Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Me Before You
by Jojo Moyes
Reading level: Ages 18 and up
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books (December 31, 2012)
Language: English
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Buy the Book: Amazon

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

It didn't take long for me to get caught up in the lives of Lou and Will. Louisa Clark is a 27 year old single girl who lives in a small town in England with her parents, younger sister and nephew, and granddad. She has just lost her job at a small cafe and is desperate to find work to help her parents. When she is offered a job caring for a quadriplegic young man, she can't turn down the money. Will Traynor was a man with a life that most men would envy. He was good-looking, had a great job, traveled to exotic places, experienced wonderful adventures and dated beautiful women. Will was all these things before he was hit by a motorcycle and became a quadriplegic. When Lou meets Will for the first time he is withdrawn and bitter. She determines to prove to him that life is worth living regardless of his physical condition.

This is an amazing, inspirational, and hearbreaking book. It addresses issues that most people don't have to deal with on a daily basis. When you put yourself in Lou and Will's situation, you are forced to question your own beliefs. All of the characters in the book are realistic people that I liked a lot. The premise of the book is the difference that one person can make in another's life. This goes beyond Lou helping Will. He also plays a major role in helping Lou see the possibilities of her life. The story is one of those that you can't stop reading but you don't want it to end. I would recommend this book to older teens and all adults.

Instead of chess pieces, I give this one 5 Kleenex boxes!

Content: 

*Me Before You is an NEW ADULT book, but for those who might be interested (content rating by our YA standards, not by adult book standards.  In other words, "Heavy" isn't necessarily heavy for adult books, but would be for YA):

• Sexual Content: Heavy
• Profanity: Heavy
• Violence: Mild
• Other Notables:  Drinking and smoking weed

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