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Me Before You
Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online.
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.
Visit the Penguin Readers website
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.
When Lou Clark loses her job at a café, she is given a job caring for Will Traynor. Will was disabled in a motorbike accident. Lou knows she needs the money. Will knows that his accident took away his love of life. Neither of them know that they're going to change each other's lives forever.
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.
Visit the Penguin Readers website
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.
When Lou Clark loses her job at a café, she is given a job caring for Will Traynor. Will was disabled in a motorbike accident. Lou knows she needs the money. Will knows that his accident took away his love of life. Neither of them know that they're going to change each other's lives forever.
80 pages, Paperback
Published September 5, 2019
54 people are currently reading
791 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 8, 2024
I loved this book from start to finish-heartwarming and emotional.
November 20, 2024
Ya me había leído el original. El motivo de haber leído esta adaptación es porque lo he trabajado con unas alumnas para B1. Está bastante bien para llevar una lectura que no sean los típicos readings de texto soporífero y preguntas y respuestas.
March 15, 2025
O god, im crying like a baby. This story is 80 pages and i have been mad about how my girl is treated at home. Anoyed how Will treated her. Been exited to see a romance bloom and gutted in the end. This all a beatifully wrirren ode to life and death.
May 5, 2024
While I typically gravitate towards books I'm confident I'll enjoy (and normally, romance doesn't fall into this category), I recognize the value in broadening my literary horizons. Thus, I actively seek out opportunities to explore different genres through book clubs and hidden gems suggested to me.
I found this particular book in a book box in a quaint Belgian village, and prompted by its buzz across various book podcasts, I picked it up, and it proved to be a delightful surprise. The story revolves around Lou Clark and Will Traynor, two people from very different backgrounds. Will is in a wheelchair and wants to end his life, while Lou is still trying to figure things out. She is his carer, and with time, they develop feelings for each other.
Despite initial skepticism, the story quickly captivated me with its narrative. While some reviews touted its emotional depth, I found myself less moved, perhaps due to the predictable trajectory of a romance novel (someone will fall in love in the end, won't they?). However, the unfolding relationship between Lou Clark and Will Traynor, despite their disparities in age and Will's disability and desire to end his life, held a unique charm. What kept me engaged was the authenticity of the characters. They resisted the clichés often associated with romantic plots, remaining true to themselves amidst the challenges they faced. Love blossomed organically amid moments of humor, pain, and joy, painting a realistic picture of human connection.
I approached the book cautiously, wary of its potential to exploit heavy drama for emotional manipulation. Firstly, it's easy for authors to make readers cry by including heavy topics like paralysis, rape, and suicide in a single story. Secondly, I was concerned it would have a fairy-tale ending, with love magically solving all problems. While these concerns lingered, I was pleasantly surprised by a satisfying conclusion that didn't entirely succumb to cliché.
Overall, while my skepticism about leveraging pain for emotional impact persists, this book provided a welcome respite—a light, enjoyable read that everyone can appreciate from time to time.
I found this particular book in a book box in a quaint Belgian village, and prompted by its buzz across various book podcasts, I picked it up, and it proved to be a delightful surprise. The story revolves around Lou Clark and Will Traynor, two people from very different backgrounds. Will is in a wheelchair and wants to end his life, while Lou is still trying to figure things out. She is his carer, and with time, they develop feelings for each other.
Despite initial skepticism, the story quickly captivated me with its narrative. While some reviews touted its emotional depth, I found myself less moved, perhaps due to the predictable trajectory of a romance novel (someone will fall in love in the end, won't they?). However, the unfolding relationship between Lou Clark and Will Traynor, despite their disparities in age and Will's disability and desire to end his life, held a unique charm. What kept me engaged was the authenticity of the characters. They resisted the clichés often associated with romantic plots, remaining true to themselves amidst the challenges they faced. Love blossomed organically amid moments of humor, pain, and joy, painting a realistic picture of human connection.
I approached the book cautiously, wary of its potential to exploit heavy drama for emotional manipulation. Firstly, it's easy for authors to make readers cry by including heavy topics like paralysis, rape, and suicide in a single story. Secondly, I was concerned it would have a fairy-tale ending, with love magically solving all problems. While these concerns lingered, I was pleasantly surprised by a satisfying conclusion that didn't entirely succumb to cliché.
