Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Feb 13, 2013 Connie N. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: relationships, first-in-series, chick-lit, death-grief, red, bookclub

Whew. I finished this book yesterday, but I've had to wait until today to write the review to get my thoughts together. Moyes puts so much passion and emotion into this book, running the gamut from frustration to happiness to contentment to despair. We are caught up in the characters from the first few pages, becoming intimately involved in their lives and really wanting that happy ending. Although we actually meet Will first, we don't get to know him until he is the client that Louisa is workin Whew. I finished this book yesterday, but I've had to wait until today to write the review to get my thoughts together. Moyes puts so much passion and emotion into this book, running the gamut from frustration to happiness to contentment to despair. We are caught up in the characters from the first few pages, becoming intimately involved in their lives and really wanting that happy ending. Although we actually meet Will first, we don't get to know him until he is the client that Louisa is working for as a caregiver. He's a quadriplegic who needs round-the-clock care, and Louisa has been hired to provide everyday needs and keep him company. He's grumpy, unhappy, with a sharp intelligence and wit, but with an agenda of his own. Louisa is a 26-year-old woman who has never reached beyond her small English town, content to live a "small" life and who only takes this job because she and her family really need the money. But she's loving and caring and has a dry sense of humor that reaches out to him. They somehow connect, filling holes in the other's life, helping each other through difficult times. Moyes is able to fill the reader with the sense of urgency that Louisa feels as she tries to show Will that he has something to live for. But there are also a lot of sweetly humorous moments as she struggles to take him on day trips, many of which are unsuccessful. Nate (nurse), Katrina (Lou's sister), Patrick (Lou's boyfriend), and Will's parents are all excellent secondary characters who bring background and substance to the story. An overwhelming subject about real people who are just trying to make the right decision for themselves in an intense situation.

Favorite quote about children: "It's just that the thing you never understand about being a mother, until you are one, is that it is not the grown man--the galumphing, unshaven, stinking, opinionated offspring--you see before you, with his parking tickets and unpolished shoes and complicated love life. You see all the people he has ever been all rolled up into one."

Interesting choice of words about Will's mother: "...I didn't know who it was Camilla approved of these days. Her default setting seemed to be stuck on Disapprove."

To me this is the key message to the whole story, despite any reader's moral or religious beliefs: "...then I guess the best thing you can do is just be there. You don't have to think he's right. But you do have to be there." ...more

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Sep 03, 2014 Carol rated it really liked it

Shelves: september-2014, sad-story-but-good

I have to say that I loved the writing, the characters, and their lives in London. As soon as I read the first chapter, I was hooked and completed it in 30 hours. I read it through the night, and when I reached the end, I couldn't stop crying. A book I will never forget. ...more

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Jun 22, 2013 Sam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, books-of-2015

I can't remember the last time a book hit me so hard emotionally! Wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this, and admittedly, I found Louisa to be a bit shallow and stupid at first, but I grew to really like her and feel for her. There were parts in this book that just gave me chills, and I don't think I've ever cried so hard because of a book as I did with this one. It's a genuine, touching story, and Moyes knows exactly which buttons to press to really hit you square in the heart. ...more

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Jan 20, 2016 Rusty rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

What can I say? This is a good, good read. It's about two people who change each other in unexpected ways. I found myself deeply involved with these complex characters. They are so well developed, so realistic and face the kinds of emotions so many people face. The author writes so well that I sped through this book because I couldn't wait to see how it ended. Yes, I cried which is a sure sign that I became totally involved in this read. The title leads one to expect a different book but don't l ...more

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Mar 18, 2016 Samantha rated it really liked it

This was wonderful and horrible and fabulous and awful. Mostly I loved it but it's just so sad that part of me hated it. I know things in real life don't come out smelling like roses too often but this is fiction after all. I wish there had been more between Will and Clark, he ended it before anything actually started. ...more

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