Sometimes you have a blog post written up and ready to go, but then something comes along that you feel like you absolutely have to post about. This book was that something. Books are a great way to nourish our minds and spirits but, if you're like me, it can be daunting to pick just one book to read at a time. It's so tempting to scoop up every book that looks interesting and so hard to choose only one to start on. Sometimes you just need a little push or some inspiration. Well, here it is: your push, in the form of a book review.

Me Before You is the story of Louisa Clark, a twenty-six year old who still lives at home with not only her mom and dad but also her grandpa, sister and nephew. Her family constantly teases her and word useless gets thrown around a lot, despite the fact that she's been helping support her struggling family for years. She's striving to grow up and find herself, especially after she loses the only job she's really ever known.

After a tumultuous job search that seems, well, useless, Louisa gets offered a job as a caretaker to Will Traynor. Will, once an active young man who traveled the world and was top-notch in his fast-paced career, was injured in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. Louisa's job, she's informed, is to do some cooking and cleaning but mostly to keep Will company in hopes of brightening his spirits. What Louisa doesn't know is that Will's family is keeping a secret from her and, when she finds out what they are hiding, it will change her and Will's relationship-- and maybe even her life.

This book came out in 2012 and it was crazy popular, so I'm sure a fair few of you have already read it. It's popularity-- and, in all honesty, it's simplistic and retro cover-- piqued my interest, and I was pleasantly surprised to receive it as a Christmas gift. When I received it, I had no idea what it was about. And when I found out that it was a romance novel of sorts, I was disappointed. Romance has never really been my genre. But I decided to give it a go-- because why not?

The first fifty or so pages were a little hard to trudge through: several of the characters annoyed me to no end and it just wasn't keeping my interest. But, by the time I had made it through that first little bit, I had made a connection with the main character and her family. They were all flawed-- some more than others, in my opinion-- but they were so vivid and real that I became invested in what happened to them. And Will was quite charismatic; the character's charm seemed to exude from the novel. By the time I was halfway finished with the book, I didn't want to put it down. Occasionally, when I was doing chores or working, I would find my mind wondering back to the book and theorizing about what would happen or analyzing how a certain event made me feel. Those types of books are priceless, let me tell you.

A movie based on this book is set to be released this spring, starring Emilia Clarke, Sam Claflin, and Matthew Lewis and I am so excited for it. I always recommend reading the book a movie is based on, whether you read it before or after seeing the film. But, even if you're not interested in the film, I would recommend reading this book. If you're a romantic, you will love it. If you're a bitter and cynical romantic, you will love it. I'd even wager that you'll love it if you don't have a romantic bone in your body.

Have you read this book? What were your thoughts? Are you excited for the film version?