Still Me, by Jojo Moyes: A Book Review

“I felt as if the world had briefly stopped turning, like there was just me and the Universe. And a million good things that could happen, if you only hung on in there.”

I just finished reading the third book of this series by Jojo Moyes, and all I can say is, I’m disappointed. Following the immensely moving first book, Me Before You, and the good-but-not-so-great sequel, After You, this book comes as a let-down, especially with respect to its plot.

Louisa Clarke, the quirky female protagonist of the series, is now in New York City, away from her home, family and ‘Ambulance boyfriend’ Sam in England. While a big chunk of the first half of the book centers around her claustrophic, Limo-driven role as an Assistant to the wealthy (and dysfunctional) Gopniks, it also brings to life the beat of New York City. With an echoing voice of Will in her heart, constantly encouraging her to say ‘yes’ to all new experiences, she explores the city with a newfound excitement to belong. It was almost as if NYC was a central character to this book, however, I felt there was more scope to bring a little more depth to that facet of the book.

The story then moves towards the predictable problems of long-distance relationships, and new possibilities of other romantic interactions. Which all sort of fell flat.

Even though I couldn’t put this book of 450+ pages down for long, it left me feeling annoyed somehow. With all due respect, I do not believe that this book was needed for this series.. Me Before You leaves you aching and crying and emotionally moved, and Still Me does none of those things.

However, I believe Jojo Moyes’ writing was fresh and familiar all at once! It felt almost friendly to read Lou’s narrative, and the fact that the reader is familiar with all the central characters leaves you to enjoy the writing.

Overall, I would rate this installment (hopefully the last) of the series a 3/5.

If any of you have also read the book, please share your thoughts of the book in the comments 🙂

Lots of love,

P.