> Skip to content

Book clubs  •  13 May 2016

 

Me Before You book club notes

Reading group discussion notes for Jojo Moyes’ acclaimed tearjerker.

Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You is a book to be savoured and passed around. What better way to share in the magic and heartache than make it your next reading group selection? Take a look at our discussion notes below and get the conversation started.

 

Book summary

Lou Clark knows lots of things.

She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time.

 

About the author

Jojo Moyes was raised in London. She writes for the Daily TelegraphDaily MailRed and Woman & Home. She’s married to Charles Arthur, technology editor of The Guardian. They live with their three children on a farm in Essex, England.

 

Reading group questions

  • When Lou meets Will for the first time he is less than welcoming to her, even playing a mean trick on her to put her on edge. What were your first impressions of both Will and Lou? Did your view of them change over the course of the book and to what extent?
  • Will and Lou have a profound effect on each other’s lives. How do their lives change after they meet compared with how they were before? In what ways do they change each other?
  • When Lou first learns of Will’s intentions to go to Dignitas to end his life, she is shocked that his mother, Camilla, could be prepared to play such a role in her son’s death and thinks of her as heartless: a view shared by other characters, such as Georgina and Lou’s mother. How do you feel about Camilla as a character? Do you think this view of her is justified?
  • Both Will and Lou have experienced a terrible life altering moment – Will’s accident and Lou’s assault in the castle maze. How do their reactions to each of their experiences compare? In what ways are their reactions similar/different?
  • As his nurse and friend, Nathan is also a big part of Will’s life. How important is his role in the novel? How does he affect the dynamic between Will, Lou and Will’s parents?
  • Lou is very close to her family, despite her frequent squabbles with her sister Treena. How important are they in the decisions she makes, such as her decision to take the job with the Traynors and keep it – even when she discovers why she is only contracted for six months – and her decision to go to Switzerland to be with Will at the end?
  • Will and Lou come from very different worlds. Will’s was one of success, ambition and privilege before his accident, while Lou inhabits a modest, simple and unadventurous world, restricted to the boundaries of the small town she’s lived in all of her life. Do you think they would have fallen for each other if they had met under different circumstances?
  • Will’s right to die, and Lou’s determination to change his mind about exercising that right, is a theme that runs throughout the novel. How did you feel about Will’s decision at the end? Was it what you expected? Do you think the novel should have ended differently?

Feature Title

Me Before You
The heartbreaking novel of the year from Jojo Moyes proves you're never too old or young to cry
Read more

More features

See all
Book clubs
After You book club notes

Reading group discussion notes for Jojo Moyes’ sequel to Me Before You.

News
Me Before You’s leading lady returns

Jojo Moyes takes Lou Clarke to New York in a new novel to be published in 2018.

Book clubs
What I Would Do to You book club questions

A stunning, thought-provoking debut to read with your book club.

Book clubs
A Gentleman in Moscow book club questions

A letter from the author and book club questions for one of Amor Towles' most popular books.

Book clubs
Kind of, Sort of, Maybe, But Probably Not book club questions

A charming, quirky novel to read with your book club.

Book clubs
The Bee Sting book club questions

A thought-provoking book about family and fortune to read with your book club.

Book clubs
The Other Bridget book club questions

A feelgood romantic comedy by Australia's bestselling romance writer.

Book clubs
Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer Book Club Questions

Amy Doak on the creation of Eleanor Jones is Not a Murderer.

Book clubs
Foul Play book club questions

A heart-stopping jack Hawksworth novel to read with your book club.

Book clubs
The Sugar Palace book club questions

A heart-stopping romantic adventure to read with your book club.

Book clubs
Black Sheep book club questions

A sweeping historical novel to read with your book club.

Book clubs
Others Were Emeralds book club questions

A stirring coming-of-age novel to read with your book club.

Looking for more book club notes?

See all book club notes