After You (Book Review)

"....there would be lonely days. And bad days. And days when I wondered what the hell I had just agreed to be a part of. Because that was all part of the adventure too." ~ After You 

I received this book as a gift for Mother's Day TWO YEARS ago. I started it immediately, then stopped, then started again from the beginning, then stopped, and so forth. Until I finally finished it last night.

The sequel to Me Before You, After You by JoJo Moyes, was not as gripping as the first novel in the trilogy. What kept me going back to it, however, was my fondness for the main character Louisa Clark, one can't help but cheer for her, and pure perseverance. The novel is a bit scattered, with so much going on - things that I didn't care about as much - that I kept losing interest. However, finally, the novel took a turn for the better, and I was able to plow through it. 

In After You, readers are taken into Louisa's life after the death of Will Traynor, a quadriplegic man whom she cared for and eventually fell in love with.  The first novel was filled with inspiration and growth for Louisa, the second novel, however, came short of evoking any true emotions for me. Perhaps, as is the case with so many trilogies, this sequel was simply transitional to get us to the third novel, Still Me, which I feel obligated to read because I truly relate to Louisa. 

Readers are somewhat taken through her grieving process, as Louisa tries to pick up the pieces of her life. However, she is met with one obstacle after another blocking her way to the right path. She will need to learn to let go, love again, and live the way Will had taught her.

"Do you know how stifling it is to be told you are never going to be able to change? For the rest of your life? Because nobody else wants you to? Do you know how awful it is to feel stuck?"  ~ After You

While Me Before You had me in tears, After You was more predictable and the characters never quite sucked me into their world. If you enjoyed the first novel, I recommend you give this one a go, if for no other reason than to revisit with Louisa. Otherwise, give it a pass. 

Read more of my Book Reviews.

Read also my movie review for the film adaptation of Me Before You.