Samantha Stambaugh's Reviews > Me Before You

Louisa Clark, aka Lou, comes from a close but poor family, is in an okay long-term relationship with her boyfriend, has a steady job that helps contribute to the family finances, and lives in a close-knit village where she has lived a cozy life. But is her life too cozy? Is she really as satisfied with her life as she thinks she is?

When the diner where she waitresses closes its doors for the final time, Lou wonders where she can turn to get a job. She lives with her mom, dad, grandpa, sister, and five year old nephew. They have barely made it with the added wage and tips that Lou helped bring in, and now her sister wants to spread her wings and needs money to do it. No formal training or a strong career path, Lou is left worrying about what she’s going to do.

Will Traynor is wealthy, educated, and pissed off at the world. So when Lou begins work as his caretaker, Will does nothing to hide his cantankerous, ill-humoured, and disparaged self. He has been resentful of still being alive since the day a motorcycle ran him over in front of his house and left him a quadriplegic from a spinal cord injury. Beside themselves with worry about his deepening depression, Will’s parents have hired Louisa to clean around his house, keep him company, and try to cheer him up. But Lou finds she has a lot more to deal with than Will’s negative self-image the longer she stays into her 6-month contract. In the end, will Lou be able to figure out what Will really needs to be happy? Does she even know what her own happiness looks like?

Jojo Moyes takes some very emotional subject matter, two very opposing personality types, and one helluva plot line, dumps them all into her magical writing blender, and produces the most outstanding, tear-jerking, heart-pounding emotional ride that I have read in quite a while. From the snazzy outfits Lou wears that make you laugh to the vulnerable moments at the bedside that bring tears, you will fall in love with these characters as they find out what loving each other really means.

Cross-posted on Beyond My Bookshelf