After You by Jojo Moyes

I was uncertain of how I would feel about After Me, seeing as Me Before You was an extremely good novel and it ended on a pretty good note (not that I say the death of Will was good). I just wasn't certain of where it was going to go. Luckily, my uncertainty was uncalled for. In fact, I cried! Which, in case you don't remember, I didn't cry for Me Before You.

Five Sentence Summary

It has been 18 months since Will's death and Louisa Clark has not accomplished anything she told Will she would. Yes, she has traveled, bought clothes, had a few flings; but now, she is in a London flat that she hasn't decorated, working at a pathetic airport bar and has no friends. One night after work, she has had a few drinks and is hanging out on the roof of her flat when she falls two stories and now enters paramedic Sam, who becomes an integral part of Lou's life. If falling from a roof isn't enough drama for Louisa's life, a young girl, Lily, finds Louisa and tells her that she is Will's child. Between Sam, Lily, and her embarrassing job, Lou figures out exactly what she wants in life, through trial and error of course.

What I Liked

• I liked seeing where everyone was, how Will's death effected everyone's lives. Yes, it was briefly touched on at the end of Me Before You, but that was the immediate after effects. I always wonder what happens to my favorite customers afterwards. Although now I wonder what is going to happen to everyone now.
• Although I have never lost someone like Lou lost Will, her reactions (for the most part) felt completely realistic.
• The story was cute. There were lots of little bits where I found myself laughing.

"He rubbed at his hair. 'Are we still talking about Jake?'

'Of course I'm talking about Jake. How many other son's have you got?'

'Jake isn't my son.'

I stared at him.

'Jake is my sister's son. Was,' he corrected himself. 'He's my nephew." (p. 199)

What I Didn't Like

• If you are a normal person, how many brushes of death do you have in your life? I can think of 1 incident in my 25 years of life where I was scared. Lou is part of Will's death, then almost dies herself, and then Sam almost dies. This isn't real life! Unless you are in the military or are a police officer/firefighter/or some other put-your-life-on-the-line kind of job, that doesn't happen. If I was Lou, I would be seriously considering what I am doing to put myself through all of this craziness.
• So Lily is Will's daughter and looks like him in some ways and has some of his mannerisms, but no one decided to do a paternity test? The Trainor's come from money. I would definitely be wondering if it was just someone out trying to get what they can from me. 

• Patrick is still a tosser for the few minutes he is in the book.
• If Richard was a real person, he wouldn't have so quickly been like "You're right, I'm a jerk and it's because my life is falling apart and I hate myself." I have know enough Richards to know that when you tell them they're being an asshole, they don't admit their fault. I'm sorry, but for me, that was the most unbelievable part of the entire book.

"The Shamrock and Clover. It's a horrible place. And I know I've not been the greatest to work for...My wife hates me because I'm never home. The supplier hate me because I have to cut their margins every single week because of pressure from shareholders...I hate managing people. I have the social skills of a lamppost, which is why I can't hang on to anyone." (p.269)

• This family has some serious issues they need to work though. In both books, everyone throws hissy fits and doesn't talk to each other for whatever petty reason for days, weeks, and even months.

Overall Thoughts

It's nice to every now and then read a happy story. Yes, there was a lot of drama in it, but I feel like everything I've been reading lately is people fighting for their lives or fighting to save the world from eminent destruction; so it's nice for once that everything is wrapped up with a pretty bow and everyone is okay and happy by the time the book is over.

I feel like because this one wasn't revolving around the probable death of one of the main characters, I enjoyed it a lot more than Me Before You. In the first one, I was pretty positive that Will was going to die, so I didn't let myself fall in love with him. In this one, I didn't think anyone was going to die, so I let myself get attached and really fell for Sam. It's books like this that bring out the romantic in me and believe that love is possible. Thank you Jojo!

Rating: 9/10

Pages: 352 (hardback)

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit