|Book Review|: After You

Book Title: After You 
Genre: Drama, Fiction, Romance, Grief 
Series: Me before you 
No. of books in the series: 3
Book order: 2
Author: Jojo Moyes 

After You by Jojo Moyes 

Synopsis: 

“You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too. Live boldly. Push yourself. Don’t settle. Just live well. Just live. Love, Will.”

How do you move on after losing the person you loved? How do you build a life worth living?

Louisa Clark is no longer just an ordinary girl living an ordinary life. After the transformative six months spent with Will Traynor, she is struggling without him. When an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can’t help but feel she’s right back where she started.

Her body heals, but Lou herself knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life. Which is how she ends up in a church basement with the members of the Moving On support group, who share insights, laughter, frustrations, and terrible cookies. They will also lead her to the strong, capable Sam Fielding—the paramedic, whose business is life and death, and the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will’s past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling her into a very different future. . . .

For Lou Clark, life after Will Traynor means learning to fall in love again, with all the risks that brings. But here Jojo Moyes gives us two families, as real as our own, whose joys and sorrows will touch you deeply, and where both changes and surprises await.

After you

After you

My Thoughts: 

I have entirely opposite feelings about the book. I liked the book in the sense that it tells about Louisa's journey through grief; her coping mechanisms, change in her personality after experiencing loss and overcoming it. The book can not be compared to the first installment in any way. Book one was a love story while book two is about loss and grief over the death of a beloved. This book comes with great character development. All the characters we came across in book one are explained in details and we get to know their lives and personalities further. 

The book starts off with a near death accident of Lou which results in her moving back to her hometown with her family. She experiences a gush of old memories, growing up with her parents in her hometown, working in Will's house and realizes how much she misses family life in the big city. Everyone around Lou is wary of her, thinking she maybe suicidal and tried to kill herself. Lou comes off as a complete mess at the start of the book and how can she not be? She lost the love of her life. Albeit she knew that Will was eventually going to die but it hits you like a mountain when your loved one passes away. It alters your mind set, your perceptions and personality. It takes time to digest the fact, that person is no longer in your life, or this world and no longer shall be ever for the rest of your existence. In Lou's case, Will knew she loved her, yet it did not deter him from his decision and he went with it with no less love for Lou. I am thoroughly taken by Jojo's apt depiction of Lou as someone dealing with loss in her own way. We all have our ways of dealing with grief and so does Louisa. 

With the entry of a new character in this book, it shocks everyone. The book takes on a different direction from here. Jojo has portrayed it all in this book; the good, the bad and the ugly. There are light moments and then some real heavy ones to digest, only a person experienced in loss can relate to. This new character takes on full attention of Lou and its what helps Lou develop into a woman Will had originally seen within Louisa. 

We also get introduced to Lou's group of therapy. We also delve deeper into Traynor family and unfold their personalities, getting to know them closely. We see their lives after Will's passing. The book is also full of mundane details of Louisa's new workplace in the big city which is actually an airport bar cum coffee shop. She works as a waitress and her boss is a total asshole who makes her wear a neon green wig and a slutty costume. Its due to the therapy meetings that she is introduced to Sam who is her therapy member's uncle. He turns out to be the same person who was also her paramedic when she met an accident in the beginning of the book. Gradually their relationship develops over the commonality of dealing with a loved one's loss. Lou's budding relationship tells us that she is slowly overcoming the grief of Will and moving on with her life at her own pace. 

We get to see how Lousia turns out to be the person Will had pointed out her to be when he met her the first time. We experience how she becomes this strong, collected and mature confident woman from a silly, oddly dressed, small town door mat of a girl. Not only this, a lot of people from Lou's therapy group also find peace and closure. This "new secret character" is the reason Louisa and Traynors find a new purpose in life. 

Lets not forget Nathan, the caretaker from book one. We also get to read about him from time to time. He now works in USA and offers Louisa a position there as well. Bus is Louisa ready to take this leap of leaving behind her old life, people and loved ones? I guess we shall see that in book three. 

A lot of people feel that Louisa did not do justice with Will and his expectations out of her. Will wanted for Louisa to live her life to the fullest and not to settle for less and push herself for more. I feel what people failed to realize from this book is that Louisa is portrayed as someone dealing with the loss of a loved one, the man she loved the most, who left her desolate. Off course she is going to be a crying mess for a long while. She is not going to be in the right mind frame to act logical or proper. I hope people give it an honest read independent of their feelings for book one. 

Verdict: 

I enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend giving it a go. The book can not be read as a stand alone. Reading the first book is mandatory for better understanding. 

Hope you liked the review. Stay healthy and beautiful. xoxo!!!