It Ends With Us – Colleen Hoover

Talk about a controversial book.

I wasn’t even sure I wanted to review this book after reading it. I’m not sure how to without spoiling it. I don’t want to draw attention to it.

But I won’t spoil it. This review will be brief as a result of that.

Of course, if you read enough reviews on Goodreads or Amazon, then you will figure out what this book is about.

When I think about a young girl, aged 14-18 reading this book, it makes me sad. I don’t want to diminish the author’s experience. I respect that she had the experiences she had, but I feel like it was used as a plot device to add shock.

On one hand I understand it. I understand not including any information about it in the blurb. Often times, in real life, you never see it coming. This makes the reader feel the same level of devastation as the main character.

Books are not real life. People can get triggered. That needs to be respected. You cannot blindside the reader with a topic like this.

I’m not talking based off of my own experiences. I have talked to several people in my life, a couple of which disclosed they were triggered, and I cannot help but feel angry for them. They weren’t expecting it. They hadn’t braced themselves.

The situation between Ryle and Lily wasn’t the only thing that upset me. I appreciate the message there and I understand that awareness needs to be raised. I don’t like that it was done the way it was, but…

Lily was 15/16 and Atlas was 18.

Sure! That can be typical. Romeo and Juliet laws and whatnot.

But it made me uncomfortable. I don’t like it. I don’t want to see a three year age discrepancy, at that age, normalized. Some people get lucky. Others don’t. Let’s not romanticize it.

I did like that Lily was such a strong character. We see a woman go through something traumatizing and we get to see her stay strong through it. I liked that she worked hard to make her dream work despite everything happening around her. Perseverance is an excellent quality to see in a character.

A lot of good quotes come from her perspective.

“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”

“I’ll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”

“Preventing your heart from forgiving someone you love is actually a hell of a lot harder than simply forgiving them.”

Despite everything, she keeps going. The lines are inspiring sometimes. Sometimes they’re convoluted.

The side characters were a little shallow. I would’ve liked to see more depth there.

The dialogue was unrealistic. At least some of it was. I may be antisocial, but I’m pretty sure people don’t talk or flirt like that.

The letters to Ellen Degeneres were a weird way to weave flashbacks into the narrative and I had a hard time connecting with it. It didn’t resonate. It could’ve been done differently. It does add another layer of depth to the relationship between Atlas and Lily but it could’ve been handled better. It adds cohesiveness to the, “Just keep swimming,” quote that’s thrown around a lot, but a lot of it feels… Silly.

The ending was incredibly predictable. I’m glad it ended the way it did, but I knew it was going to end that way. Honestly, if it had ended any other way, this review wouldn’t have happened.

Overall, the book was okay.

Readers do not deserve to be blindsided with a topic that could potentially trigger them and upset them. It’s basic respect.

But it is a message that needs to be said.

It all depends on your perspective.