[Review] Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
Publisher: Penguin Books
Publishing Date: July 30, 2013
369 Pages
Format: paperback, purchased
Buy Links: Amazon  |  B&N

Synopsis

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?

My Review

So, I originally didn't have any intentions of buying this book. I had seen it around, saw that it had pretty good reviews, but that was about it. I never read the synopsis to figure out what it was about, and rarely read the reviews on it. Why? I'm not quite sure; I just skipped over it for some reason. But then I got a coupon for 40% off at my local books store, which I couldn't pass up :) I couldn't find too much of what I wanted at the moment, but then I saw this book and thought I'd give it a try!

Easily one of the best book-buying decisions I've ever made! I couldn't put this book down. I didn't even know too much of what it was about, but a quick glance at the back cover and it sounded like something I might be interested in. These characters sucked me in immediately and I didn't want to stop reading their story. Will was a very energetic, grab-life-by-the-horns kind of guy; then he's in an accident and his life changes forever. He becomes moody, irritable, and downright mean. On the other hand, Lou is content going about her daily life, not doing anything extraordinary; she simply goes to work, sees her boyfriend, and goes home. But once Lou takes the job as Will's caregiver, things start to change. Slowly Will starts opening up a little more each day; becoming slightly more talkative and happy. And Lou starts to change too; she isn't content just sitting by as life passes her. She wants to do something.

I absolutely loved these characters. They're so incredibly different and come from such different lives, but they mix together very well. Lou brings out something in Will that no one else has been able to. And Will forces Lou out of her shell of a life. This book made me laugh and it made me cry, a lot. Without giving away spoilers, and I've said it before, I love when a book takes on a controversial issue, and this one definitely did!

On the inside cover of this book, there's a quote from Liesl Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review:

"When I finished this novel, I didn't want to review it: I wanted to reread it..."

That is exactly how I felt when I turned the last page and put this down. This has rightfully earned a spot in my absolutely favorite books, ever! Now I need to get a copy of everything else Moyes has written! Highly, highly recommend it :)