Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Blurb:

"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."


My Review:

I literally still come close to crying when I think about this story. I've owned the book for years but for some reason never picked it up - not even when the movie came out. And to be honest, I didn't even know what it was about - something with a wheel chair? So when I was digging through my bookshelf one early weekend morning, I thought, well, why not. Let's see what all the hype is about. Plus I figured I could get my husband to watch the movie with me afterwards since Emilia Clarke is in it and who doesn't love Game of Thrones. And Sam Claflin - hello Hunger Games. It had to be a good story with these two starring in the movie.

Let me just say I don't remember the last time I cried this much due to fictional story. I probably haven't. The story was just beautiful in every way. I sat down to read it on a Sunday, finished it the same day, then grabbed the remote from my husband while hysterically crying and screaming "I HAVE TO WATCH IT!!!!" Ugh. I cried like a baby. Many pages were soaked with tears. My poor puppy kept staring at me trying to figure out what was wrong but I just couldn't stop - big, heaving, uncontrollable sobs. I was shaking - I cried so hard I was shaking and I couldn't stop. Like...75% of the book.

It was so good, you guys. If you haven't read it yet, you absolutely should. I loved Lou and Will. I loved the story. I loved everything. It was so beautifully-written. The next day at work I walked in with puffy eyes and a red nose and talked about the story non-freaking-stop. I brought it up in meetings and to all my coworkers. It seriously affected me and has stayed in my heart ever since I finished it.

I'm the kind of person who has to read book, watch movies and TV shows in sequential order, back to back. But for the first time, I can't read After You yet. I need some time. Every time I think of reading about Lou's life I just can't - I need more time to process the story and recover from how it made me feel. I do own Still Me as well.

Thank you, Jojo Moyes, for bringing this story into my life. Best book I've read in 2018 and probably even longer.


My Rating: