I have already managed to mistype the title of this book as ‘You Before Me’ although perhaps, given the contents of the book itself, either way around would apply!
Me Before You is the story of Lou Clark, a young woman who – for reasons that later become apparent – lives her life confined within what she knows. She lives at home with her parents, her younger sister, her nephew and her grandad. She has been with her boyfriend for seven years, she works at The Buttered Bun and she doesn’t have any desire to leave the town in which she was born. Will Traynor lives his life confined within a wheelchair and the limitations of his own body.
After losing her much-loved job, Lou reluctantly becomes a sort of carer for Will, a companion hired by his mother to provide him with non medical assistance and care. Will is a quadriplegic after being injured in a road accident several years earlier. At first, Lou and Will don’t get on. It’s fairly obvious that Will doesn’t want her there babysitting him but eventually – mostly down to Lou’s frustration and because she’s the first person to call him out on his rudeness – they become friends.
I’m not going to say anything more about the plot itself. I did think it was a predictable storyline but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable for me. From my own personal experience, I found it very realistic and even though I had an idea of the ending, it was still emotional. It’s also very funny at times, I loved Will’s sarcasm and I always love a bit of banter between characters. The characters are well drawn, even some of the secondary characters like Lou’s sister. The relationships between all the characters were very believable which is important in a book like this.
The best example of this is Will himself in the sense that Jojo doesn’t try to make him a martyr or have some kind of epiphany. He does change because of Lou but I like the fact that he’s honest about his old life. A lot of stories where something bad happens to the main character have them changing spiritually or mentally or having them suddenly realise how awful and selfish they were before. Will was a city boy with a good job, lots of cash and a beautiful girlfriend and even though at one point he admits that he was an arse, he also says that he loved his life and you’re in no doubt that he’d have it back in a heartbeat if he could. I think that made it more realistic from me. He didn’t choose to be the way he is and the whole novel is as much about choice as it is about change. It’s about the things we can control and the things we can’t and the decisions we make regarding them.
‘Some mistakes…just have greater consequences than others. But you don’t have to let that night be the thing that defines you.’
I felt his head tilt against mine.
‘You, Clark, have the choice not to let that happen.’
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tags: Jojo Moyes, Me Before You
