Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

When I see the title of a book mentioned a few times by different friends, I typically get the book to read it myself. Such was the case with Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. I hadn't read anything by the author before, so I went to the library and picked up that book and another of hers.

I admit that I was guilty of judging the book by its cover. It looked, to me, like the perfect summertime love story. Well, as it turns out, that was only partly true. When Lou loses her beloved job, she is left no choice but to take a job as the caretaker for a quadriplegic named Will. Lou and Will develop a fondness for one another, but Lou soon learns the real reason that she was hired. Her job then takes on a new urgency as she tries to give Will a reason to live.

This touching story was an easy, fast read, but it was definitely not the feel-good, read-while-relaxing-on-the-beach book that I had envisioned. The book asks its readers to redefine what it means to truly love someone. Would you allow yourself to go through hell if it meant that the one whom you love is finally getting the only thing he really wanted in life?

I'll be thinking about this book for awhile. Four of five stars.