Friend Friday #5...

Hi!  I’m Vic and I’m reading the book called Me Before You written by JoJo Moyes.

I think this book is both heartbreaking and encouraging because you have this young lady Lou, who leads a very ordinary life, until she loses her job and ends up taking a new job.  The new job is taking care of a wealthy man her same age that is paralyzed.  Lou really has no idea what’s she is doing, but through the weeks, she develops a confidence and determination to make her patient a better person.  As she stumbles across a secret, Lou develops a plan to change the life of Will only to find her getting closer to him.  Will brings out a side of Lou she didn’t know she had and when you think things are going to work out tragedy strikes and Lou is left deciding how to move on.

My favorite part in the story is when they go on their first outing because Lou feels she has the perfect day planned.  She has researched and made the proper precautions for someone in a wheelchair.  Only to get there and it has rained and the parking lot is muddy.  The wheelchair gets stuck, they get kicked out of the restaurant their eating in, and they lose money on the horses they bet on.  Even though all things look bad, on the way home Lou finds Will with a small smile on his face.  Something that hasn’t been there in years.

The character that I liked best is the main character, Lou.  Lou comes from a very ordinary family with really no expectations for Lou, other than help provide money for the family.  Lou is happy with this life until she takes a job helping Will.  Will exposes her to a side she didn’t know she had.  She becomes strong, determined, and willing to go that extra step to make someone else happy.  She even finds true love, which is more painful that she would ever think it could be.

I think the author wrote this book because she wanted to provide the reader with an acceptance of self.  This book ends in tragedy, but throughout the author provides the reader with characters that have to except who they are, make the right choice, and then grow within themselves.

I would recommend this book to my friends because it pulls at your heartstrings but also shows you the true meaning of change.

Reading to me is an adventure because every time I read a book I become that character, live in that setting, and feel their emotions.  

*Vic is a great friend and a colleague at my school.  We have taught together for many years.  We are also both members of the BBC (Boy's Book Club).  The two of us spend hours talking books for kids and adults.  I was thrilled that he was willing to post a book he read this summer.  It is a stellar read so be sure to read it if you haven't.