Me Before You: A Novel (Movie Tie-In) Paperback – April 26, 2016

Just as good as the movie and so beautiful. Of course this adds more context to the characters and oh man did I cry for them. I enjoyed the read so much that I read it again not even a day later. Worth every penny.

This writer, Jojo Moyes, has a true gift. I am an avid reader. I reader will read just about any book that is put in front of me. However, there has NEVER been a book that has affected me in the quite the way that this book did.When I first began reading this book I thought I had it all figured out from the start. Poor waitress looses her job in little cafe, goes to work for a rich man that is sick, they will fall in love. He will buy her cafe and they will live happily ever after. Boy was I wrong!!!! The author managed to take a very sensitive topic, assisted suicided, and talk about it through the eyes of different people that would really be experiencing it. Until reading this book I always believed that it was wrong and murder. After reading this story I don't know what to think anymore.A more beautiful love story could not have been written. I have never stayed up crying until 2:30 in the morning two nights in a row because of a book before. True sobbing, not just a little tear here and there.My fifteen year old daughter read this book before I did. When I was done I walked into her room sobbing. She said "I know mom" and we just stood there crying and hugging. I don't believe that there will ever be another book like this one. I don't want to see the movie. I don't want Hollywood to ruin what was written so beautifully.If you are considering reading this book, get a box of tissues, a glass of wine and be ready to begin a very emotional journey. I could barely read the last 40 pages I was crying so hard!

I went in knowing, just knowing this book would get to me. I picked it for a book club I run/facilitate so I get to pick all the books. We've had emotional choices but we hadn't done what would be more classified as also "romance". One member was not entirely on-board, these sorts are not her thing, but she did read it.I feel my job putting my book club through the emotional ringer has succeeded. I tend to read slow and drag out my reading but this book couldn't be put down. Except for the things I had to do all I did was read it. There was the briefest moment I worried it would be too Nicholas Sparks (I haven't actually read his books but the movies feel very manipulative, I don't like them, and I have no problem being dragged into emotional stuff. I cry easily and like sap but I haven't liked a single one of the movies based on his books).It quickly, or I quickly, recovered from any worries that would be the case here. Hell yes I cried, a lot throughout, but I wanted to cry - I cried over stuff most readers probably did not cry over. I enjoyed the feeling, I loved the laughs, and did not feel falsely manipulated. Someone out there probably did but not this gal. I thoroughly enjoyed the emotional ride and so very glad I took it. Can't wait for our book club meeting next week to find out what the group thought (my impression so far is they are all glad to have read it - including the reluctant one).Great for a beach/summer read - unless you are easily embarrassed crying in public.

I'm going to split this review into 2 parts. This first part will be a fairly non-spoiler review, and then I'll give a warning when I delve into spoiler territory.So, for the no spoilers (or as minimal spoilers as I can) part.... I read this book quickly, I think it only took about four days. I would say it's fairly predictable, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable to me. In fact, it was one of those books that made me feel so strongly that I was in complete denial about the direction the book was going. Deep down, I completely and totally knew what was going to happen, but my brain and my heart were having 2 different ideas on the matter. I thought about it for days, I re-read several chapters, and I still didn't (and in some ways still don't) want to accept it. To me, that's the mark of a great story. I know not everyone will have the same reaction, but considering this book made me actually go through the 5 stages of loss and grief as I read it, I simply have to give it a good rating.On the other hand, I can only give it 4 stars because it really is very predictable and the characters are very one dimensional. Every character other than Louisa and Will is simply fluff in the background of the story. Both sets of parents, both siblings, Will's ex girlfriend (and ex friends), Lou's boyfriend.... I didn't find any of them to be complex or interesting in the least bit. They all have a schtick and nothing about them changes throughout the entire book. I found that Patrick, Lou's boyfriend, is the worst offender in terms of being one dimensional. He really adds nothing to the story except to add one more thing that shows how Louisa doesn't do anything extraordinary or change anything about her comfortable, boring life. And boy, is Patrick boring. There's nothing wrong with him, per se. It's just made painfully obvious in every single scene he's in that he and Lou aren't "right" for each other. Frankly, I think he could have been left out of the entire book and we wouldn't be worse off.While all the other side characters are equally boring, the one character I actually did find interesting was Nathan, Will's medical caretaker, and I wish we could have seen more of him. There are several chapters (four, I believe.. one each from Will's parents, one from Nathan, and one from Lou's sister) in the book that are from different perspectives other than Louisa's. While 2 of these chapters help move the story along in ways that Lou's chapters couldn't, or offer a welcome change in perspective, there were another 2 of them that did nothing for me except slow down the story.As for Lou and Will, they aren't terribly complex, but they at least have some dimension to them, and they are both pretty relatable. I think it wouldn't be a far stretch for anyone to imagine themselves in either of their situations and reacting the way they do; Lou became too comfortable in her life and never took risks or tried new things, and Will became disgusted with himself and the life he was forced to live after his accident. Both are stubborn and terribly hypocritical, as they both spend much of the book trying to get the other to do more with their life.I read this book shortly before the film was released, so I had already watched the trailer, and ended up re-watching the trailer multiple times as I read in order to see certain scenes. I hate to be the person to compare the book to the movie (and not even the full movie, but just the trailer!), but watching the trailer makes me wish I could take off another half star and make this rating be 3.5 stars. When I watch the trailer, I find the chemistry between Lou and Will to be amazing. They just work together. But I didn't feel the same chemistry while reading, and that really disappointed me. There are multiple scenes in the book that feel very platonic to me. The same scenes in the trailer feel flirty and romantic and electrifying. It makes me wonder if this will be one of those rare cases that the movie is better than the book.All in all, I think it's a worthy read. It's short and probably won't take you long to read. You won't feel like you've wasted time if you don't like it, and if you love it, it will just go that much faster. I recommend not reading the last 25% of the book in public, but rather while snuggled under a blanket with some tissues.Now for the spoilers...>>>>>>SPOILERS AHEAD!!<<<<<<<vvvvvvvvvv>>SPOILERS!<<As I mentioned before, I was in complete denial about what was going to happen at the end of this book the entire time I was reading, even though I KNEW what was going to happen. Unfortunately I read this book after the sequel was already released. Whoever's idea it was to name the sequel "After You" should really be ashamed. Way to completely spoil it for anyone who hasn't read Me Before You yet. When you search "Me Before You", it also comes up with "AFTER YOU, THE SEQUEL TO THE BESTSELLER ME BEFORE YOU".So anyway, I knew that someone wasn't going to make it through this book. But like I said, I tried to convince myself up until the very last chapter that I was wrong, and that Will and Lou were going to live happily ever after. And we all know how that turned out....The only other thing that want to mention in this spoiler section is how surprising the "romance" of this novel was. Like I said in the earlier part of my review, I found there to be a definitely lack of romantic chemistry between Lou and Will, and I find it very hard to classify this as a typical romantic story. Will never says "I love you" to Lou, even not in his final letter. She changed his life for the better and I believe he certainly loved her in his own way, but this just isn't a standard love story. I think it shows that love isn't the same for everyone, it isn't necessarily about spending the rest of your life with someone. Love takes many forms, and I think this novel does a great job of showing that. I'm certainly ok with the unconventionality of the love between Lou and Will, but I could see how it might confuse some people or put them off because they're going into it expecting a love story, but I think you come out of the book realizing it's as much about living as it is about loving.