Overall, while my skepticism about leveraging pain for emotional impact persists, this book provided a welcome respite—a light, enjoyable read that everyone can appreciate from time to time.
April 17, 2021
Tell me the kind of love stories that you like to read?
Do you prefer the mushy romance ones where love makes your world go around or prefer the type of love story that makes you grow as an individual?
"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes is one of a kind love story that will not give you the butterfly effect that love is generally associated with, however it will help you see the love between two people from a whole new different perspective. It will help you see love as a selfless emotion that can bring two people together despite all the hurdles that might be present between them.
This is the story of Lou Clark and Will Traynor. Lou Clark is a simple small-town girl who has never expected a lot from life. She loves working in a small tea shop, The Buttered Bun, where she loves interacting with her regular customers & also loves to observe all the tourists who come to the cafe. She has a steady boyfriend, Patrick who she might not be in love with but is happy with the steadiness that the relationship provides. She lives with her parents and is pretty happy with her daily routine. She has no intention to experience life in any other way. And the one fine day she loses her job. But what has life in store for her is something that she would have never dreamt in her wildest of dreams.
Will Traynor on the other hand believes in living life to the fullest. He loves adventures, the adrenaline rush, traveling and is ready to take any risk for experiencing life. But one day he meets with a terrible motorcycle accident which takes away his desire to live. He finds everything around him joyless. He is filled with despair and hopelessness.
What Lou and Will don't know is that both of them are going to change each other's life in a way they could never comprehend. Lou with her simplistic approach towards life and Will with his "experience everything" in life attitude are like two people who would have never gotten together in normal circumstances.
Life has other plans for them and they meet and experience each other and ultimately change each other for good.
The book will fill you up with hope and gratitude. It will make you wanna embrace life. We have set this very high expectation when it comes to experiencing love when in reality it simply should be about two people coming together who can make each other better without changing their essence.
If you love to read the romance genre the go ahead and read this book. If you are someone who avoids the romance genre then also you can read this book as it doesn't have that cheesy mushy romantic description that makes love feel out-of-the-world kind of stuff.
Do you prefer the mushy romance ones where love makes your world go around or prefer the type of love story that makes you grow as an individual?
"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes is one of a kind love story that will not give you the butterfly effect that love is generally associated with, however it will help you see the love between two people from a whole new different perspective. It will help you see love as a selfless emotion that can bring two people together despite all the hurdles that might be present between them.
This is the story of Lou Clark and Will Traynor. Lou Clark is a simple small-town girl who has never expected a lot from life. She loves working in a small tea shop, The Buttered Bun, where she loves interacting with her regular customers & also loves to observe all the tourists who come to the cafe. She has a steady boyfriend, Patrick who she might not be in love with but is happy with the steadiness that the relationship provides. She lives with her parents and is pretty happy with her daily routine. She has no intention to experience life in any other way. And the one fine day she loses her job. But what has life in store for her is something that she would have never dreamt in her wildest of dreams.
Will Traynor on the other hand believes in living life to the fullest. He loves adventures, the adrenaline rush, traveling and is ready to take any risk for experiencing life. But one day he meets with a terrible motorcycle accident which takes away his desire to live. He finds everything around him joyless. He is filled with despair and hopelessness.
What Lou and Will don't know is that both of them are going to change each other's life in a way they could never comprehend. Lou with her simplistic approach towards life and Will with his "experience everything" in life attitude are like two people who would have never gotten together in normal circumstances.
Life has other plans for them and they meet and experience each other and ultimately change each other for good.
The book will fill you up with hope and gratitude. It will make you wanna embrace life. We have set this very high expectation when it comes to experiencing love when in reality it simply should be about two people coming together who can make each other better without changing their essence.
If you love to read the romance genre the go ahead and read this book. If you are someone who avoids the romance genre then also you can read this book as it doesn't have that cheesy mushy romantic description that makes love feel out-of-the-world kind of stuff.
April 7, 2020
To Jojo Moyes... Death is not a planning, its very easy to die rather to live without your loved ones.
Opppsites like Lou and Will find unique solace in each other's company. Will being rich has all he want but his car accident has destroyed his access to the outer world.Crippled in a wheel chair and living the life of a quadriplegic with no hope. Lou 's arrival as a carer changes his demeanor and things go the other way round. She tries everything to enlighten him. The last pages could have been a better to complete one more star. To destroy all the hope of readers in a few sentences wasn't expected. A novel is unsuccessful if it fails to engage readers. The beginning and end matters...
