Title : Me Before you
Author : Jojo Moyes
Publication date : December 31st 2012
by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking
So, yes. I am a romance reader now. It is to be expected that in the future I will read more books of this genre. It still feels weird to me, because I used to believe that this romantic reads would appeal more to teenagers on puberty, which in my case was decades ago. Gosh, I never feel so old.
Moyes, is one of the authors who's responsible for my romance fondness. It only makes sense to read more of her works. Brilliant Francesca from Sundays and Ink recommended this book for me. I think we have similar taste when it comes to book, so I was convinced for sure.
Louisa Clark had just lost her job. A job she enjoyed, actually. How lucky! Money was tight and out of desperation, she agreed to be Will Traynor's assistant/friend/helper. Being a quadriplegic had taken a toll on Will's sanity and it was Lou's job to calm him down. Being near each other often brought of the love spark between Lou and Will.
"I just ... can't bear the thought of you staying around here forever." He swallowed. "You are too bright. Too interesting." He looked away from me. "You only get one life. It's actually your duty to live it as fully as possible."
I had to admit that I checked Goodreads back and forth before I decided to read Me Before You. It's not that I doubt Moyes' skill, but more like will this book toy with my emotion or not. I enjoyed reading it, I love Moyes' writing style, my main problem with it is that it's not as sad as I expect it to be. I thought it would make me cry, it didn't.
Not that it was a problem. This was just as good:
But I had promised. So I held him, Will Traynor, ex-City whiz kid, ex stunt diver, sportsman, traveller, lover. I held him close and said nothing, all the while telling him silently that he was loved. Oh, but he was loved.
Me Before You is a really good novel, actually. It gave me food for thought. When you totally depend on someone else doing everything for you, you will feel useless sooner rather than later. You will also notice that you life has become meaningless and I finally understand why some severely ill people want to end their life. It never crossed my mind, I believe you must never give up but sometimes in life, you have to let go. In short, Me Before You taught me a whole new and different point of view.
Did I tell you that it didn't make me cry? Well, if you look at other reviews, on Goodreads especially, you will notice that many of them using crying gifs. So, I was prepared to release my tears, but it just wouldn't come out. Don't ask me why, I believe I have my stone heart to blame. It is very rarely that I cry because of a book, so I guess the problem is on me.
4 rating for Me Before You. I prefer The Girl You Left Behind to this novel. It is much more emotional and shocking, if you ask me. I recommend this book to you romance lovers and haters. Yeah, you. I think it can change your mind still. Your turn! Who's your favorite romance author? What makes his/her work so special to you?
