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 color. And neither of them knows
they're going to change the other for all time.
I am really conflicted about this book.
First, it has a splash of melodramatic romance that I don't really
love. For example,
“...I told him a story of two people. Two people
who shouldn't have met, and who didn't like each other much when they did, but
who found they were the only two people in the world who could possibly have
understood each other.”
On the other hand, hand it was hard to like any of the
characters except for Louisa’s (Lou) parents. The characters are all
pretty shallow. Lou is content to live her life doing the same thing every day.
She Is fine taking any job that comes her way..she shows now ambition. She
doesn’t love her boyfriend, but doesn’t have the guts to end it. I’d like to
say that Lou as a person is still a very fluid concept. Maybe that was
intentional.
On the other hand, the whole book has a positive message.
“You only get one life. It's actually your duty
to live it as fully as possible.”
The actual story and interaction of the
characters seems pretty realistic. Lou has a love hate relationship with her
sister. They will fight but also go to each other for help and advice.
Everything involved with Lou’s job of taking
care of Will is real and raw. To me where was no sugar coating at all.
The problems Will encounters traveling with his wheel chair, the medical
dangers he faces, and the insecurity he feels when people look at him with pity
are all very believable. You start to understand how much pain Will is in
and why he behaves the way that he does. You finally star to see a more
human side to Will but there is still an overwhelming sense of selfishness as
well by the time you finish reading.
I did enjoy this book, but it deals with very
deep issues. It’s not what I would call a fun book you would choose to pick up
and read in your free time. If you are going to read this or have read it
already, I would love to hear what you thought of Me Before You.
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