Me Before You // Collaboreads {A book that became a movie}

It has been a hot minute since I last contributed to Collaboreads (as in there is a new host!) but I finally got my act together and read a relevant title (yay!) so I'm joining Kristin and Rachel in their book lovers link up. 

This was what I call a happy accident as I had just finished reading JoJo Moyes' Me Before You last week when a very convenient email showed up in my inbox detailing this month's Collaboread prompt. So long story short this post came to fruition : )

I may also be the only person who hasn't seen the movie yet. I'm just throwing it out there seeing as the last movie I did watch in theaters was Inside Out. Sadly, there will be no comparison between the two. BUT I did just check out After You from the library and I'm excited to start reading!

source

Goodreads Synopsis:

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has never been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex-Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair-bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A love story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

Riveting

I had a fairly good idea what this movie was about because of the movie trailers but wanted to read the book because I'm a fan of Moyes's writing. This was one of those books that sneak up on you as it starts off pretty slow and unassuming and then takes off. I can't imagine the burden that Lou placed on herself to motivate Will to want to stay alive but that caregiver-patient relationship can be all consuming.

Elements

Lou was a refreshing character; she stayed in her safe box and didn't do anything heroic and yet you felt like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders. Sadly she had had something traumatic happen to her in her teen years which explained her small existence, but instead of feeling sorry for her, I marveled at her tenacity. I also admired her relationship with her family as I am close with mine.

Will was a fascinating character as he was trapped between who he was before his accident and the man he had become due to those circumstances. It was a very heartbreaking realization in the end when he still chose death over life. I admit, I sobbed.

Associate

I can't really link another title to this one but I will say my own mom (who is an employed caregiver) is a supporter of the mercy killing community (and forgive me if that is not what they like to be called) and is adamant that me and my brother let her die when she sees fit and not "string her along if she's a vegetable." This sounds morbid and my mom is still very young and active but those are the kind of emotions this novel evoked.

Design

This was a library check out so it still had the original cover which I prefer to the movie adaptation cover (and that goes for all book to movie crossovers) 

Movie

I may also be the only person who hasn't seen the movie yet. I'm just throwing it out there seeing as the last movie I did watch in theaters was Inside Out. Sadly, there will be no comparison between the two. BUT I did just check out After You from the library and I'm excited to start reading!

Stars

I gave this a 4 out of 5. Even though I was sobbing at the end and really routing for a different ending, it was a beautiful read and one I'm happy to have experienced.