Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) in The Perks Of Being A Book Addict

Sep 24, 2015 Karen D rated it really liked it

Shelves: cried-ugly-tears, romance

I really did not like this book for the first 100 pages. Louisa is annoying and whiny and completely dense. As a reader, it's so obvious when opportunities are given to her to connect with Will, the quadriplegic man she's paid to care for, but she is completely oblivious to all of them. She's only overshadowed by how horrible her sister treats her. The plot seemed predictable (and for the most part stays that way). And there were a couple plot inconsistencies that in retrospect were minor but re ...more

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Feb 25, 2016 Esther rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: __borrowed, author-female, england, gag-me-with-a-spoon, library, romance, zz-2016

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. With writing people often say that finding a good idea or premise for a story is not enough you need to be able to carry it through, get the book written.
This book proves that the inverse is also true. Jojo Moyes has an enjoyable writing style, it flows pleasantly and she has a nice turn of phrase (although at times I felt she gave Louisa dialogue more witty and wry than it would ever be in real life).
But in an attempt to create a hybrid between 'Pygmalion' and 'Who's Life is it Anyway' our auth With writing people often say that finding a good idea or premise for a story is not enough you need to be able to carry it through, get the book written.
This book proves that the inverse is also true. Jojo Moyes has an enjoyable writing style, it flows pleasantly and she has a nice turn of phrase (although at times I felt she gave Louisa dialogue more witty and wry than it would ever be in real life).
But in an attempt to create a hybrid between 'Pygmalion' and 'Who's Life is it Anyway' our author seems to have dug up her narrative from the Mills & Boon classic cliché collection.

Some readers seem surprised by the ending but for such a light story in which people's actions are more often annoying than thought-provoking it was the only conclusion with any bite. And to be honest I did feel it was true to Will himself.
He was spoiled, arrogant and entitled, used to getting what he wanted and not understanding the meaning of compromise or 'making the best' of a situation. He didn't want to give himself a chance and was perversely determined not only to prove he could control his life but also that he didn't have to pay heed to the opinions of those surrounding him. At one point I began to wonder if he stuck so determinedly to the date, with no consideration of a delay for any reason, just because his pride was too over-powering to admit the possibility that he might change his mind, even for a short while.

Louisa and her family weren't any more endearing either. As much as they seemed to care it was mostly a superficial illusion as none of them showed much empathy. They were constantly interfering and self-involved. At times I wanted to send the whole lot of them off to Dignitas.

But one of my biggest hurdles in being able to take this as a book commenting seriously on a subject, rather that a trite romance draped over a situation calculated to produce maximum melodrama, was the fact that Will was so rich. An abundance of carers, fancy wheelchairs and luxury holidays are just not available for most of the world's disabled, even those living in the Western World.
If Louisa and Will's financial situations had been reversed this would have been a much more interesting story.
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Nov 14, 2013 Anne rated it it was amazing

Was captured from the first page. Though some parts made me question what I would do, I loved the story and could not put it down till I finished

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May 02, 2016 Debie Orrell rated it really liked it

Wonderful story of the understanding how important it is to be able to choose your life. While this is a romance where two different people are able to see the potential of each other while allowing to grow, experience and be themselves.

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Apr 01, 2013 Christi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013-reads

I did really like this book. I just didn't have a lot of tears at the end like most people because I figured out where the ending was going much earlier in the book so I guess I was prepared.

Wonderfully written. I highly recommend it.

Reread this book in 2019 as an audiobook. Still enjoyed it very much. ...more

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