Me Before You, Jojo Moyes, Penguin Random House, ISBN: 9780718181185
JOJO Moyes is a true master of her craft as Me Before You is beautifully written. Her characters are damaged but at the same time, powerful.
Lou is a simple woman with a larger than life personality but is quite content to live out her life working as a waitress in a coffee shop in her small town when her life is suddenly turned upside down as the eatery shuts its doors and she is forced to find a job, any job.
Once independent, sporty and adventurous in all aspects of his life, Will Traynor finds himself completely reliant on others after a horrific biking accident leaves him wheelchair-bound. He can only make use of his upper extremities and partial use of one of his hands. He falls into a depressed state, has pushed away his friends and has found a way to end it all.
The colourful and cheery character that is Lou needs a job to help keep her family afloat and Will is in need of a carer.
The protagonists lead relatively ordinary lives and face real-world, everyday problems and then their worlds collide in an extraordinary burst of colour that you can’t help but fall completely and hopelessly in love with the novel.
The world Moyes has created is easily relatable and artistically constructed.
It is an unputdownable read, even for those that are not sold on the idea of a romance book. The storyline will grip you until the very last page – you will not be disappointed.
