USA Today’s top 100 books to read while stuck at home social distancing From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me. They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . . Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady … to lose . . .
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.
Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.
A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?
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Good book that was hard to put down.
This book is by far one of my favorites over the last few years. JoJo created such a beautiful connection between Lou and Will even in the early stages as they got to know each other. I laughed, I swooned, and I cried. Ugly cried to be exact.
I absolutely loved this book and the characters but not the endong.
The book and movie were exceptional. Assisted suicide for one who suffers provokes serious review of human practices and empathy.
Love did the book! Read it extremely fast. Could not it it down!
my favorite book! The characters will stay with you long after you finish.
Lou, I loved her character, the weird thing was she gave a sense of I don’t know what to do with my life although she was 26 I got where she was coming from not knowing what to do next in life. I think in some respects although she was 26 she was still very young in respects of not knowing what to do with her life and wanting it to stay simple I think that is something we all wish. Her character I fell in love with she was so funny and awkward and I think Jojo wrote a perfect character for this book, with what the book was about in terms of subject matter this is the best character for a book like this. As I say her character was just so funny in some parts of this book I was literally laughing out loud (that is not a lol you do in boring chats either).
Will, I smiled when we were first introduced to him, like even his attitude in the first chapter just before the accident, I could see some of that in the Will who was disabled (I am not even attempting to spell the quad word). He was such an ass and he had every right to be, one thing about his character I understood where he was coming from. Putting yourself in that position where someone has to do everything for you. I’m not sure I’d be able to cope either so I get where his character was coming from. But even though he had made the deal (I WAS TOTALLY SHOCKED) he still warmed to Lou and eventually let her in instead of pushing her away. He was totally an ass to her sometimes and it just made me chuckle the fact she would be so annoyed with him and yet still want his approval on some matters. It made me smile and I loved this character.
A scene with them both together one of many I do actually love is the castle garden walk but in particular, when she freaks out in the maze that scene between both of them was perfect. I think that’s the only way I could describe it, the honesty between them both. My heart fluttered at reading and broke at the same time. Which believe me was a theme during reading this.
Patrick, Lou’s boyfriend and ex. He is a dickhead as soon as we were introduced to him as a character I hated him. He was self-centered, only cared about running, made some insulting comments about Lou and I hated especially his comments about Will and his condition, I hope Jojo like wanted us to hate him because she did a good bloody job he was despicable. All through the story when he was in it I was just like dump him dump him dump him, and it finally happened.
Katrina, Lou’s sister, their relationship is literally every sister sibling out there, I totally recognised and felt I could connect with both of them. I have a sister and it’s not easy so I get their arguments and their loving, it was definitely the show of a real sister relationship. I really liked Katrina.
Will’s dad, this dude was a class A dick as well, in some parts of the book it felt like he was hitting on Lou which made me feel very uncomfortable. Like this woman is looking after your suicidal son and he is making progress with her and in some circumstances it is like you want to chat her up what is up with that? Also a total dick for cheating on Will’s mum even if she too was an ass.
Will’s mum, I don’t think anyone could imagine being in this position, the deal she made with her son and then finding a way to change his mind. I suppose one good thing she did was bring Lou into his life because the last 6 months of his life was happy and it was because of her. I did like her a bit, some places through the book I was like please leave the page.
Lou’s mum, I liked her all the way through the book until the end. If you have read this book you know exactly what I mean.
The plot was so good, and I only cried from the point of the last few days of their holiday, (totally my way of trying to not spoil) so from that point onwards I was crying like a baby and it wasn’t really the sad part yet. Here comes maybe a spoiler bit, he goes to a place in Switzerland where they do assist suicide. A very difficult subject matter for some, I have known of cases being on the news and there have been a few petitions in the UK to get it legalised so to speak as a last resort. Instead of making them feel like a criminal for those who help. As I say very difficult subject matter and Jojo handled it well so I praise her for that. I thought there would be a little more to his death scene if I’m honest, I read the build up of Lou being with him and then it’s like get his parents in and then it went to a new chapter of like a lawyer or someone going over the case. My thought was, is that it? I thought there might be a little more to it, I don’t know if Jojo held back because of how sensitive it was but I was just expecting something more and I didn’t get it.
I was afraid to read this book because my luck with popular novels has not been very good lately. I loved it. I loved Louisa and Will. I liked Nathan and Treena and Lou’s parents.
Will Traynor was a mover and shaker when, at 33, he was hit by a motorcyclist and became a quadriplegic. He’s lived his current life for two years and has promised his parents that he will give them another six months, after which he plans to go to Switzerland to commit suicide (there’s a clinic there that specializes in assisted suicides).
Louisa Clark is 26 and has worked at her job as a waitress in a cafe for six years. She’s been dating her boyfriend, Patrick, for seven. When her boss tells her that he’s selling his shop and moving back to Australia to care for his terminally-ill father, Louisa starts job hunting. She applies for a care giver job at the Traynors, not knowing that Will will change her life.
The two dislike each other on sight, but grow to like one another and a friendship develops. When she learns of his plans to kill himself, Louisa quits, but Will’s mother talks her into staying.
Like Louisa, I was frustrated and angry by Will’s refusal to change his mind, even after she professes her love for him. I cried as they said goodbye and even harder when she makes a trip to Paris after his death.
A good read, even knowing that he is intractable in his plans. (There’s a follow-up book called Me After You, so I was pretty sure the ending would not be a happy one.) It’s a touching, poignant, well-written book and I highly recommend it.
Thought provoking and good for Book Club discussion.
Premise. It took me a while to get into this book. I read a sample months ago and felt no need to read further. I completely forgot about it till the ebook went on sale, and I bought it. After the initial disappointment (oh, no! This again!) I kept reading and…
HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS!
This book is amazing. The character development is great and in addition to the romance (far removed from any cheesy trope out there) the book dabbles quite in depth with issues of social relevance about being disabled and the ethics of assisted suicide.
WARNING: I have no heart and I cried my eyes out.
Must read!
A view of the end of life that is tragic…also one that is thought provoking
I also saw the movie and, as usual, the book is so much more encompassing.
Great book. Good characters. Haunting and inspiring.
THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL, EMOTIONAL STORY. ONE I WILL NEVER FORGET.
I could not put this book down. Great characters
There are not enough tissues in the world, Jojo! Another gutting book that I will happily read just to count my blessings. Such a story of beauty, love, loss and the search for peace.If you like books like this check out The Goodbye Boyfriend: A Stand-Alone YA Contemporary Romance Novel (The Boyfriend Series Book 3)
This book was the best I have read in a long time. I sobbed at the end. No kidding.
This book lingered in my thoughts for days after I finished it.
I enjoyed this book
I loved this book, very heart warming and tragic.
Very original story when it comes to boy meets girl.