Me before you – Jojo Moyes

Hello, my dear readers! How are you doing? Today, I have read one of the loveliest books I’ve happened to come across for ages. I shouldn’t give my opinion away at the beginning of the post since it’s obviously a review, but rules were made to be broken and bent… at least sometimes. For whom have I just broken rules? Few words:  “Me before you” by  Jojo Moyes. Let the bookish journey start! I would be happy if you joined me in this one…

SHOW ME  A BIT OF YOUR WORLD

Louisa Clark is a 26-year-old English girl, whose life has been perfectly steady for years. She lives with her family in a small house, has a long-term boyfriend, and a job in a cafe, which she really likes. Aside from that, she’s an ordinary girl. She doesn’t challenge herself and asked what her dreams are she has no idea. She lives from day to day: goes to work, comes back, does home chores, watches TV, meets with her boyfriend sometimes, repeats the cycle. Everything changes, when she loses her job in the cafe and has to look for something else to pay the bills of herself and her financially struggling family. She becomes a caretaker of Will Traynor. Will is everything Lou is not. Before a terrible accident, he lived his life as fully as possible, challenging himself in  every possible occasion. Their outlooks on life are drastically different, and as their lives come into fusion, the world changes in thousand of shades…

 

QUEENS AND KINGS OF THE STORY

Main characters of the book are realistically created. Lou is an honest portrayal of a small-town girl. She doesn’t know anything aside from her hometown, and as she feels safe there, she doesn’t want to change anything. She’s relatable in her struggles and fears, and she’s by no means perfect. She has her flaws, but she is funny, quite cheerful and her loyalty to those, who she loves is truly charming. Will makes an interesting example of somebody, who lost his identity, and everything he was and was proud of. As a disabled man, he can be ironic and simply mean to those around him, but this is his way to deal with the pain of loss. After all, he is still an intelligent, witty young man, who used to be a top entrepreneur and did everything from bungee jumping to climbing Kilimanjaro. Rest of the characters are also well portrayed.  Lou’s family is a good representation of a small-town family with all their hopes and problems. Will’s parents and his nurse – Nathan – also make a nice addition to the story and give it some more depth. Summing up: I believe all characters are relatable and  not even single of them made me think “Oh no, get out of this story”.

VERDICT TIME

Taking everything into consideration, I would give this book A+. It is not 100% predictable though it’s definitely not the other way round, too. As a small-town girl, I could relate to many of Lou’s struggles, which may make me more biased than usual, but the book is truly remarkable. The writing is  pretty plain, but not in a bad way. It’s just easy to read it and get hooked. The characters are funny and very human, and the story itself is gripping. I loved it from very first page to the very last. I would definitely recommend you to read it.  The picture below is Will’s advice, and I thought it was a quite smart thing to share with all of my female readers. Will knows what he’s saying!

For all of you who love movies more… there’s a movie coming in June! I absolutely adore Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin so I can’t wait! Actually… I decided to read a book after watching a trailer. Nevertheless, it gives away quite a lot of what’s going to happen, so if you want to read a book without spoilers… don’t watch it! If it doesn’t matter to you… watch it as soon as you can! Yes, I am writing this as I’ve seen this for 8 times just today. Obsessed? Oh, maybe. Definitely. YES! 

Thanks for reading guys! You are the best. 🙂 

Yours truly,

Jessie

Dear comfort zone…

Hello, guys! What have you been up to? Myself, I am still getting used to my new life, which is still under construction. Everything’s so new, both exciting and terrifying, and I would lie if I said, there are no lows. One minute I feel like an emperor of the world, and minutes later I want to cry and hide from the world as if I was nine all over again. What I remind myself is that actually I’m not nine anymore. When we were growing up with Disney movies, we focused on glamorous happy endings, but even in these sweet tales, a princess suffers before getting her Prince Charming. Why would it be any less complicated in real life if even Disney hadn’t made it completely easy? Tears and smiles, they come in one package. Change has to be painful, as we kill what’s old, and clean it out. It doesn’t mean that it’s not worth it, just because it hurts. It all sounds like your regular motivational speech, but it’s actually true, so please don’t mind its unoriginality.

                                                       Source: theworryfreelife.com

Now, I’m living in the big, old city and I have been dreaming about it for so long. It’s absolutely lovely, full of energy, and life feels so vibrant here. Yet, when I miss my family too much, I feel like I’m not in a right place. It may be true, it may be not, I haven’t figured it yet, and I won’t until the curtains of my fear won’t stop making the big picture unclear. That’s the point. The comfort zone is like a small room you fit into, but you can’t stretch there or add more to it.  Dear comfort zone, the bigger you are, the better everything is. I should just tattoo it on my heart, and probably so should you. Let’s not be the ones, who fear to live. Life will end quickly anyway.

                                                                Source: chanctonbury.org

Now, let’s move to something else: Starlight Bloggers Award. I was nominated by one of the most amazing bloggers out there – Fabiola. That’s truly an honor, thank you!

These are the rules:

1. Thank the giver and link their blog to your post.
2. Answer the 3 original questions then the 3 new questions from your nominator given to you.
3. Pass the award on to 6 or more other bloggers of your choice and let them know that they have been nominated by you and add 3 new questions for your nominees.
4. Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog, please never alter the logo, never change the 3 original questions and never change the Award rules.

Please don’t delete this note: the design for the STARLIGHT Bloggers Award has been created from YesterdayAfter. It is a Copyright image. You cannot alter or change it in any way, just pass it to others that deserve this award.
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These are the three original questions.

If you could describe or picture your inner soul how will you describe it? 

My answer:  I would call it a forest. It looks inviting when you get in, but the more you walk, the more patience it takes to keep walking.

What are you working on right now? 

My answer: I’m working on remaining sane in my new environment, plus on my Arabic skills. I have few ideas on what to add to the blog too, though.

 What is your creative dream project? 

My answer: Definitely a book! I’m interested in so many subjects, but love fascinates me the most. “The theory of love” may happen someday.

Fabiola’s questions: 

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to blogging?

My answer: Being consistent. When everything’s crazy, it’s hard to find time for blogging.

What advice would you give to newbie bloggers?

My answer: I’m still a newbie, but… don’t give up and connect with fellow bloggers! I have never been in such a supportive community before.

What motivates you to keep blogging?

My answer:  Joy connected to writing. And you reading it!

I would love to nominate these amazing bloggers:

  1. Charlie from https://charlottearoundtheworld.wordpress.com/
  2. Juliet from https://yoursjuliet.wordpress.com/
  3. Sonia from http://sonishspace.com/
  4. Ana from http://www.fadedspring.co.uk/
  5. Allison from http://livelifewellblog.com/
  6. Jasmine from http://colorubold.blogspot.com/

My questions:

  1. What do you like the most about blogging?
  2. If you were to choose your dream travel destination, what would you choose?
  3. What do you like more: ice or fire? And why?

Thanks for sticking with me!

Have a lovely day,

Jessie