The first to the last page, it was an engaging ride. Jojo moyes has written very well that each reader will be entangled with the book until it ends.
Opppsites like Lou and Will find unique solace in each other's company. Will being rich has all he want but his car accident has destroyed his access to the outer world.Crippled in a wheel chair and living the life of a quadriplegic with no hope. Lou 's arrival as a carer changes his demeanor and things go the other way round. She tries everything to enlighten him. The last pages could have been a better to complete one more star. To destroy all the hope of readers in a few sentences wasn't expected. A novel is unsuccessful if it fails to engage readers. The beginning and end matters...
The first to the last page, it was an engaging ride. Jojo moyes has written very well that each reader will be entangled with the book until it ends.
November 24, 2024
*drying tears vicariously before starting this review*
Oh… wow.
So the movie was good, which brought me to read the second and third in a row to see how the story would continue. But, boy oh boy, was I missing out for not jumping right into this one…
Louisa Clark is that character that we all love before even getting to know her. She’s fierce, in her own bee-like striped socks. I see myself in the “being stuck in a small town in the middle of nowhere” plot, so every time this comes up I feel like part of me is there.
How she grows, together with everyone around her, makes this book one of a kind.
I’m happy that Will Traynor got such happy 6 months of his life. It’s one of those stories that are so good to read that you see yourself rooting for them as they were real people.
Happy to finally have read it! Sad that it’s done.
Oh… wow.
So the movie was good, which brought me to read the second and third in a row to see how the story would continue. But, boy oh boy, was I missing out for not jumping right into this one…
Louisa Clark is that character that we all love before even getting to know her. She’s fierce, in her own bee-like striped socks. I see myself in the “being stuck in a small town in the middle of nowhere” plot, so every time this comes up I feel like part of me is there.
How she grows, together with everyone around her, makes this book one of a kind.
I’m happy that Will Traynor got such happy 6 months of his life. It’s one of those stories that are so good to read that you see yourself rooting for them as they were real people.
Happy to finally have read it! Sad that it’s done.
August 28, 2021
💔
Though categorised as romantic novel by many, this novel gives a different dimension of love. It is not a typical love story.
The story is about Will, a person left quadriplegic after an accident and completely dependent on others, who wants to end his life owing to pain and boredom. His carer, Lou Clark puts head to toe efforts to save him from ending his life. End of the novel is so so so sorrowful, same like the broken heart put by me at the beginning of this review.
It is a book you can’t simply put down. The relationship between Will and Lou is portrayed so beautifully. 5 full stars for the writer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Though categorised as romantic novel by many, this novel gives a different dimension of love. It is not a typical love story.
The story is about Will, a person left quadriplegic after an accident and completely dependent on others, who wants to end his life owing to pain and boredom. His carer, Lou Clark puts head to toe efforts to save him from ending his life. End of the novel is so so so sorrowful, same like the broken heart put by me at the beginning of this review.
It is a book you can’t simply put down. The relationship between Will and Lou is portrayed so beautifully. 5 full stars for the writer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
January 13, 2025
I lost my review of the book, but I still remembered the feeling after reading this one. I think the character growth is magnificent. Louisa is so witty and bright and adventurous The only obstacles are her family and her lack of confidences. I think everyone in her household is selfish and she’s so selfless that everyone Exploits her kindness and thanks to Will. She finally find a place for herself and achieve what she’s meant to do. The “me before you” title suits these two characters pretty well.
The “me” before “you” self would never find the real peace and paths to live this little life.
The “me” before “you” self would never find the real peace and paths to live this little life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2025
Another year another chance to reread this book, I first read this book 8 years ago when my grandfather passed and halfway through this book my 5 year old cat passed too.
This book hits you like a train, especially if you are fresh in your grief.
3 chapters to the end I received the call that my cats urn was ready to collect and finishing the book was the hardest thing to manage.
Trying not to cry on the book, trying to read it through a pool of tears and trying not to complete fall while reading.
Every reread is another step in grief, I reread as a way to know my grief has become less painful, and it adds a comfort read to the end of the year.
This book hits you like a train, especially if you are fresh in your grief.
3 chapters to the end I received the call that my cats urn was ready to collect and finishing the book was the hardest thing to manage.
Trying not to cry on the book, trying to read it through a pool of tears and trying not to complete fall while reading.
