Me Before You hits theatres next Friday, June 3 and we’d be mean to ask, nay, implore you to read the book first (there’s still time to devour it, so if you still need a copy, you can enter to win one signed by author Jojo Moyes or grab a copy at Indigo). Okay, maybe we’re being a bit dramatic, but Sara and I got a sneak preview of the flick last week (and got to meet Emilia Clarke, who is probably the most adorable person on the planet) and I hadn’t quite finished the book and let me tell you, that was a mistake.
You’ll be prepared for all the tears
Seriously, all the tears. I knew the movie (and the book) were going to be sad, but I didn’t know the storyline and therefore I didn’t quite know what to expect when it came to the waterworks. If I’d finished the book before watching (like Sara had) I might’ve been able to avoid walking out of the theatre looking like this:
You’ll get to understand the story in the way it was intended
Nothing gets people riled up faster than arguing about whether the book or the cinematic version was better. Seriously, just mention the words Harry Potter or Game of Thrones to a die-hard book fan and you’ll never get your ear back. While sometimes the movie version is definitely better than the book, it’s always interesting to experience the story in the original format it was intended. You get a different sense of the way relationships progress and characters are developed.
You get to tell people what really happened
Going back to those Game of Thrones fans who swore by the books’ storylines, when you read Me Before You before watching the movie, after you watch it with all of your non-reader friends, you get to go down the list of all the things the movie either got right or got wrong. You’ll annoy everyone to no end, but know that you made the right choice by reading it first.
You can turn it into a book-movie book club
Okay, let’s get one thing straight here: Me Before You is 100 per cent one of those books that you and your mom can both read (but be forewarned, she will want to talk about her feelings after). If you (both) read the book first you can (both) go see the movie together. It’ll be like you have your own little book club which will leave mom feeling absolutely elated.
You can convince your guy to come see it with you
The best way to falsify a plot line is to read the book first. This way you can explain all the manly action shots that (didn’t) happen to your boyfriend in hopes that you dupe him enough to take you to see the flick. You’re not totally lying that Will went bungee jumping. At least then you’ll have a shoulder to ugly cry onto.
