ME BEFORE YOU

Couldn't read it without tearing. Heart touching novel.

Un libro extraordinario, original y totalmente encantador. Louisa Clark, una joven de 29 años con una vida nada extraordinaria, se convierte en la cuidadora de Will Traynor. Este, era un joven que tenía todo hasta que por culpa de un accidente, no puede moverse más. Una historia de amor realmente cautivadora, la cual no querrás dejar de leer. Recomendado para adolescentes y adultos. Si eres de esas personas que ama el romance, este el libro indicado para ti. 5 estrellas sin duda alguna. Realmente recomendado. Los personajes están muy bien desarrollados, la historia es increíble, la narración de igual manera y no te aburrirás en ningún momento con este.

5 stars means you love the book, and I did. That said, the ending kinda sucked (will say more on this in a moment). But you kinda know it will going into it, so readers just need to know that and accept it, or not read it. Is it sad, yes. But is it also heartbreakingly beautiful and worth the read? Absolutely. It's kind of like that expression, "To have loved and lost is better than to never have loved at all." That sums up the book, and also the reading experience. First, it's so rare to read a mainstream fiction book with a main character with a disability who is still sexy, dark, complicated, sweet, rawly human, and flawed. Will's anger at what he's lost is justified, and something so few can understand or tap into. But Moyes explored the situation beautifully, showing both sides of the coin: those who are able to live with such a limitation and form a new life, and those like Will, who want nothing to do with their new, less-desired lives. The layers in this novel, and how they make you think, are simply beautiful. I love Lou's character, and how she goes about trying to change Will's mind about his desire to live with this severely debilitating and limiting condition. And Will...sigh. The best loved handicapped person in writing history EVER. I could totally see falling in love with him, too. He's so sharp and smart and witty and, yes, sweet. You KNOW where his anger and sharpness is coming from, and love him despite it. You almost weep that things can't be different for these two. But if they were, would they even have had a shot? Doubtful. From the beginning, I knew in my heart the ending wouldn't be happy. But I kept thinking, "If this doesn't have a happy ending, I am going to be so pissed off." And...shocker!...it didn't. But I wasn't really pissed. I mean, the whole point of the story is that everyone is control of the life they want to live. And when you think of Will before, and Will now, you can understand from his point of view why he doesn't want to live this way any more. Doesn't mean I agree with his decision, but I can certainly understand it. And as much as I wanted to kick his ass and make him want to FIGHT for the love and life that was being offered to him, I can see why in his mind, it would fall short, or he'd grow resentful, or always feel inadequate. A man like Will is not used to being at someone else's mercy. Some people can get over that, others never will. We'll never know (as much as we THINK we'd know) what we'd do until we are in that position, dependent on caregivers for Every. Single. Need. So, did the ending suck? Yes, because it didn't end how I wanted it to. But did it really suck? No, it was realistic. And some readers don't want realistic. They want a HEA despite all odds. Usually, I do too. But this made sense. And I still love Will even more for how much he did for Lou in the end. Melancholic sweetness, wrapped in intelligence, wit, and humor, Me Before You is a read well worth weeping for.

A beautifully written story of life, love, adversity and freedom. It is a story of a young man -Will - who became paralyzed as a result of an accident. Prior to the accident, Will lived a full life. He worked and played to the fullest, enjoyed arts, travel, music and culture. The accident made him a paraplegic and, as such, he became totally dependent on others for the accomplishment of his most basic needs. From being a Man of the World, he became a prisoner of his chair. He and his parents made a pact on how to manage the immediate future. To assist him his parents hired a young woman -Louisa - to be one of his carers. She was poor, uneducated and without any major dreams of the future. Will and Louisa disliked each other from the very beginning but she devoted herself, despite his rudeness, to making him learn to enjoy the little things in life. He later softened his attitude towards her and became her Pygmalion - opening her eyes to art, music, literature - and they finally fell in love. Underlying all of this is the fact that, if Will lives, his parents and Louisa will ever be free to live a full life. His mother's whole life will be circumscribed by Wills needs. She dearly wants to separate from Will's father who also wants to be free. Neither of them will ever be free. The same applies to Louisa who loves him and, for the time being, is willing to devote her life to Will. Most fundamentally, Will never be free of his chair, of his carers or to be anything that he wants to me. Their freedom depends on his dying but they love him too deeply to want it to happen. Will's freedom depends on his release from his mortal coils. The writer takes the reader through a range of strong and conflicting emotions as the characters wrestle with their dilemmas. It was a very satisfying read. The emotional problems posed were complex and the writer drew me into agreeing, disagreeing with characters, hoping that they would do something different and knowing that no action would be fully satisfying. A good read.

