I read Me Before You last May right before the movie came out. A bunch of friends (mostly book club ladies) went to dinner then out to see the movie shortly after it was out in theaters.  Here’s a bit about the book:

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely 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 and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, 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?

This was a really good book. It was funny and emotional. As is usually the case, the book was much better than the movie. A couple friends hadn’t read the book and loved the movie. But comparing it to the book, the movie left a lot of information out that I thought added a lot to the story.

I wish we had learned a little more about Will. The book focused more on Lou and her family and background. I think a lot could have been added to the story if we knew a bit more about Will, though. I thought Emilia Clarke did a great job in this role. I think Sam Claflin did a wonderful job portraying a disabled person. I can’t imagine that was an easy role to take on.

I was both surprised and not surprised by the ending. I think in general, this book had some controversies surrounding it. From what I have read, some people saw the book as implying disabled people don’t have a meaningful or fulfilling enough life. But reading the book it didn’t feel that way.  I have the sequel to this book (Me After You) on my to-read-one-day list. I’m curious to see where the author took the characters.

Have you read Me Before You or the sequel? Have you see the movie? What did you think about them?

Happy reading!