I decided to read Me Before You as my second quarter SSR book. It starts off with a young, hard-working girl -- Louisa -- that struggles to provide for her family. Her work shuts down and she is left jobless, so she takes on a job as a caretaker for a handicapped man named Will. When she first begins working there, Will is rude, inconsiderate, and pushes her away. She considers abandoning this job, but she persists and tries to help Will. She wants to, in a way, connect with him to make both his and her life more bearable, and she actually succeeds. After this, a problem arises: Will decides that he wants to die and plans out an "ethical" killing by a doctor. Louisa refuses to accept this and tries in every way possible to show him that life has meaning.
I was able to connect with Louisa in that she doesn't give up. She tries so hard to keep this man alive and keep him from killing himself. Also, she initially planned on quitting the job but kept it to make money for her family even though she was unhappy with it. This determination she has is admirable. It kept her family afloat and sprout a new relationship. Louisa learned that, because of her determination, she was able to succeed and accomplish exactly what she wanted. If I was in Louisa's position, I would've done the same thing, and I was actually surprised when I came up with some of the same ideas she did. She is easily my favorite character in the book simply because of this.
This was also my novel that I chose for ssr and I agree strongly on your views on Lou and her ambition as well as her refusal to give up. I also agree that I would have done the same thing in order to protect my family. My favorite character in the novel was Will because I admired how he tried to feel alive again and put in an effort for the sake of Louisa but in the end it was him before her ;))))
ReplyDelete