After You (Me Before You, #2) in Around the Year in 52 Books

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

Shelves: romance

Unlike the thousands that begged for a sequel, I was content (happy is not the right word to use) with Lou and Will’s story ending. I was a bit sceptical when I heard about After You but of course I had to read it. I don’t think anything can quite capture the magic and raw emotion of Me Before You, but I did enjoy revisiting the characters.

The plot is a bit meandering but it follows Lou a few years on when people are starting to think she should be moving on. It looks at ongoing grief from diffe Unlike the thousands that begged for a sequel, I was content (happy is not the right word to use) with Lou and Will’s story ending. I was a bit sceptical when I heard about After You but of course I had to read it. I don’t think anything can quite capture the magic and raw emotion of Me Before You, but I did enjoy revisiting the characters.

The plot is a bit meandering but it follows Lou a few years on when people are starting to think she should be moving on. It looks at ongoing grief from different angles, from Will’s family to those she meets in her grief counselling group. It’s not about the immediate, strong emotions, but living with a loss, that will never completely leave you, long term. It only slightly touches on the impact of being involved with an assisted suicide.

The introduction of Lily was useful to allow Lou to revisit her memories, put her back in touch with Will’s family and also learn a little more about him. Despite being told to live by Will, Lou is still struggling to live her life to the full. Her fear of change is keeping her in a dead end job, anxiety keeping her in something that pays the bills at least, rather than venturing out into the unknown. Lou’s a fantastic character that I think many readers can relate to.

There were unexpected moments when I was reading and would just tear up over little things. It makes you wonder if you can grieve for fictional characters. There’s plenty of evidence which suggests we temporarily experience genuine emotions as we feel what characters feel, at least in a good book. So many of us were broken by the ending of Me Before You after all.

Lou’s mum’s discovery of feminism didn’t seem connected to the rest of the story and appeared to be more for comic effect than to make a valid point. She has been living in a traditional wife and mother role all her life; how do you deal with a husband you love that just can’t accept the change? Mr Clark gets the raw deal out of his portrayal and I think it’s a subject that deserved something more than just being an aside. ...more

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Mar 26, 2016 Sheryl rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: make-believe, 2016, e-books, all-about-love

3.5 stars. I surprisingly liked this more than "Ms Before You." I needed this sequel. The character development and progression I was looking for was all here. It still didn't give a concrete answer or logic to Will's decision but it gave a light to all the gaps. ...more

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