{"id":2738,"date":"2014-03-02T11:34:32","date_gmt":"2014-03-02T19:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=2738"},"modified":"2017-08-22T10:54:49","modified_gmt":"2017-08-22T14:54:49","slug":"review-me-before-you-by-jojo-moyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=2738","title":{"rendered":"Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy: Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\u201cYou only get one life. It\u2019s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND EMOTIONALLY STUNNING.<\/strong><\/p>\n

6 MASSIVE STARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every now and then a book comes along that completely knocks you on your ass, forces you to think and feel deeply, and reminds you of why you became a book lover in the first place. For me \u2013 this is one of those books. I can honestly say that this is one of the most incredible books I have ever read.<\/p>\n

I knew before I started that it would be a heartbreaker, and it took me a while to work myself up to reading it, but I\u2019m so glad that I took the chance. Yes, I feel like a wrecked, shattered shell of a person right now, but Lou and Will\u2019s story absolutely blew me away. I was sucked in from the very first page, and couldn\u2019t put it down.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not going to talk about the story, because you just need to dive in and experience it. I just need to say that I love Lou and Will (and on a side note, they are 26 and 35, so this is not actually the NA book that I was expecting). They are both amazing characters \u2013 witty, sarcastic, and both dealing with a shitty hand. From their stilted, awkward beginning, when Lou is hired as a carer\/companion to quadriplegic Will, through ups and downs to beautiful, heart-clenching tenderness, every little moment is special. The way they find their way together, the relationship that they develop, and the impact that they have on each other\u2019s lives is life changing and extraordinary, and I adored every moment of their journey together – from the little moments that had me smiling and laughing (carrots, stripy tights, tattoos and dancing) to the absolute heartbreak of their situation.<\/p>\n

The writing is beautifully stunning! It\u2019s emotive, but Moyes manages to keep it light, which sounds really strange, but it\u2019s the best way I can think to describe it. I laughed so many times while reading this \u2013 the sarcasm and banter, and the way that Lou and Will deal with their situation is just brilliant.<\/p>\n

Moyes\u2019 style is poetic but easy to read, and it\u2019s deep and profound without trying to be. And it sets a beautiful mood for the story – which is somewhat controversial, but handled extremely well.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s such a REAL story. The characters are so real \u2013 from Lou\u2019s crazy family to Will\u2019s stuffy parents, and of course Lou and Will themselves, I could understand and empathise with everything. I thought the reactions and the direction of the storyline were believable and every little moment was perfect. I actually think this would make a fantastic movie. I could picture everything that happened as if it were right in front of me the entire time I read.<\/p>\n

And the emotion! OMG, this book wrecked me. I don\u2019t think a book has ever made me cry so much. My heart literally ached, and I sobbed for long sections of this book, and then finished it off with an ugly crying fit that lasted around half an hour after I was done. I think I may have traumatised my children :\\ The feeling that Moyes has put into this story is incredible. I\u2019m tearing up now just thinking about it.<\/p>\n

And about the ending\u2026

<\/span>Spoiler <\/div>
\u00a0I get it. I didn’t want it, it physically hurts me to think about it, but I get it.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI want him to live if\u00a0<\/em>he\u00a0wants to live. If he doesn\u2019t, then by forcing him to carry on, you, me \u2014 no matter how much we love him \u2014 we become just another shitty bunch of people taking away his choices.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n


\nYep, I absolutely get it. And as devastating as it is, after witnessing all that Will goes through, I\u2019m glad that he was able to make his final decision and do it all on his own terms.\u00a0 <\/div><\/div><\/span>\u00a0I thought it was beautifully done. So, so cleverly written \u2013 showing what I needed to see without showing too much. It was perfect.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sitting here writing this with tears still streaming down my face. I can\u2019t recommend this book highly enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cLive boldly. Push yourself. Don\u2019t settle.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

6 incredible stars.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Me Before You Duet<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"Me\u00a0\u00a0\"After\u00a0 \"\"<\/p>\n

Me Before You (#1)
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy:\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

After You (#2)<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>Review<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Buy:\u00a0Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0| \u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Still Me (#3) <\/strong>
\nTo be released 30 January 2018
\nPre-order:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy: Kindle Ebook\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback Review \u201cYou only get one life. It\u2019s actually your duty to live it as fully as possible.\u201d ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE AND EMOTIONALLY STUNNING. 6 MASSIVE STARS Every now and then a book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96,52,50,49,124],"tags":[149,48,76],"class_list":["post-2738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-6-star-reads","category-drama","category-favourite","category-feeeeeeels","category-sobfest","tag-jojo-moyes","tag-review","tag-standalone"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Me-Before-You.jpg?fit=150%2C226&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-Ia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}