It has been three days since I finished this book, and I still don't know what to say about it. I decided to read this book after viewing the movie trailer. It's not my normal pick, being that it is 1. a love story and 2. plausible. I loved Lou. She is a wonderful, quirky, lovable character. Will - now he was a great character for an entirely different reason. I loved his snarky remarks. Both characters had me laughing. I'm unsure if anyone has tackled the Death with Dignity topic in this format before, but I applaud Jojo Moyes for the courage to pen this novel. SPOILER ALERT!! ...keep scrolling This is not a story with a happy ending. It breaks your heart. This is not only because of Lou's heart breaking, but because as a reader one feels the loss of Will. These characters are very realistic. It is a story of love, respect, and loss. I don't know what else to say and I have no clue how to rate it.

Primeiramente, não se enganarem com a capa desde livro! Ela dá a impressão de uma leitura agradável e fofa quando na realidade estamos tratando de uma estória triste e comovente sobre um assunto delicado e difícil de abordar. Este livro definitivamente não se encaixa na categoria chick-lit como a capa nos leva a crê. E, com certeza, vai muito mais além do que uma simples estória de amor. A prosa conta a estória de Will Traynor, um homem de sucesso, que aos 35 anos de idade vivia uma vida plena e cheia de aventuras até que um acidente o deixa tetraplégico. Will conta com a ajuda de Nathan, seu enfermeiro, para assisti-lo com relação às suas necessidades físicas, mas sua mãe acredita que ele também precise de alguém que o ajude a lidar com o lado emocional. Uma pessoa que lhe faça companhia. Louisa Clark (a Lou) é uma garota simples que viveu todos os seus 26 anos de idade em uma pequena e pacata cidade da Inglaterra chamada Stortfold Castle. Ela gosta de usar roupas coloridas e é bastante espirituosa. Ela se sente confortável com a vida que leva, trabalhando em um café e namorando o mesmo rapaz desde os 19 anos. Mas, seu mundo vira de cabeça para baixo quando o Café aonde ela trabalha fecha as portas. Ela precisa encontrar outro emprego urgente. Qualquer coisa serve, já que a sua família depende de sua renda para viver. Como Lou só terminou o ensino médio, as suas opção de empregos são muito limitadas, e é como muita relutância, mas sem outra opção, que ela aceita o emprego de cuidadora de Will pelo prazo de seis meses. No início os dois realmente não se dão bem. Obviamente devido as circunstâncias em que Will se encontra, ele está sempre irritado e acaba sendo muito grosso com a Lou. No entanto, aos poucos, Louisa, com suas roupas chamativas, seus comentários irônicos e a sua audácia acabam amolecendo Will, e eles rapidamente se tornam bem próximos. Mas, Will possui um segredo... Quando eu comecei a ler este livro, eu achei que ele iria contar uma estória no mesmo estilo do filme francês “Os intocáveis”. Ledo engano. Enquanto o livro trata do mesmo assunto, um cuidador que não sabe nada sobre tetraplégicos e um tetraplégico rico e ranzinza, o assunto central do livro é completamente diferente. Aqui, o tema é muito mais político, complexo e polêmico, ainda que a mensagem seja a mesma: devemos viver a nossa vida o tanto quanto possível. Eu não vou negar que o enredo do livro é bastante triste. Se eu chorei? Sim, é difícil não se emocionar. O desabrochar do romance em os dois protagonistas foi um dos mais comoventes e edificantes que eu já li em muito tempo. Will e Lou mudam um ao outro de forma marcante. Louisa deu ao Will a felicidade que ele não experimentava há muito tempo e por sua vez Will deu à Louisa a determinação para fazer algo com sua vida e não se acomodar. “Como eu era antes de você” é uma história comovente sobre encontrar o que torna a vida digna de ser vivida e decidir o que se é o suficiente. Eu definitivamente recomendo este livro. Se por um lado ele te deixará com lágrimas nos olhos por outro lhe fará dar valor a vida.