weekend read: Me Before You

I just finished reading Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I am so worn out and raw.

I could not stop reading this book, I told myself when I started it that I would read like a normal person, a few pages here and there. I promised myself I would not stay up late into the night reading, I promised myself I would not ignore my work and read it on my prep period at school, and I promised I would not miss writing deadlines because of a dumb book.

I broke all those promises. I just couldn’t stop. Me Before You is about average, run-of-the-mill twenty something Louisa who works in a cafe. She’s got a steady boyfriend, no real life ambitions, and lives happily at home with her parents. But then one day the cafe closes and she is unemployed. And since she has been supporting her family while her parents have been struggling, she needs a new job fast.

After some unsuccessful hunting, Louisa lands a job being a caregiver for a quadriplegic man. It is not what she bargained for, not anything she trained for, and she’s actually pretty horrible at it. But soon it becomes apparent why this contract is only for six months. And as Louisa fights a battle she didn’t see coming, relationships deepen and time starts to run out.

Obviously, I couldn’t stop reading because time was running out!

Me Before You by Jojo Moyoes is wonderful, funny, and hopeful with a side of romance. This book would make a great book club read because it is filled with deeper questions about love, suffering, and what it means to really live. As a reader, you’re pulling for both characters so hard that even I didn’t know what I wanted to happen in the end, it’s just so beautiful and sad.