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ME BEFORE YOU, published in 2012, is a women’s fiction novel by Jojo Moyes. ME BEFORE YOU is book 1 of the Me Before You Trilogy.
ME BEFORE YOU spent 7 weeks at #1 on the NYT Bestseller List. It has sold over 14 million copies worldwide. The movie was released in 2016.
No. And no to seminude bar staff. Or masseuse. Or webcam operator. Come on, Syed. There must be something I can do that wouldn’t actually give my dad a heart attack.
Table of Contents
ME BEFORE YOU Synopsis
They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .
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.
ME BEFORE YOU Analysis Of:
Me Before You is used as an example in the following posts. Check them out!
| Comparing Point of View | A comparison of point of view in literature (first, third limited, and omniscient) including modern fiction examples. Which is right for your novel? |
| the Inciting Incident | Master the inciting incident with these 4 essential elements. |
| Dialogue Tags | Learn why “___ said” is the best dialogue tag you can use (plus breakdowns of modern fiction). |
| Women in Fiction | Learn how to write fully developed female characters by avoiding common (and harmful) tropes. |
ME BEFORE YOU Book Review
I wasn’t a fan of ME BEFORE YOU – and that’s putting it mildly.
I felt like the overall theme of the book was “being in a wheelchair means your life is terrible.” And I think that’s a pretty damn terrible attitude. The ending – while not as predictable as you’d expect from the otherwise cliche treatment of the main character – completely reinforces my theme idea.
Even though I don’t think anyone should read this book, that’s just my opinion. What do others think?
Moyes does a fantastic job developing her characters and she made me feel like I really knew the people that were relevant to the story.
– Making Thyme for Health
It’s hard for me to convey how much I hate Jojo Moyes’ supposedly romantic novel Me Before You, and dread the movie that is due out later this year.
– Shane Clifton
My recommendation to you, if you haven’t read it already, is to go get it RIGHT NOW and start!
– Sugar and Soul
Writing Practice
Check out these writing exercises and prompts inspired by ME BEFORE YOU.
Prompt: The Opening Paragraph(s)
This is the opening paragraph of the novel. Ignore everything you know about the story and use it as a writing prompt.
Your Task: Using as much detail as possible, write another 300+ words.
Prologue: 2007
When he emerges from the bathroom she is awake, propped up against the pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed. She is wearing one of his T-shirts, and her long hair is tousled in a way that prompts reflexive thoughts of the previous night. He stands there, enjoying the brief flashback, rubbing the water from his hair with a towel.
Exercise: Tense Rewriter
The prologue of this story is written in the present tense. It also occurs two years before the rest of the novel.
In my opinion, there is no reason for the prologue to be in present tense.
Your Task: Rewrite the prologue into past tense.
Need Help?
I’ll get you started
| ME BEFORE YOU | Writing Practice |
| When he emerges from the bathroom she is awake, propped up against the pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed. She is wearing one of his T-shirts, and her long hair is tousled in a way that prompts reflexive thoughts of the previous night. He stands there, enjoying the brief flashback, rubbing the water from his hair with a towel. | When he emerged from the bathroom she was awake, propped up against the pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed. She was wearing one of his T-shirts, and her long hair was tousled in a way that prompted reflexive thoughts of the previous night. He stood there, enjoying the brief flashback, and rubbed the water from his hair with a towel. |
Exercise: Tense Rewrite
Now that you’ve changed the prologue, let’s do the same thing to Chapter 1.
Your Task: Change Chapter 1 from past tense to present tense.
Bonus Task: Read the original prologue and first chapter. Then read your rewrite. Consider how the change affects the mood and feel of the book.
Need an idea?
Again, I’ll get you started
| ME BEFORE YOU | Writing Practice |
| There are 158 footsteps between the bus stop and home, but it can stretch to 180 if you aren’t in a hurry, like maybe if you’re wearing platform shoes. I turned the corner onto our street (68 steps), and could just see the house—a four-bedroom semi in a row of other three- and four-bedroom semis. Dad’s car was outside, which meant he had not yet left for work. | There are 158 footsteps between the bus stop and home, but it can stretch to 180 if you aren’t in a hurry, like maybe if you’re wearing platform shoes. I turn the corner onto our street (68 steps), and can just see the house—a four-bedroom semi in a row of other three- and four-bedroom semis. Dad’s car is outside, which means he has not yet left for work. |
ME BEFORE YOU Facts
ME BEFORE YOU Thoughts?
Have you read ME BEFORE YOU?
If so, what did you think? If not, will you?
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PS. share your exercises in the comments below. I’d love to see them.
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