Me Before You

Me Before You has appeared on almost every “Top Books...” list I've seen. It wasn't until I saw the trailer for the upcoming movie that I decided to give it a chance.

For anyone unfamiliar with the story.... Me Before You is about a woman named Louisa Clark who is hired to assist a quadriplegic man, Will Trayner. He is determined to end his life. She is determined to stop him.

I finished this book about and hour ago and I'm struggling with how to write this review. Was it a great book? No. Was it a terrible book? No. It was just ok.

This book featured a heart-wrenching plotline that was used to sell millions of books. Yes. I said it. This book was written to make the bestseller list. Is used the formulaic plotline of a thriller novel. It reveals pieces as it deems them necessary to the story. It jumps forwards and backwards in time. Occasionally it jumps between characters. All of this leads to the climactic ending. Who will win? Louisa or Will?

I didn't hate the characters. I really like Will, Lou (and her bumblebees), and Nathan. The rest of the characters were forgettable. In fact, it took me almost 100 pages to register who Thomas and Patrick were.

My real problem was with the writing. A chapter would start (in a boring, almost lecture-like tone), followed by buildup into a climactic reveal or moment. I'd be eager to find out what happens, flip to the next chapter, then bam... complete change of scenery or topic. It was frustrating. Incredibly frustrating.

By the 3/4 mark I was ready for this book to end. I had read 75% of the book and little had happened. It felt like a poorly chopped film by a college student. I'm hopeful the movie will be better.

Overall, the book was decent. It had some good moments. It tried to play on a reader's emotions, but much of the book fell flat. Honestly, it feels forgettable.