By: Jojo Moyes
Now where to even begin with this books review. Let's start out with the rating of 5/5 stars which almost NEVER happens. I fell in love with the trailer and felt compelled to buy the book instantly and read it. My love of Sam Claflin may have some bias to this book and movie as well.
I jumped into this book and finished it in about two days. The diction was beautiful, the descriptions other worldly, it put me in the book instead of me reading it as someone telling me a story around a campfire.
Synopsis: 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.
Will Trainor is one of the most complicated and sad characters I have read. I want to hug him and hit him with a frying pan at the same time. But it's his smirky remarks and tangible good looks that made me fall in love.
Lou Clark is undoubtedly a european version of myself. Like her I love to read, be around family, and help others. I as well love to wear what is considered outside the social norms of style. Her lack of adventurous attitude is the icing on the cake in comparison to me.
Reading this book put a perspective on my life and how I should live it. It's okay to want to stay inside, be boring and solemn for a day, but I realized taking risks is apart of life, and we only live for a short time, we should take advantage. So today I actually ventured out to the neighboring city and went to a random coffee shop I've never been to or heard of, walked around and looked at all the street art, and drove on streets with all the road raged cars (Arizona has the worst drivers next to California). May not seem bucket-list worthy but it's a huge step for me who could really just cross the street from the house to Starbucks.
Me Before you contains such hilarious and witty comments that will make you laugh out loud, and meaningful conversations that will bring tears to your eyes. My favorite was the intimate scene where Lou shaved Will and cut his hair. You could literally feel the sexual tension from the book.
"It was impossible to be this close to someone, to feel their skin tauten under your fingertips, to breathe in the air that they breathed out, to have their face only inches from yours, without feeling a little unbalanced. By the time I reached his other ear I had begun to feel awkward, as if I overstepped an invisible mark" (Moyes 127).
Another favorite scene was at the wedding, when Lou sat on Will's lap and danced together. She wore her infamous red dress and Will in a suit, twirling around in his chair, while his ex-girlfriend and best friend stared (along with the other guests). I wanted to go to his ex and be like "Hah! Look what you missed out on!" The tranquility and intense love in that scene was so die for. DIE.
SPOILERS
Okay now if you've read the book you know what happens.
And it made me cry.
But the ending was peaceful in the same way because Lou learned how to live and love. Will taught her something she had never knew in her whole twenty-seven years of living. When she traveled to Paris, whipped out that card, and read what Will wrote I got very teary eyed. Will was dead and yet he still managed to live on through the story and through Lou's heart.
Normally I'm not content with endings like these but I was surprisingly happy with this book. It made you think about life and what does it really mean, "to live."
Forever going to keep this book and recommend it to everyone I know.
Bravo Jojo Moyes, Bravo.
Now I just have to wait till the movie comes out....
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