Me Before You by Jojo Moyes (2012)

Simplistically, the cover does not stand out from the book shelf. A pastel colour scheme, silhouettes , the faint crease in the corner where another has flicked through the pages, read the blurb and put it back. But that's their first mistake. The first rule of reading, contorted to fit motivational quotes and other cliché verses of self esteem: to never judge a book by its cover. And for many reviewers like myself, the very cover of Jojo Moyes' Me Before You doesn't do the inside beauty of words any justice. It may seem like any other Mills and Boon, a paperback fantasy romance that captured the hearts of many desperate Australian housewives in the mid 1900s; escapist fiction that promises of a dark, handsome stranger to whisk the 'damsel in distress' away to go "tenting". Not exactly my kind of courtship thank you very much.

But this book is different. And you may be thinking, that's what she's going to say about all of them.  In all honesty, it's life-changing. It's the one that you can't stop thinking about a week after finishing, the one that gives you that spark, that realisation that the irrational actions of your past will not define you, but the journey that you make on the way and the people you touch around you. It shows the importance of being selfless, accepting and yet defiant, to challenge the perspective that most of us have underlying our thoughts: we think we know what is best for everyone around us. Because many times over, we don't, we really don't know our best intentions, and the world that we know so vividly can slip away from us in that very moment because of our decision to impose this belief on others. It is in these choice words that we put so much effort and trust in ourselves, that we fail to see from the point of view of our 'victim', the one that is to endure this over-protectiveness as if it is a life sentence. In the words of acclaimed author Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, and perhaps known more in the voice of her character Atticus Finch, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."

In following this advice, we as the reader position ourselves in the shoes of Louisa Clark, a charismatic, quirky 26 year old with a knack for outrageous outfits and making cups of tea who finds herself unemployed after her previous job at a local cafe is terminated, and in the direst of situations (as the breadwinner of her chaotic family) must renew her limited hospitality skills in another field. Attempting various positions in her local town, and finding none to suit her best, she encounters an advertisement for a "care assistant" to a 35 year old quadriplegic who after a motorbike accident two years ago, is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Enter Will Traynor, a man once of business, wealth, beautiful women and adventure who despite his initially antagonistic, cold and somewhat introverted facade, reveals his true warmth, wit and compassion; and the fragility of his condition to both Lou and ourselves, all without lifting a finger (literally). Lou's infectious happiness and proposal of adventures wears away this barrier and a firm friendship forms, breaking both Lou's insecure passivity and Will's ineptitude to see beyond his chair and disability; sharing moments together that, at best, will pull at your heart strings, and worse, make you weep like a child in the fetal position, clutching at your heart as though it might shatter into a thousand pieces. Of course, this is just hyperbolic, although Moyes' writing does has the inescapable tendency to do that to you. 

But their happiness together is unfortunately limited by factors both out of Lou's control and Will's family - there isn't much time left, and as the minutes, hours, days, months fly by- Lou soon realises what it means to have freedom, independence, the world at her feet; and a path to the future.

Plucking the book from the shelf, I added it to my towering pile, oblivious to the impact it would have on me. As all unsuspecting readers are, when we nonchalantly scan the titles for something that takes our fancy, often skimming through the blurb and borrowing it just for good measure - in case we run out of reading material on our lunch breaks. Moyes has a distinct writing ability.  You can't help but be completely absorbed by the humbleness and normality of her writing; the facts of life that are so plainly written within words that don't boggle your mind with complexity and mispronunciation, the way you can so clearly imagine Lou's crazy outfits and Will's rare but genuine smile under all that sadness. The novel is mostly within Lou's perspective, with poignant chapters inserted in the points of view of those around her  - Will, his parents, carer, and her sister Katrina - to give a different opinion on their situation, opening up emotions and events that would otherwise go untold.

I chose this book as my first review essentially because I knew it would be a tear-jerker, and possibly have me with mascara-smudged and red-rimmed eyes - which it certainly lived up to expectations - and because it had been recommended to me countless times. Me Before You is not just for those who enjoy a good romance, but for the ones who need a kick start on life- you need to realise how important it is to just live.