***
please note, this review may contain spoilers***
Summed
up in a sentence? "Tear-jerker,
if only I'd finished it!”
SYNOPSIS
Louisa
Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady
boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than
their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for
ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after
an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme
sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live
the way he is.
Will
is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid
gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected.
When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out
to show him that life is still worth living.
A
love story for this generation, Me
Before You brings
to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a
heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making
the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart ?
MY
OPINIONS
I
didnt finish it.
I
know, I know, I'm a terrible person for not finishing THE novel of
2016, but my heart just couldnt take it. Due to the film release and
such a big hype around it, I thought I had better pick it up to see
what it was like. I knew that it would be emotional and knew all
about the letter, but I just couldn't find it in my heart to finish
it.
I
got to a certain point (in the airport scene) and just thought, you
know what, if it ends here, then I'll be happy. Everyone is alive,
everything seems okay, no sign of death etc, but I knew it just
wasn't to be. I knew that the airport scene was most likely the start
of a downward spiral and knew it wasnt something I wanted to read.
Now
I totally understand just how powerful a book this is. The plot-line,
the writing, the captivating characters. But the more I read it, the
more I just felt myself getting more and more upset at the prospect
of the ending that was before me. I know I should have just finished
the book, I was so close to the end, but I just couldnt. I didn't
have it in me to continue reading a novel where I knew the main
character would severely deteriorate, and as I am currently in a
similar family situation (sort of), I just did not want to continue.
What
I did read of the book however was remarkable. Seeing this bright
young girl with hopes and ambitions take on a task she had never even
considered before, and tackling everything that comes with it, was
something I felt would relate to pretty much any type of reader. I
also adored the relationship between Lou and Will, as well as the
relationship between Lou and Wills' parents. They understandably have
a lot to deal with, as well as bringing in someone new to care for
Will, that also just wants to let him see the world in a way that he
perhaps once knew, without all the backstory his parents had known.
One issue I had with this however, was the way in which they deceived
Lou into believing this was a position of care, rather than a
position of persuasion. Obviously if she knew from the beginning what
her role really was, then she would most likely have not taken the
job. Maybe I am just being picky now, but I just had to get that off
my chest!
To
be fair to JoJo Moyes, the part of the book that I did complete, I
absolutely lapped up. Her writing style kept me wanting more after
each chapter. The way she developed her characters throughout the
story was also interesting. I found myself becoming more and more
attached to the characters and their “realness”, to the point
where sadly I had to stop reading. That's not to say I didn't enjoy
the novel and writing style, because I did, I just wasn't emotionally
prepared for the books ending.
MY
RATING
Overall,
I feel this book deserves to be finished by me eventually. I'm rating
it three out of five stars. Whilst I did enjoy the writing style, and
the progression of characters, along with the reality of the
backstories, I felt the direction in which the novel was heading was
set up for heartbreak, and I just could not face that. It is most
definitely a tear-jerker, if only I'd finished it.
Posts
