book review – Me Before You

The movie comes out June 3rd; but you most definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, must absolutely read the book before you see the movie.  The book is almost always infinitely better than the movie.  You already know this.  Though I am 100….rather 150% confident that Emilia Clarke is perfect for the role of Louisa so the movie will no doubt be amazing.  Regardless, you need to read the book.  Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes, is one of the best books I’ve read in a really long time.

book, bee charm (similar), shirt (similar), shorts 

I wasn’t sure I was up for a heartbreaker, so even when friends would recommend this one to me I would keep it at the bottom of my tbr list.  Who volunteers to read a book that is known for breaking hearts?  Not me, usually.  However, because I’m Emilia Clarke’s number one fan…I mean what’s not to love about the Mother of Dragons (are there actual people that don’t watch Game of Thrones?)…..and because I have a thing about always reading the book before seeing the movie, I decided to finally push this novel to the top of my reading list.  And boy, am I so glad I did!  The thing is, it’s the kind of story that, yes, completely and totally breaks your heart…..like you will sob……deeply sob…….full on ugly cry……..blow through a thousand tissues kind of cry…………..but, and I know this sounds crazy; this novel somehow breaks your heart in all the best possible ways.   It breaks you down, makes you feel all the emotions and sends you back off into the world with a whole new perspective on life and love.

Me Before You follows the heartbreaking romance between a rather unlikely pair, Louisa Clark and Will Traynor.  Their paths never would have crossed had Louisa not been desperate for a job and Will not been left wheelchair bound after an accident.  When Louisa takes a last resort job assignment working as Will’s caretaker, constantly reminding herself that it’s only temporary is the one thing that helps her to get through each work day.  In the beginning, their personalities are at odds with each other.   Will is rather hateful towards Louisa.  Though not too many weeks pass by before Louisa’s quirkiness and refusal to deal with his rudeness cracks Will’s tough exterior, and she starts to genuinely care about the man she’s been hired to serve.

As the story develops it brings up so many questions for the reader.  Jojo Moyes is quite masterful at creating characters you not only fall in love with, but you feel completely invested in as if they are real not fictional people.  I think that is what makes the story so utterly heart wrenching.  Louisa Clark is the best female fictional character I’ve met in a very long time.  Dare I even say, she ranks right under Anne of Green Gables for favorite fictional characters, and in case you didn’t already know Anne is my all time favorite.  Louisa is just so relatable; and I fell head over heels in love with her eccentric fashion style and her quirky personality.

I don’t want to give away too much of the story; but I’m telling you, you really need to read this one.

For those that have already read this story, my heart was broken at the end of the book but not for reasons you might think.  What utterly wrecked me is that I personally believe that living boldly means that love is always enough.  The haunting thing for me is I’m still not sure who loved who more, but I definitely believe the scale was tipped in one direction.  Needless to say I’ll be reading the sequel very soon and I’m positive this story is one that will stay with me for a very long time.