Book Club-Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes

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.