Me Before You (Me Before You, #1) in WACKY READING CHALLENGES

Jan 01, 2015 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, tear-jerker, audio, england, library, social-commentary, concierge, friendship, romance, relationships

Book on CD narrated by various artists.

Louisa Clark is a 27-year-old waitress/coffee shop counter girl living with her parents in a small English village dominated by a large castle which attracts tourists in season. Her younger sister lives with the family as well, including her toddler son, Thomas. Their father’s hours at the furniture factory have been curtailed and the family struggles to pay the bills, so when the café closes, Louisa is at a loss for finding any sort of job for which she i Book on CD narrated by various artists.

Louisa Clark is a 27-year-old waitress/coffee shop counter girl living with her parents in a small English village dominated by a large castle which attracts tourists in season. Her younger sister lives with the family as well, including her toddler son, Thomas. Their father’s hours at the furniture factory have been curtailed and the family struggles to pay the bills, so when the café closes, Louisa is at a loss for finding any sort of job for which she is qualified. With some trepidation she takes a position as a caregiver / companion to a man with a spinal cord injury which has left him a quadriplegic. Despite her lack of experience in the field, she’s hired because of her generally upbeat attitude. Will Traynor is acerbic, moody and downright rude, but Louisa refuses to molly coddle him and soon they develop a mutual respect as well as a mutual desire to bring some happiness into each other’s lives.

This is not what I was expecting. I thought it would be a fluffy, light chick-lit romance – something on the order of Bridget Jones’ Diary. What I got was a much more complex story of two people with completely different outlooks on life who somehow manage to connect and affect one another. Each of them is wounded or injured in some way, and each finds some measure of healing as they get to know one another.

I have to admit that I had figured out the ending fairly soon, but that didn’t diminish my enjoyment of how Moyes got there. I was engaged and invested in these two characters. I indulged in imagining various possible scenarios but let the author reveal her story in her own way. And I really liked the ways in which both Louisa and Will grow through the novel (particularly Louisa). I did wonder if the title would be better reversed - YOU before Me.

When I met the man who is now my husband, we talked about the books we were reading and told each other the stories. We’ve kept that up over the years, not for every book, but for particularly memorable ones. This was a story I started telling him as I began the book. I’m nowhere near the storyteller Moyes is, but I felt a little like Scheherazade when each night he would ask me, “What’s happening now?”

The audiobook is narrated by a team of talented voice artists. Alex Tregear is Katrina; Anna Bentinck voices Camilla Traynor; Steven Crossley is Steven Traynor; Owen Lindsay narrates as Nathan; Andrew Wincott reads the prologue; and Susan Lyons gives voice to Louisa Clark (which is the majority of the book). This was effective in portraying the different perspectives each of the characters bring to the story.
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Feb 13, 2013 Connie N. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: death-grief, chick-lit, red, first-in-series, relationships, bookclub

Whew. I finished this book yesterday, but I've had to wait until today to write the review to get my thoughts together. Moyes puts so much passion and emotion into this book, running the gamut from frustration to happiness to contentment to despair. We are caught up in the characters from the first few pages, becoming intimately involved in their lives and really wanting that happy ending. Although we actually meet Will first, we don't get to know him until he is the client that Louisa is workin Whew. I finished this book yesterday, but I've had to wait until today to write the review to get my thoughts together. Moyes puts so much passion and emotion into this book, running the gamut from frustration to happiness to contentment to despair. We are caught up in the characters from the first few pages, becoming intimately involved in their lives and really wanting that happy ending. Although we actually meet Will first, we don't get to know him until he is the client that Louisa is working for as a caregiver. He's a quadriplegic who needs round-the-clock care, and Louisa has been hired to provide everyday needs and keep him company. He's grumpy, unhappy, with a sharp intelligence and wit, but with an agenda of his own. Louisa is a 26-year-old woman who has never reached beyond her small English town, content to live a "small" life and who only takes this job because she and her family really need the money. But she's loving and caring and has a dry sense of humor that reaches out to him. They somehow connect, filling holes in the other's life, helping each other through difficult times. Moyes is able to fill the reader with the sense of urgency that Louisa feels as she tries to show Will that he has something to live for. But there are also a lot of sweetly humorous moments as she struggles to take him on day trips, many of which are unsuccessful. Nate (nurse), Katrina (Lou's sister), Patrick (Lou's boyfriend), and Will's parents are all excellent secondary characters who bring background and substance to the story. An overwhelming subject about real people who are just trying to make the right decision for themselves in an intense situation.

Favorite quote about children: "It's just that the thing you never understand about being a mother, until you are one, is that it is not the grown man--the galumphing, unshaven, stinking, opinionated offspring--you see before you, with his parking tickets and unpolished shoes and complicated love life. You see all the people he has ever been all rolled up into one."

Interesting choice of words about Will's mother: "...I didn't know who it was Camilla approved of these days. Her default setting seemed to be stuck on Disapprove."

To me this is the key message to the whole story, despite any reader's moral or religious beliefs: "...then I guess the best thing you can do is just be there. You don't have to think he's right. But you do have to be there." ...more

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Jan 16, 2015 Debbie (Doc) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, contemporary-romance, audible, series-reads, read-in-2015, serial-killer-challenge, audible-2015, 2015-challenge-addict, meet-greet-read

4.25 stars
I have been putting this book off simply thinking that it would be contemporary fluff. Fortunately, I was completely wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think that the title is misleading. If anything, it should be You before Me. I found both the hero/heroine to be very selfless. However, Lou’s sister was a piece of work! Lou, along with her parents, her younger sister, and her sister’s five year old son live in a small flat. Lou’s sister has decided to go back to college, expects ...more

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Jan 19, 2016 Olivermagnus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, 2021, contemporary, england

This novel opens with a glimpse of Will Traynor’s life before the accident. He’s a handsome and charismatic businessman who enjoys “crushing people” in business deals. One busy day he accidentally steps into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. Will’s rage has defeated his parents and any friends who tried to hang on after the accident. The only power he believes he retains is the power to end his life; and, as a man of action, he wants to exercise that power.

Louisa (Lou) Clark is the 26-year-ol ...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Sassafrass rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, z-2016, z-challenge-books-2016, wobble-16, 1-whispersync

This really gutted me. I really wished that it ended differently. This is why I read romance only. I need HEAs. Beware that this isn't all roses and rainbows. Still it was really good. Just be ready to ugly-cry. ...more

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Nov 14, 2015 Brindi Michele rated it it was amazing

Shelves: series, gifting, favorites, personal-interest-adult, romance, own, made-into-movies-tv, movie-rights-please

Oh, my gosh. Jojo Moyes!!!!! My new favorite author, y'all, and yes I know I'm late to the party. After two books, I know now to read her novels with a box of tissues near me at all times. This story... it made me laugh, cry, smile. It broke my heart. It made me re-think my view on something I so strongly believed. I argued with myself. I felt for the characters. Oh, I cried buckets through the last 60 pages. Afterward, I sat still for a full 10 minutes taking it all in. I love this book. I love ...more

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May 01, 2015 Karen rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

I usually write my own review before I read anyone else's, but this time I read some of the other reviews and Q&A's first. I was surprised by both the oceans of tears that have been shed over this book and by the extremely strong opinions some have about Will's ultimate decision. I didn't cry buckets of tears over this book - no tears at all, in fact. I did listen to it while driving, so probably best I wasn't sobbing. And Will's decision didn't offend me in the least. I thought Moyes built an e ...more

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