and her newly discovered thirst for learning!*

I hope you’ve enjoyed this sequel as much as I have and look forward to reading your thoughts!

**For more of my reviews, vsiit my blog: www.fictiontherapy.com ** ...more

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Sep 30, 2015 Laura Anders rated it it was amazing

It was as perfect as it could possibly be. We all wanted to know what happened to Louisa after the gut wrenching ending of "Me Before You" and here is the answer...
I'll keep this simple. It's not as good as "Me Before You" but it couldn't be, how could it live up to that emotion, but "After You" was perfect in it's own way. Jojo Moyes has given us exactly what we wanted, Lou in mourning and trying to move on, all written with the knack only she seems to have - giving something deep and emotiona ...more

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Oct 26, 2016 Rachel rated it liked it · review of another edition

I really wanted to enjoy the sequel to 'Me before you' as I enjoyed it and was one of my 5* reads of that year, however I struggled with 'After you'. On reflection, I guess I wish I'd just been content with reading 'Me before you' as a stand alone book and made my own conclusion as to what happened to Luisa rather than being disappointed with the decisions she made in 'After You'. I kept hoping something would happen in the book that would make me want to continue reading and although I did mana ...more

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