After You book club notes

If you and your reading group buddies loved Me Before You, you’ll be dying to know what happens next. Take a look at our reading notes and questions for the highly anticipated sequel, After You, and make your next book club discussion one to remember.

Book summary

Lou Clark has lots of questions. Like how it is she’s ended up working in an airport bar? Whether her family can ever forgive her? And will she ever get over the love of her life?

What she knows for certain is that something has to change. Then it does.

But does the stranger on her doorstep hold the answers Lou is searching for?

Close the door and life continues: simple, ordered, safe.

Open it and she risks everything.

But Lou once made a promise to live. And if she’s going to keep it, she has to invite them in…

About the author

Jojo Moyes was raised in London. She writes for the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Red and Woman & Home. She’s married to Charles Arthur, technology editor of The Guardian. They live with their three children on a farm in Essex, England.

Reading group questions

• Was it inevitable that Lou would struggle to get on with her life after losing Will? Did she have an obligation to live fully for him? Is that too much pressure to put on someone?
• Despite not having a physical presence in the novel, to what extent is Will a central character? Which other characters does he continue to influence and why?
• Consider the different ways that grief is presented in the novel. Why do you think different characters handle grief in different ways? Who did you empathise with most?
• Would you have accepted Lily into your life like Lou does? What do you think the challenges would be if you opened your home to a stranger?
• Were you surprised when the narrative switched to Lily’s point of view? Did it affect how you felt towards her?
• Do you think teenagers today are more vulnerable than in previous generations? Both Peter and Mr Garside attempt to manipulate and blackmail Lily – are they equally villainous in doing this? What would you have done in Lily’s position?
• Do you think the portrayal of Lou’s parents’ marriage is true to life? Do you always have to compromise in marriage?
• Lou says: ‘These are things I learned about being a parent, while not actually being a parent.’ What do you think it means to be a parent? Consider the different parents portrayed in the novel – what mistakes do we see them make? Is there a lesson to learn here?
• Explore the different ways that the idea of family is presented in the novel.
• Throughout the novel, who saves who? Does Lou ultimately need to save herself to move on?
• Do you think Lou was right to take the opportunity in New York or should she have stayed with Sam? Do you think it’s possible to maintain a long distance relationship? What do you think will happen next?