Plot Dissection: Me Before You

In an effort to become less of an idiot regarding plot structure and, in general, how stories work, I have embarked on a journey of discovery: reading fiction and sussing out their plots through my careful note-taking.  

The second book: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Spoiler Alert: The plot is completely revealed below.

First, a quick review:

Me Before You kept me reading.  I found myself cheering for Lou, wanting her to succeed in her quest to save Will from his suicidal plan. It was an easy read and had some light politicization regarding euthanasia, but it was mostly a love story that even got this hardened husk of a woman to shed a tear at the end. Moyes knows what she's doing.  Four stars on GoodReads--it's not fine literature, but it was good.

Now, for the dissection.  First, thank you to Jane K. Cleland's Mastering Suspense Structure and Plot for the following initial factors to think out when considering plot:

Protagonist Motivation: Lou; to make Will ant to live

Antagonist Motivation: Will; to die

Narrative Question: Will Lou save Will and, by extension, herself?

Theme: Choosing to live

Setting: Small town England

Structure: Chronological, over six months

Pace: Steady

Suspense: Will Lou and Will fall in love?  Will Will (I know, but I didn't name the character!) find a reason to live? Will Lou find herself?

Next, the plot analysis, with plot points as outlined in the webpage The Eight Sequences compliments of ScriptLab.  Now, there are lots of different names for these major plot points, but I found this one easy to follow and relevant for novels, even though it's for script writing.  Here it is:

ACT I

Status Quo: Prologue of Will before the accident.  In the present, Lou loses her job.  There are many complicated factors at home (she lives with her mother, father, grandfather, sister, and nephew), the biggest of which being money problems.

Inciting Incident:  Gets a job caring for Will

Predicament: Things are complicated for Lou: she doesn't know what she wants from life.  As for Will, he's attempted suicide.

Lock-In: We find out Will wants to exercise his right to die (28% into the book).

ACT II

First Obstacle: Lou quits the job--she can't be a part of this. Will's mother convince her to stay.

Raising the Stakes: Lou will stay and launches a plan to make Will want to live.

First Culmination/Midpoint: They go to the horse race track, and it's pretty terrible.  Will is angry that no one ever asks him what HE wants. (43% into the book)

Subplot: Flashback to Lou's rape.

Rising Action: Good times happen (the symphony, her birthday party, getting tattoos, bonding over the maze when Lou tells Will about the rape, go to a wedding together, and decide to go on vacation together).  There are complicating factors, too, such as Lou's love life with her boyfriend, Patrick, and the overriding sense that time for Will is running out.

Main Culmination: Lou admits her feelings for Will to her sister, and Lou and Patrick break up.

END of Act II: Will lands in the hospital with pneumonia (80% into book).

ACT III

New Tension: They go on a tropical island vacation.  It's amazing.  Lou tells Will how she feels about him.

Twist: Will still wants to die and wants Lou to be there with him.

Resolution: Lou refuses to go but on the day of, gets summoned there by Mrs. Traynor.  She sees Will and they share a tender time, but she's accepted his decision to die, and he does.  She starts her new life.

THE END.