After You, Jo Jo Moyes, author, Anna Acton, narrator
I want Louisa Clark to be my new best friend forever! I seriously cannot wait for this author to write the next book in this series, for surely there will be another. I simply enjoyed watching Louisa grow into a full-fledged adult, watching her character morph from a young woman with no ambition, no dreams, into a woman who will take risks, fall in love, reunite with her family, show compassion and courage, and manage to keep all things in perspective, much to her own surprise. I liked the way the author used flashbacks in the narrative to help those who read the first book “Me Before You”, to recall the basic story, and to also introduce it to those who had not. I want to have another window into Louisa’s next stage of life. Many months after the suicide of Will Traynor, the man for whom Louisa was a caregiver, she still mourns the loss. She loved him and her grief has overwhelmed her. She moved to London with the help of the money he left her, but has not, as he had wished, begun to “live life”. She tried to travel, but she gave up quickly. She did not return to school. She works in an airport bar, pretty much a dead end path forward. After she falls from the roof of her building in a freak accident, she requires weeks of healing. Many suspect that she was so despondent that she jumped. She returns home to her family and begins to enjoy the safety of their company and concern. Her sister, Treena, kept encouraging Lou to return to school, to get a better job, to stop living at home if she didn’t have to, because Treena felt that her own life was truly a dead end and she wanted more for her sister. What hope did she have as an unmarried mother with a good university degree but no job prospects? When Louisa returns to her own apartment, flat as it is called in the book, to try and return to her life and job, she discovers the 16-year daughter of Will Traynor. Her first shock is that he never told her about Lily, and her second is that this young girl had been on her fire escape once before, the fire escape leading to her roof and her accident. The two of them develop a relationship which is sometimes fiery as well as loving, sometimes combative and dysfunctional as Lily experiences teenage angst and feelings of insecurity and isolation. When she begins grief counseling, she meets Jake, a 16 year old teenager. Walking with him, she meets the man who came to pick him up from the session. She recognizes him. He is Sam, the ambulance driver who held her hand after she was seriously wounded in her traumatic fall from the roof. He kept encouraging her to stay alive. Soon, a relationship begins to flower between them. The character, Louisa, is defined by her compassion, her sense of responsibility for others, her genuine feeling for their welfare and her quirkiness. Lily’s character is at first defined by lying, stealing, inappropriate comments and angry outbursts. Her need to feel wanted and loved has made her a manipulator who acts out inappropriately when she feels threatened. With Louisa’s help, she grows into a more responsible teenager who can function quite well in the new world in which she begins to live. I loved this fairytale. It introduced so many interesting threads, feminism, juvenile delinquency, pedophilia, alcoholism and recovery from grief. It does veer off in many extraneous directions, but all of the twists and turns come together and are resolved in a satisfying conclusion. Josie, Lou’s mom, discovers women’s rights, her sister Treena loses her spoiled attitude and acknowledges her own failures, Georgiana, Will’s sister becomes less self-centered and more interested in her extended family, the Traynors embrace their newfound grandchild, and Louisa begins life anew at the same time that Lily begins to follow a more positive path. Yes, this novel is like an adult fairytale, but it is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Jojo Moyes writes in a clear style with a touch of humor that is so well balanced that even the most traumatic scenes are tolerable. The narrator was excellent. She invited me into the story and held me there, thoroughly engaged as she brought each character to life.

If you really enjoyed the characters in Me Before You, this is an enjoyable follow up with interesting plot twists.

I was not certain I could go into another story about Louisa after Will, but I am so glad that I did. Jojo Moyes creates finely drawn characters with realistic issues, choices, and fears. I love the quick dialogue, and the way Moyes draws you into the story with tears and laughter. I highly recommend this title, but only after you read ME BEFORE YOU. You MUST read them in order to appreciate the intricate story.

I LOVE her books!

We selected After You because we all loved Me Before You, the first novel about Louise's relationship with Will Traynor. Events in this second book find Louise unable to shake her grief about Will's death but persevering through the help of the grief counseling group Moving on Circle, caring for Will's abandoned daughter Lily, and developing an intimate relationship with EMT Sam to overcome her emptiness and find meaning and purpose in her life.

The author does a stellar job of immersing the reader into the world of grief, transition, and finally reconciliation with loss. It ends on a hopeful note.

Our bookclub liked the book but not as much as the first!

Our club absolutely LOVED "Me Before You". However, unlike "Me Before You", I (or the club) wasn't loving this book right away. I thought there were too many characters and the plot was all over the place. But Moyes pulled it off again. The book was incredibly hard to put down.

What I didn't like about this book was the inability to relate to any of the new characters. Lou's parents' relationship developments were completely out of the blue, too, based on what I remembered from the first book. The dry humor and quick-witted dialogue brought it all together though.

All in all, Moyes put together another great story about people and relationships, and how humans continue to grow throughout their lives. Because I love Moyes' writing style and Lou's character, I'm giving this 4 stars (instead of the 5 I gave "Me Before You").

A realistic sequel to the beautiful book, "Me Before You." We all are faced with "carrying on" after the loss of a loved one and how we process through the grief is as individual as our personalities. Louisa Clark's experience was truly unique and made for a touching good read. Highly recommend it. I hope we will see more of this endearing character.

Nice sequel to "Me before You"... I hope there will be ANOTHER sequel to bring Louisa full circle!

This was a good follow up to Me Before You.. just because I wondered where Louisa was going next.. Sometimes goes into dark places but always real

I usually don't care for sequels, but this one did not disappoint! "You Before Me" had such an abrupt ending that this book was a satisfying ending to a unique cliff hanger.

Great easy read love all her books!

A wonderful follow up to Me After You; Louisa finds a life purpose and a new romance.

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...

seems like reviewers either like it or truly did not. Not a bad read, but I don't necessarily agree that a book needs a sequel to wrap up the loose ends of someone's life. I did like Me Before You....this one was fair, I did not like the character of Lily...I know, i know...troubled teen, be sympathetic, etc but I wanted to shake Louisa because she put up with so much from her. Not totally realistic in my opinion. The ending was good and some good lines on how people grieve and move on.

worth for a book club to read and discuss if they read the first one

A muti-dimensional sequel to Me After You, we find the main character, Louisa Clark, evolve and grow. Very engaging.

Great book and great writing. Jojo Moyes really captures the angst of modern living in a large city by young adults trying to make there way in life.
Great characters and dialogue. If you want a good read that sucks you in, I recommend this book.
It was not sappy or maudlin, like I first expected.

This is the sequel to Me Before You. After Will’s death Lou is struggling to move on with her life. She has a nowhere job and went left her enough money to get an apartment on her own. She just can’t seem move on. She joins a support group of quirky characters who do help her. In walks Lily p, Will’s daughter that he never knew existed. Lily is going through some tough some tough times herself. Together they find a way to heal and move on with life.