he book features Louisa Clark and Will Traynor as its main characters. It explores the question of whether love can bring two people who had nothing in common together by giving them everything to lose. Louisa Clark is an unassuming and ordinary young woman with an even more ordinary life. She calls herself ‘one of the invisibles’ and refers to her steady boyfriend, a personal trainer, in a similar manner. She was scared by boys with beer several years prior to the beginning of the story and has, as a result, never ventured out of the borders of the sleepy village that she lives in. When the café that she works in closes down, she realises that she has no employable skills. She takes a job as Will Traynor’s caretaker. Will is wheelchair-bound after an accident, which has turned him into a temperamental and rude being. Before the accident, Will lived life on a large scale, doing big business, engaging in extreme sports, and travelling the world, and now he can’t walk or even feed himself. He is bossy and moody, and convinced that the only thing he has control over is his own death.
Lou realises that she must grow a backbone to compensate for Will’s broken one, and throws herself into finding ways to make him happy. He becomes involved with teaching her how to stand up for herself and take risks, and she finds herself becoming stronger and more bold the more time that she spends with him. However, she soon finds out that he has plans to end his own life, and must scramble to give him a reason to live. Will she be able to?
Product Details
- Reading level: 16.00+ years
- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Penguin (5 January 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0718157834
- ISBN-13: 978-0718157838
- Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.1 x 19.8 cm
About the Author
Jojo Moyes is a journalist and novelist. She worked for ten years at the Independent for ten years before quitting to become a full-time writer. Her previous novels have all been critically acclaimed, including Foreign Fruit, The Ship Of Brides, and The Last Letter From Your Lover. Other books by her are One Plus One and The Girl You Left Behind.
Review
This life-affirming tearjerker more than deserves its recognition as one of the most memorable books of the last decade (Woman & Home)
You might have seen the film, but we promise the book is better - you won't be able to forget quirky Lou's joruney with Will as she becomes his caregiver and their relationship blossoms. You will be needing tissues (Living North)
Arm yourself with tissues for this incredibly emotional bestseller (Best Special Series)
Poignant . . . heartfelt . . . Me Before You, at it's heart, is about two people who properly listen to each other; it is something good (The Independent on Sunday)
Another powerful love story. A deftly plotted narrative populated with likeable engaging characters . . . a bittersweet story about love, learning and letting go. It's a tremendous read and I loved it (Daily Mail)
When I finished this novel, I didn't want to review it: I wanted to reread it . . . An affair to remember (The New York Times Book Review)
At last, a new Moyes novel - and it's a triumph. Her story of love blossoming in the most unlikely of ways packs such an emotional punch, you'll need a box of tissues (Elle)
Compelling, moving and absorbing. It's also a real weepie (Daily Express)
Keep the tissues close as Jojo Moyes returns with Me Before You, a heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting tale about the relationship between an embittered quadriplegic man and the carer who is trying to give him a reason to live (Good Housekeeping)
A compelling novel of life and death decisions and unlikely affections. It's magical and heartbreaking, but doesn't shy away from difficult emotional realities. Waterproof mascara essential (Marie Claire)
