(Me Before You #1)
Published: December 31, 2012 by Viking
Source: Purchased
Summary from Goodreads:
Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.
Me when I reach the last 30 pages of book: Full body sobbing, mascara smeared all over my face, the pile of crumpled, snotty tissues beside my bed grows at an alarming rate.
You guys. YOU GUYS. I am obsessed with this book. I can not properly iterate my love for this book. It has consumed my entire being. That said, I am sorry if this review is an absolute mess.
I've decided to break the book down and discuss some of the most prominent aspects.
THE WRITING: I was hooked from the beginning. I can't really describe what makes the writing so great, because it's not especially poetic or anything, but it flows really well. Lou's voice was strong and engaging. I loved being in her head. Also, this book takes place in the UK, and, as a US resident, I found it really interesting to read from that perspective, with the dialect differences and whatnot.
THE MAIN CHARACTERS: Will and Lou are EVERYTHING, you guys. Everything. They are both clever, and, deep down, beautifully kind. They are both wonderfully developed -- with their complicated lives and feelings -- and they experience different, but equally dynamic, growth. I was so incredibly invested in these characters and I am STILL invested in them. They will live in my heart forever and ever.
ROMANCE: Okay, what I find so incredible about this novel is that while it is about the romance, it's also just so much bigger than that. It's about these characters coming together and changing each other's lives, about finding happiness in unexpected places. Will and Lou were just unbelievably lovely together. They did everything to make each other happy. Lou was the only person Will could really talk to, and vice versa. Their relationship transcended the wheelchair and the dark feelings.
FAMILY: The family dynamics in this novel are so delightfully complex! Both Will and Lou have families who love them deeply, but are far from perfect. Their families could be mean and frustrating. They can ask too much. They can be selfish. But at the end of the day, the love is there, and that's so realistic. There were times when I really hated Lou's family especially, but times are tough for them, and they're not going to be all rainbows all the time.
OTHER CHARACTERS: Aside from the family, there are really only two secondary characters: Nathan--Will's nurse--and Patrick, Lou's boyfriend. Nathan was a good character, but not particularly special to me. I like how much he obviously cares about Will, though. Patrick on the other hand...Fucking Patrick. He was such a tool. I just, I couldn't deal with him. Of course, that's the point. But still. Screw Patrick.
I would not change anything about this book. It was stunning and poignant and emotional and everything I've ever needed. It's technically an adult book, but it reads a lot like a YA book. And I just think everyone in the entire world should read this novel and fall in love with it the way I have.
5/5 (more like a gazillion/5)
