Me Before You

A Novel

By: Jojo Moyes

Narrated by: Susan Lyons, Anna Bentink, Steven Crossley, Alex Tregear, Andrew Wincott, Owen Lindsay

Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Discover the love story that captured over 20 million hearts in Me Before You, After You, and Still Me.

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 never 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.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common - a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

Cast of Narrators:

• Susan Lyons
• Anna Bentink
• Steven Crossley
• Alex Tregear
• Andrew Wincott
• Owen Lindsay

©2012 Jojo Moyes (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A hilarious, heartbreaking, riveting novel.... I will stake my reputation on this book." (Anne Lamott, People Magazine)

"When I finished this novel, I didn’t want to review it: I wanted to reread it...an affair to remember." (New York Times Book Review, Liesl Schillinger)

"An unlikely love story.... To be devoured like candy, between tears." (O, The Oprah Magazine)

bitter sweet

amazing story that will make you laugh, cry, and think about actually LIVING!! Loved it!!

Read this book

PLEASE read this book. It raises many questions about the right to die, and how all parties are affected. This book definitely ranks in my top ten list. Read it - you'll be glad you did.

loved it

Great listen, lovely book. I was very taken by the way the story was read and the emotions it brought out.

Bust out the kleenex!

You fall in love with the characters, you're heart breaks with them, and you have a good chuckle every now-and-again! The narrators do a fabulous job. This book kept me wanting more and more!

Love.

Loved the story, the characters... Overall joy to read even if it did make me cry a few times!

Me Before You

An amazing book that definitely can make you shed some tears. Good plot but ended very sadly.

Good story and different ending

Liked the narrators! They made the story come alive... It's a different kind of love story that leaves a mark in your soul.

can't stop listening

What made the experience of listening to Me Before You the most enjoyable?

As usual, I added this one for a dreaded road trip. I found myself avoiding stops because it held me so. Beautifully read with nuanced inflections.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Me Before You?

The birthday party scene when Will upstaged all other guests.

Which scene was your favorite?

The holiday in Mauritius.

Any additional comments?

Thought provoking take on the infirmed and those who care for them as well as a comment on class.

A book that unexpectedly touches the deepest part of my heart.

When I picked up this book, i just thought it would be a light romantic story with a happy ending. I was not worried about the emotional part until near the end of the novel. The story stirred up my thoughts about choices on one's own life. I thought first the character was so selfish to give upon everyone who loved him. But then given the health issue I experienced in the last couple of months, it hit me that if I were in the situation knowing I would be worse everyday and a burden for loved ones, I would make a similar choice. This book has provided a different perspective on life, though the idea of the choice about living or not might not be favorable by a lot of people, but such choice really needs more respect and understanding.

Absolutely Incredible

Would you listen to Me Before You again? Why?

In a heartbeat. This story was so beautifully written it was difficult to stop listening to at times. There are so many different incredible aspects to this story that it keeps you interested the entire time. There's self-hate, pity, love, admiration, pride; just everything you could ever want out of a well written book.

What did you like best about this story?

My favorite part about this story is that it takes you on a journey. You feel the same emotions that the main character feels about her employer. You first hate him, then wonder what happened to him to make him so miserable, then you move to almost feeling sorry for him and then you fall in love with him. Such an incredible story of love and the things we are willing to do for the people we love. It also shows you to not judge a book by a cover when it comes to human beings. You may think you know someone and their personal struggles simply by looking at them; this teaches you to not be so quick to judge anyone.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Everything. This is a very emotionally charged book (grab the tissues) and the narrator nailed all of the emotions that her character goes through.