After You - A Review By Jen

What is it about?
It’s all about life after Will for Lou. Enter grief counselling and a fireman. 

Who is it for?
Fans of Me Before You.

Genre?

Life Angst.

Is it any good?
I love a sequel, but did I love this one? Yes and no. The sequel to Me Before You brings back Lou after Will’s death. Bring in a near fatal accident and Lou has to realise there is life after the love of her life.

The book follows Lou through the grieving process, and trying to get on with her life. I understand the reasoning behind the novel, as in could lightning strike-twice? Could this be another hit?

There are a few little twists in the book, including the introduction of a character I found unlikeable: Will’s daughter, which he didn’t know about and nor did anyone else. I just found her really annoying and full of teenage angst. I just felt it wasn’t needed. The link to Will is required, but his mother who played a big part in the first book could have performed this function. But you can’t like everything about a book can you? There is no such thing as a perfect book. If Will was kept alive for the sake of a sequel, or if she had succeeded in ‘saving’ him, would it have been the same book? No, but in a way Lou now needs to save herself and live.

I like the idea, it was a twist I didn’t see coming. It just didn’t work for me.
There is a life after Will, but just not that much of it.

Was the end satisfactory?

Yes, just wanted more from the book itself. 

Would I recommend the book?
I would say it’s only really for fans of the first.

Read it if you like:
Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

Me Before You - A Review By Jen

What is it about?

Boy has an accident..... Girl has boyfriend who is a jerk who is more interested in running and wearing lycra than her…. Girl meets boy who is now a quadriplegic. Both damaged.
 

Who’s it for?
For adults really, but okay for the younger adult.

Genre?
Romance

Is it any good?
Yes. I guess it could be considered as a modern day Jane Eyre but with a twist. Jane in a way saves Rochester, but Lou in a more literal sense has to save Will: his life is on the line. Will wants to die, as he feels his life is no longer worth living. Lou is hired to keep him company and give him a reason to live. Is falling in love a reason to live?

It is a heart-wrenching narrative, told through Lou’s perspective. She is feeling underwhelmed too, by her boyfriend who is forever out running and is just so annoying. So in a way, Will also saves her from a underwhelming life. A love story, but there is no madwoman in the attic!!!

Was the ending satisfactory?
Yes and no. Romantic Jen would want Will to live and them to have a loving relationship. Real Jen understands why Will had to die, even though it is a sad ending.

Rating:

4

Would I recommend the book?
Yes if you want to cry.

Read it if you like:
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

After You - A Review By Laura

What is it about?

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future...

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

Who is it for?

Young Adults on-wards

Genre?

Chick Lit/ Contemporary/ Romance Fiction

Is it any good?

I didn't have high hopes for this book after hearing Jens opinion on it and I was a bit indecisive on whether to read it or not because I loved the first book Me Before You and didn't want to ruin it for myself but now looking back I am glad that I read it, I enjoyed this book just as much as the first, I had read reviews before I began this book that advised me to read the book without comparing it to the first and I think that that is one of the main reasons why some people are rating it so low. Do not compare them!

On the back of the book we are told that a figure from Will's past appears and I thought of every possible kind of person it could have been apart from this! Jojo Moyes was really clever here! I really wasn't expecting that. One of Jens main issues with this book was with this figure who turns up in Lou's life as Lou is trying to move on from the loss of Will, Jen just didn't take to her for some reason, however, although at first I didn't think I would, I did. I absolutely adored Lily for the second half of this book. She was just so misunderstood.

If I had to chose something to grumble about in this book I would say the lack of Wills parents, I know Me Before You was based mostly on the love of Lou and Will but I think his parents played just as big and as important part in the story. I would have liked to see how they where getting on after the death of their son. I also think that the certain event that took place involving Sam was just a little bit unnecessary.

I absolutely love Jojo Moyes writing style and I will be purchasing all her other books over the next few months. 

Was the ending satisfactory?

Who doesn't love a happy ending...I really enjoyed the ending but I am so relieved that Jojo Moyes has decided to leave it there, some authors push and push to make a story into as many books as possible and then end up ruining it but I think Jojo Moyes has this sussed.

Would I recommend the book?

Yes, if you have read Me Before You, you just cannot not read the sequel!

Read if you like:

Me Before You, A Fault In Our Stars, Now Is Good, A Monster Calls

Me Before You - A Review By Laura

What is it about?

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.
What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.
Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.
What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

Who is it for?

Young Adults and older

Genre?

Chick Lit/Contemporary/Fiction

 

Is it any good?

I first became aware of this book whilst in work, everyone was asking me for 'me before you' or 'after you' and it took me a while to actually wonder why it was so popular, I was a bit slow on the uptake of this books existence, so when the book finally appeared in work I just had to see what the fuss was about and from reading the blurb alone I knew I had to jump on the bandwagon.

I bought this book when it was the half price deal of the week and literally flying off the shelves, however for some stupid reason I decided to leave it sitting on my shelf for months because I wanted to read it on holiday, which I did. In the space between me buying it and my holiday the movie adaption came out and I began hearing a lot about the controversy of this book and before long I knew what happened and I thought it had been spoiled for me, I say thought because I was wrong, there is so much going on in this book that it would be impossible for the whole story to be ruined for you. With past reads I have found that some authors focus on one issue alone making the read a bit tedious however there is so much going on with other characters in this book that is actually makes it a little bit more realistic... When bad things happen life doesn't stop for anyone and Jojo Moyes conveyed that in this read and in certain aspects building a foundation for the sequel.

I loved the first person point of view throughout this book, mostly focusing on Lou but at certain stages throughout the book we where given the point of view of one of the other characters, breaking the book up nicely for small intervals, I would have liked to get a glimpse of Wills point of view but at least we got his letter at the end so I will say no more on that matter. The dialogue between characters was written so well that whilst I was reading it I could actually see the conversation unfolding. 

I laughed while reading this book and I definitely cried whilst reading this book it had me gripped from the get go right till the last page and I am both looking forward to and dreading the movie adaptation, I don't think my heart can take it. 

I don't really want to go into much more detail in case some how this book has not yet been spoiled for you.
 

Was the ending satisfactory?

The ending had me so gripped, I felt as though I couldn't read fast enough and I think I wanted Will to change his mind just as much as Lou did. However I am glad that there was a sequel so that we got to see how everyone was coping.

 

Would I recommend the book?

Without a doubt!

 

Read it if you like:

A fault in our stars, Now is good