Still Me by Jojo Moyes Provides a Strong Finish to the Me Before You Trilogy
- Booknerdian
- Jan 29
- 6 min read
Still Me is the third and final installment in the Jojo Moyes trilogy that started with Me Before You.
The Me Before You Books in Order
The first novel in the series, Me Before You, centers on Louisa Clark, an ordinary English girl with limited ambition who can't find her niche in the world. She lands an opportunity to be a caregiver for Will Traynor--a wealthy and successful businessman who's involved in an accident and becomes a quadriplegic. Despite having nothing in common, the two find romance, and Will exposes her to a world beyond their small-town community, urging her to aspire higher. Louisa frantically endeavors to convince Will that life is still worth living, even with his physical limitations, but learns he has plans that will break her heart.
In After You, the second of the three books, Louisa struggles to move on without Will, and she has an unusual accident that sends her home to heal. Through a support group, she crosses paths with Sam Fielding, a paramedic, who understands and accepts her and makes her wonder if it's possible to love again. Louisa's life is turned upside down when a secret involving Will's past surfaces, and it changes the trajectory of her life.
Still Me finds Louisa off to New York City to work on Fifth Avenue for the Gopnik family. She is the assistant to the much younger second wife of an uber wealthy man. Though Louisa is determined to keep her relationship with Sam alive across the miles, the two fall out of sync with one another, especially when she becomes acquainted with Joshua Ryan--an American executive who looks strikingly like Will. Louisa discovers she has a knack for sensing the needs of others and being able to care for them, but the cost of doing so robs her of her identity and dreams. When faced with an opportunity to rise in the corporate world where she can hob-nob with those in high society, she realizes that her heart is in vintage fashion. Does she have what it takes to run a lucrative business in a big city far from home, and will pursuing her dream cost her the man she loves?
Still Me by Jojo Moyes Is a Compelling Novel You Can't Put Down
Moyes has achieved quite a feat--she has created a series where each novel is riveting, and the final installment doesn't disappoint--it's equally as compelling as the first two and ends on a high note.
Louisa is no longer the timid girl afraid to leave her hometown. She is on an adventure in New York City, and she bravely tackles every difficult circumstance that presents itself, as she invests her heart and soul into doing and being her best. She makes new friends, develops wisdom through handling tricky relationships, and learns to stay true to herself no matter what demands are placed on her by others.
Moyes does a brilliant job threading Will Traynor's influence throughout the final book--it not only ties the series together, but it keeps Louisa anchored.
Still Me Is Brimming with Strong Characters
Moyes demonstrates her distinctive talent when it comes to character development. Each fictional person has a unique voice and style and stays consistent in thought and action to the characteristics Moyes assigns to them. As a reader, you can accurately assess how each character will react based on the personalities Moyes has developed.
There is an extensive cast of characters in Still Me, and they are vastly different from each other. Whether a scene involves Agnes Gopnik's emotional mood swings, Mrs. DeWitt's prickliness, the blunt forthrightness of Louisa's dad, the brooding anger of housekeeper Ilaria, or any of the others on the cast list, you will be spellbound by what each one brings to the story. Even Mrs. DeWitt's DOG has a distinct personality! Moyes jumps from person to person flawlessly, without compromising their individuality.
The Reader Lives in the Story
Still Me pulls you straight into the action. When Louisa feels a sense of loss, your heart is heavy. When she is wronged, you feel stung. When she is bereft, you cheer her on. When her heart is confused, you know just the person you want her to love.
One thing that hits me about this novel is how perspective changes everything. On one hand, Louisa's family is bursting with pride that she is in a career where she's living the high life. On the other, Louisa isn't rich--she is always dependent on the generosity of a benefactor to put a roof over her head. She is merely in a paid service job that is menial, not some high-fluting position that commands respect and admiration. In this regard, class differences are very pronounced.
Moyes sends Louisa back to England to visit and paints an interesting picture of how living in America has changed her--things other authors may have failed to include. For example, she refers to her "zip code," and her family reminds her it's a "post code." They get aggravated if she slips into a partial American accent, and Sam is floored when she hails a taxi with a piercing whistle. These fun, extra details make the story relatable and real.
One Thing I Hate About Still Me
I love novels that are clean and devoid of political correctness, wokeness, and DEI box-checking. Moyes makes the mistake of including a gay character in Still Me. No spoilers here, but the addition of an LGBTQ character does nothing for the story. The gay person could have been straight (also known as "normal"), and it wouldn't have altered the progression of the story at all.
It sickens me when authors bend the knee to cultural pressure to include LGBTQ elements in stories, either because the publisher requires it, or they find the lifestyle acceptable and want to normalize it to their audience.
The gay lifestyle is not normal. God created man and woman, joined them together, and told them to be fruitful and multiply. That is God's design for marriage. Homosexuality is condemned throughout the bible, and it's a sin that if not repented of, will lead to an eternity in hell apart from God. Any author who includes gay themes in their novels to make perversion palatable and acceptable are cheering people onward towards damnation and will be held accountable. "Coming out" isn't something to be celebrated--it's a lifestyle that needs repented of in a "come to Jesus" moment.
Despite the unexpected addition of a gay character over halfway into the novel, the sexual deviance doesn't dominate the story.
Give the Me Before You Series a Try
Me Before You gutted me, and it took over a year-and-a-half before I was ready to emotionally tackle After You, which I quickly followed with Still Me.
The trilogy is fabulously engrossing because you become VERY emotionally involved with all the characters. You care deeply about how their lives unfold. The novels are also sprinkled with humor, which helps lighten the mood from the heavier parts.
I'm only sad that I've come to the end and won't have a chance to see what happens next to these vivid characters whose lives are masterfully penned by the ultimate storyteller, Jojo Moyes.
New Book Release from Jojo Moyes!
Look for the latest novel from Jojo Moyes, which will release February 11, 2025. It's titled, We All Live Here.
Here is the synopsis: Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So, when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.
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