Every reread is another step in grief, I reread as a way to know my grief has become less painful, and it adds a comfort read to the end of the year.
January 26, 2020
oh my god !!!! Its been so long that i felt i am into a book , I am a part of it, yes, i felt like i am there visualising every minute detail. A friend of mine suggested this not knowing whether I'll like it or not cause I am not that sort of a romantic zoner type of a person but trust me, this book literally made a way through me , more like into me.
All of it is so realistic and so beautifully presented that u will not feel cheated, so directly stated,so superficially written with pinch of every emotion and the thought of being stuck and relatable
till the end.
All of it is so realistic and so beautifully presented that u will not feel cheated, so directly stated,so superficially written with pinch of every emotion and the thought of being stuck and relatable
till the end.
March 21, 2021
This book was a slow burner for me, BUT, once I got into it I loved it. I fell in love with the characters and who they were.
Me Before You lead me down a road of so many emotions and I have no regrets. I am genuinely sad that it is over but I cant wait to get the next few books!
I recommend for anyone who loves a soppy book!
Me Before You lead me down a road of so many emotions and I have no regrets. I am genuinely sad that it is over but I cant wait to get the next few books!
I recommend for anyone who loves a soppy book!
July 30, 2025
I saw the film "Me Before You" when I was a first-year student. When I was working, my manager recommended this book. I didn't expect that it would surprise me so much. However, the words that the author used in this book are straightforward to understand. It touches my heart like the film brings tears to my eyes.
November 17, 2025
My fav book of all time, genuinely.
This book had me sobbing so hard I puked when he said he couldn't do it still, I thought she had changed his mind. Even after the beach scene I still hoped he would change his mind and heart and he didn't, which is fair, but oh my goodness. I sobbed the entirety of the book from the beach scene to closing the cover...
This book had me sobbing so hard I puked when he said he couldn't do it still, I thought she had changed his mind. Even after the beach scene I still hoped he would change his mind and heart and he didn't, which is fair, but oh my goodness. I sobbed the entirety of the book from the beach scene to closing the cover...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2026
SO YOU'RE TELLING ME SHE DIDN'T CHANGE HIS MIND??? AFTER ALL? 😭
The best slow burn kind of enemies to lovers, to tragic lovers in history.
my poor girl didn't deserve to feel like she wasn't enough. I wish we had more of Will's point of view, but we all know it is impossible to know how he feels if u are not on his shoes
The best slow burn kind of enemies to lovers, to tragic lovers in history.
my poor girl didn't deserve to feel like she wasn't enough. I wish we had more of Will's point of view, but we all know it is impossible to know how he feels if u are not on his shoes
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2021
i watch the movie first and finally read the book kinda spoiled but still love it. i really don’t want to end this book. the story is really heart wrenching and beautiful at the same time! my heart <<<\3
February 10, 2023
Amazing book. So sad at the end but at least Lou made a differrence to his last 6 months of his life. Loved this book my first Jo Jo Moyes read certainly won't be my last and definitely want to read the sequel.
March 8, 2020
I didn’t realise this was a shorter penguin reader book when I ordered it from the library. Was a good quick (less than an hour) read though!!
October 11, 2020
Watching the movie first spoilt it for me!
August 1, 2021
I loved this hearwrenching, beautiful yet tragic story. All the details were payed attention to, and how real it felt was all incredible. Cant wait to read the trilogies.
May 20, 2022
We should all have the right to choose our own destiny yet choosing to die is still illegal.
A poignant look at a quads struggles since his injury took the life he wanted
A poignant look at a quads struggles since his injury took the life he wanted
September 10, 2022
LOVE IT. THIS BOOK HAS MY HEART AND SOUL
January 25, 2023
Beautiful story
July 9, 2023
Definitely need tissues for the very end.
August 17, 2023
that was so sad. do it again
August 26, 2023
I absolutely love this book, definitely worth a read.
October 17, 2023
This book is so happy and sad at the same time, I love it with all my heart. Be prepared for some tears. But overall I recommend it very much especially for begginers.
December 28, 2023
It was my favorite book as a teen <3 heartbreakingly bitter sweet story
December 29, 2023
I love it. Don’t ask me why it took over a year to read.
February 20, 2024
A 20something waitress gets fed up with her job and sees an add for an attendant to care for a quadriplegic. She falls in love with
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews