ME BEFORE YOU

Author: Jojo Moyes

Age: Adult

The plot, in brief—a love story about a quadriplegic and his caregiver—seems like it would be either terribly sappy or horribly depressing. In fact, it is emphatically neither. There are parts that might make you cry, yes—but on the whole it is more funny and real than anything else. The main characters are drawn in such a way that you feel empathy for them instead of pity. And the supporting characters, mostly family members, are multidimensional and real as well—each flawed in their own ways but also loving and lovable. This was a difficult book to put down.

Before the accident that left him unable to perform even the simplest tasks without assistance, Will Traynor was a powerful young businessman with a penchant for risk taking, world travel, and beautiful women. Louisa Clark, on the other hand, has always preferred to stay within the narrow comfort zone of her tiny village and her plodding routine, going nowhere and interacting with no one beyond the circle of her family; her long-time, rather dull boyfriend; and the regular customers at the tea shop where she has worked for years. When the tea shop unexpectedly closes, she is left without the small income that her family (mother, father, aging grandfather, annoying sister-who-was-supposed-to-be-the-brainy-one-but-got-pregnant-and-had-to-drop-out-of-college, and young nephew) depend on to help make ends meet. Job opportunities in her village are slim. In theory she is lucky to find a position as caregiver/housekeeper/babysitter for Will—it’s that or the chicken factory!—but he is cranky and verbally abusive and she can’t really stand him.

Of course, over time the two warm to each other. As Louisa begins to understand how Will has struggled to come to terms with the loss of his former life and independence, she transforms into a woman on a mission—to help Will find the joy in life again. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that as each brings a fullness to the other’s life that was lacking before they met, they each also come to fear that the other’s lasting happiness cannot be achieved without sacrificing their own feelings.

  

What to read after this: If you find yourself in need of a more “conventional” British romance, I suggest the works of Sophie Kinsella…guaranteed to make you laugh but NOT cry. :)