77. After You by JoJo Mayes
I was really looking forward to this book because I adored Me Before You to which this book is a sequel. Unfortunately it wound up being one of those instances at least for me where the original story should have been left alone.
The book picks up a few months after the end of Me Before You. Louisa is now living in London and back to being unsure what to do with her life in the face of Will’s death. She joins a support group where she meets a boy who will help change her life. However, the main source of change in her life is the troubled daughter Will never knew he had who shows up on her doorstep and who Louisa feels compelled to help even to her own detriment.
I just didn’t feel the same warmth towards the characters in this book as I did in Me Before You, and it frustrated me that the author felt the need to throw Louisa back into the same somewhat screwed up life state that she was in before. She had made so much progress by the end of Me Before You and I hated how she was back to square one in this book. It felt disingenuous to how things were left in the previous book.
I realize not everyone would probably have the same feelings I did about it, and if you really loved Me Before You and want to continue along with Louisa’s life you’ll probably want to read this book. I give it a 6 out of 10.