Book Review: It Ends With Us
*SPOILER WARNING*
“Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most.”
In this book review I will be reviewing “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover. It Ends With Us takes the reader through Lily’s life, a girl who has worked hard to move to Boston and open her own business. One day she meets Ryle, a guy who seems to have it all. A great personality, a brilliant mind, and a major soft spot for Lily. When they start dating despite Ryle’s “No dating rule” Lily starts to wonder the meaning behind this rule. As thoughts about her new relationship overwhelm her, she starts thinking about someone from her past. Atlas Corrigan. Her protector, best friend, and first love. When Atlas suddenly appears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.
This book divulges into the topic of Domestic Violence, and illustrates what so many women today have to go through. This book does an amazing job of putting the reader into the perspective of Lily, and what she is thinking at certain scenes throughout the book. I found it compelling to know what Lily was thinking everytime Ryle would act out, and her thought process when making difficult choices.
“It Ends With Us” does an amazing job of illustrating the perspective of women in abusive relationships. Most importantly, how and why many women choose to stay so long in an abusive relationship. Personally, whenever I read or saw statistics of women in abusive relationships I questioned why they stayed, or why they did not leave earlier. Through this book I started to realize they simply fell in love. They fell in love with the best memories of someone, and thus ignored the many signs telling them to walk away.
The author includes so many cute swoon-worthy moments throughout the book, and does a fabulous job developing Ryle so the reader alongside Lily also starts to fall in love with Ryle. As a reader the author has built such a perfect image of Ryle, so when he does act out, or show abusive behavior; the reader finds themself making excuses for him or justifying certain behavior. I think it's amazing how the reader starts to understand and see the inner dynamic of an abusive relationship, not just what it looks like from the outside.
The ending when Lily refused Ryle of his daughter was shocking to me. I thought initially how Lily could be so cruel, refusing a dad of his daughter who he clearly loved. What Lily said after clarified it all. How could she trust he would not hurt her daughter? Even if Lily had agreed, it would ultimately lead to shambles. Even if Ryle promised again and again that he would never hurt Lily again, it would not mean anything. Her daughter would only remember the stained memories of him, not the moments that show who her mother fell in love with. I now see why Lily had to make that decision.
This book is an amazing book and I would recommend it to anyone. Thank you for reading my review!
Woah. This was a really beautifully written blog, with the perfect balance of summary and analysis! The novel itself seems to be very intriguing, and I thought it was neat how you explained your initial thoughts before and after letting them fester in your mind for a bit.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting book Heidi! Especially given how we're now reading about abuse in Purple Hibiscus gives another perspective, and I'd be interested to know how Hoover portrays it differently than Adichie. The way you explained that the reader starts to like Ryle too really shows the author's writing skill and how much you can relate to the protagonist, which is something I haven't heard described that way before. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteHi Heidi! This book review was really good and you worded it very well. I like the summary you wrote and how you shared your thoughts on different scenes within the book. The book seems very interesting and I would like to read it sometime. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing book review to what sounds to be an exciting book, Heidi! I liked how you used the book's topic of domestic violence and abusive relationships and compared it with previous knowledge on the topic before reading the book. It indirectly creates a more accurate description of the book. The way you praised and illustrated the book just made me so much more interested and I look forward to reading it in the future!
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing blog Heidi! I remember seeing all of your emotions as you read this book. Like you, I have also questioned why people stay in abusive relationships. This book seems like such a complex and emotional read. You described the book so well, and this will definitely be the next book I read.
ReplyDeleteWhile I personally don't care much for romantic-esque novels, your summary definitely piqued my interest. Excellent blog post!
ReplyDelete