Me Before You

Jojo Moyes

If anyone has any intentions of reading this book, prepare yourself with an emergency pack of tissues. Jojo Moyes created an interesting twist on the stereotypical romance, and has swept me away with her brilliant writing.

“Me Before You” follows the story of Lou Clark and Will Traynor, two individuals who, in other circumstances, would have never come in contact with each other. Lou has the ability to do great things but also has the tendency to settle in life. Will was an adventurer of sorts; he climbed mountains, traveled the world, and had a prosperous life ahead of him. When Will gets caught in a fatal accident that leaves him paralysed and with a death wish, Lou becomes his untrained, unqualified and overemotional caregiver on a mission to make him appreciate life again, maybe even enough to want to live.

To get an idea of what the book would be like, I tried to initially relate it to other popular romances like “The Fault in Our Stars” or “Eleanor and Park.” While those seemed to represent the book perfectly at first, near the end I realized how unique “Me Before You” actually was. Moyes created an intricate storyline that represented something new to every audience. She did not just write a romance novel, no matter what the cheesy quotes may seem like. She wrote a realistic story about settling for less than perfect, about being trapped in the day-to-day routines of life out of fear of venturing out for more. Moyes wrote about how love can become a support for some people, and how some people just cannot be saved.

Moyes’ capability to create such a complex group of characters – each one recognizable just by their phrases in the book – immediately left me in awe. Her beautiful writing held the whole book together, and made the wonderful story she created all the more enjoyable. She wrote about a strong (although sometimes very confused) female lead who’s awkward and witty ways of living life represented most everybody in this day and age. Moyes’ clever character development and relatable stance on the world kept me captivated from beginning to end of the novel.
I like to think “Me Before You” represents a prime example of a time when a person’s writing actually spoke to people and gave them a new realization of the world around them. After reading all of the teen fiction that has become so popular, people tend to forget that the words authors write do not just tell stories, they stand to make people believe in something, or introduce them to a new way of thinking. Moyes used her writing to encourage people to step out of their comfort zones and really live their life. She made a point of not just focusing on the romance aspect of the novel, but making sure the audience understands having support from family and and friends matters just as much. Moyes’ original take on the stereotypical romance swept me away and left me yearning for not just a box of tissues, but also more of her fabulous writing.