Me Before YouMe Before You
Score Modern
What it's about
Louisa Clark is twenty-six, cheerful and stuck in a small English town, until she loses her job at the café. She takes a six-month position as caregiver to Will Traynor, a wealthy, sharp-tongued former banker left paralyzed by a motorcycle accident. Will is angry and has no interest in her. Lou is determined to make him smile. As they grow close, she learns why her job only lasts six months, and sets out to change his mind about the future.
Why it's worth reading
It spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list, has sold millions of copies and became a film with Emilia Clarke. It's funny, romantic and a guaranteed cry.
You'll love it if you liked
The Fault in Our Stars
It Ends with Us
The Lucky OneGood to know
It deals with assisted dying, and disability advocates criticized its portrayal of life with paralysis. It has two sequels.
By the numbers
- Readers87 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller90 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #14 of the 233 romances we rank
- #18 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #78 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #145 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Uplifting, Moving
More by Jojo Moyes
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Quick answers
Is Me Before You worth reading?
Yes. It spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times list, has sold millions of copies and became a film with Emilia Clarke. It ranks #145 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 85.1 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Me Before You about?
Louisa Clark is twenty-six, cheerful and stuck in a small English town, until she loses her job at the café. She takes a six-month position as caregiver to Will Traynor, a wealthy, sharp-tongued former banker left paralyzed by a motorcycle accident. Will is angry and has no interest in her. Lou is determined to make him smile. As they grow close, she learns why her job only lasts six months, and sets out to change his mind about the future.
How long does it take to read Me Before You?
About 10 hours (385 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Me Before You?
If you liked it, try The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover or The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks.