Me Before You - Jojo Moyes (2012)

Twenty-six-year-old Lou Clark is looking for a new job and, with her parents relying on her wages, she reluctantly takes up a well-paid offer to become carer to a disabled man. Will Traynor, a 30-something dynamic high-flyer from a wealthy family who was left a house-bound quadriplegic after an accident two years earlier, is surly and reluctant to engage with the chatty Lou. But Lou is determined to show him that life is worth living again. This is an absorbing and moving story about two people who probably would never have met under different circumstances, who push each other to expand their horizons. With sharp dialogue, captivating characters and a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking central issue, this may well be 2012's One Day. Breathtakingly spectacular - just don't let anyone tell you too much about the plot before you read it.

Jojo Moyes follows up her acclaimed The last Letter From Your Lover with a story about two people who change each other's lives. The summary of Me Before You says: "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 teashop 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." Me Before You is out in January.

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