Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Introduction

‘It Ends with Us’ by Colleen Hoover simply brings together a story that will find fans among millions and cause a broad discussion regarding love, and human interaction. Released in 2016, the book departed from the usual romantic theme that Hoover always masters by entering into a much darker and even heavier area, addressing such topics as domestic violence and complicated decision-making in life. With some details based on real-life events, Hoover tells a beautiful and tragic story about two people who try to escape the paths that have been set before them and who must fight for their own lives.

Plot Overview

The main character of the story is Lily Bloom – a young woman who has a rather dark past and at the same time with the hope for a better future in front of her. As Lily navigates her life in Boston, she encounters two men who will significantly impact her journey: A man of character with a dominant temperament , Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon and Atlas Corrigan, a lover who reappears from her past at a critical time. It tells the story of how Lily interacts with these two men and how passion and safety, love and pain are presented as two sides of the same coin. Hoover is successful at creating suspense without relying on mere plot complication, however, having wonderful characters with rich interiors.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial

Themes and Symbolism

Domestic Abuse and Its Complexities: Depiction of domestic abuse remains the key subject of Hoover’s “It Ends with Us”, an issue that she addresses wisely and in detail. In the novel the author portrays abuse not only in the forms familiar to many – physical, but also in the shape of rage, humiliation, manipulation. Many aspects of domestic abuse and its dynamics are illustrated through Lily – love, fear and hope can become paradoxical, thus the victims find it hard to leave. This issue is immediately raised not as the internal problem of a specific character, but as the case that should concern others; therefore, the main aspects of the domestic violence topic and the necessity of the support system’s presence are shown.

Cycle of Abuse: Another important topic – cycle of violence is within the scope of Hoover’s novel, it is closely connected with the generational issues that influenced Lily’s life. The novel focuses on how the cycle of abuse, where it is passed from one generation to another, is hard to be broken. Still, “It Ends with Us” also underlines another potential for escaping this circle and this is the process is shown to be rather painful and all characters take lots of courage to start it.

Love and Sacrifice: The feelings cherished by the main characters and all individuals present in the novel are love of different types. Like the other experiences she describes, such as romantic love, familial love, and self-love, Hoover articulates love as a restorative force and as a process that can cause pain. The novel also raises issues about giving and receiving love, obligations that love entails and the dilemmas of the choices that love presents. It is the story of a young woman who finds herself, and is able to see that sometimes, love is not possession but understanding and acceptance of ‘other,’ as is self love.

Symbolism: The title, “It Ends With Us,” itself is bear for the message portrayed in the novel of ‘this is it, the cycle of abuse has to stop here.’ It symbolises the fact that Lily will not accept any further violence and suffering in her and her close ones’ lives. The novel also contains other allegorical elements, for example, flowers in the shop, where Lily works: they symbolize growth, regeneration, and hope.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial

Character Development

Lily Bloom: Lily the main character has been well developed and the reader sees the aspect of him/her self reflected. Hoover thus provides a detailed history of her life, thereby enabling the readers to see what a person she has become. Lily is of strong characters, she is so strong, resilient and she has a kind heart, and yet she is not infallible, this is because she is human and this makes her journey fascinating. She grows and develops throughout the series, her strongly felt inner conflicts and decision making processes of the character are depicted quite subtly that even if they are not fully approving of her actions readers can feel for her.

Ryle Kincaid: Ryle remains a rather complicated character, and he still symbolizes the outcome of the people’s dual nature. As far as the outside world is concerned, he is a successful young man, who is very much in love with Lily. But in the course of the novel Hoover shows that the wife’s accusations are true as Testr has some issues with anger and control. Through Ryle’s character, Kavaan makes the readers wake up to the actuality that even the ones whom one holds dearly to one’s heart can hurt you and that mere love cannot redeem a person’s inherent problems.

Atlas Corrigan: Atlas can also be best described as symbolic for hope and a second chance in this novel. He is Lily’s past and a chance for something different out of the whole play. Atlas is presented as a this kind, patient and understanding character in contrast to Ryle. From Atlas, Hoover looks at the concept of do-overs and the search for someone who will accept and appreciate you.

Supporting Characters: The characters in the novel also include other lyric characters who help in enriching the emotional appeal of the novel. Among the characters, Lily’s mother is the most important one in explaining the role of abuse in the family’s life and the ability to change that situation. Other characters in the novel, like Ryle’s sister Alyssa, do add some humor and a good relationship but most of the time they are overshadowed by the darkness.

Here, some aspects that are related to a writer’s writing style and the narrative structure of a story are highlighted.

Colleen Hoover keeps everything simple with “It Ends with Us,” but the issues presented are raw and real and do not need flamboyancy to be made emphatic. Her use of words is simple but she still has a lot concealed in them, and while Comelia is easy to read it also gives the readers and the characters a lot to chew on.

The story is mostly in the first person from Lily’s point of view and as such; the readers are able to feel and appreciate her feelings. One must mention that such perspective is invaluable in capturing the core issues of Lily’s character as well as her motives. In addition to technique 1, Hoover also employs the use of flashbacks to take the reader back to Lily’s teenage time in an effort to give the audience and understanding of what the character is going through in the present.

Nowhere is Hoover’s talent for building tension better displayed than when she is describing the narrative style. There is a lot of passion and dramatic tension in the novel, but Hoover does not overwhelm the reader with one after another of these scenes; there are also quite a few contemplative moments and instances of light comedy in the book. This balance makes the readers interested in and involved in Lily’s story.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial

Emotional Impact

The novel, “It Ends with Us”, is a novel that makes the readers feel the emotions of the characters depicted on the book. While some people may be appalled by the attention Hoover pays to domestic abuse, many will be tragically touched by the raw experience it provides in the shape of Lily’s account. Not only is the novel realistically written — Hoover does not cover the problems of abuse lightly, but she also provides the readers with a way out and the power within.

Basically, the concept of love, the experience of losing a beloved and regaining strength featured in the novel is comprehensible in every person. Indeed, the movie reflects all the challenging life experiences that most individuals can familiarize themselves with, such as challenging issues in relationships, making decisions, and carrying on with life. Reading Hoover’s portrayal of these experiences is ugly yet, real, and therefore, “It Ends with Us” is emotionally wrenching.

Social Commentary

Apart from acting as the author’s memoir, “It Ends with Us” is a story with a commentary on domestic violence. Hoover employs the story in the novel to educate society regarding the dynamics of the abusive relationships and the factors that make it nearly impossible for victims to flee. The book addresses most of the simplified and condemnatory perceptions that people have towards abuse elucidating that each case is different and the victims require support.

Hoover also emphasizes the need to blast the lid off as far as domestic violence is concerned. By the end of the novel, informed through Lily’s narrative, she stands for victims of abuse, and become their voice to fight for them and to speak against abuse. The novel is prophetic in this way – the message of empathy and responsible attitudes towards the problems of domestic violence.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial

Critical Reception

The book It Ends with Us was loved for its realistic plot and the author’s method of presenting rather painful topics. For such approaches to domestic violence in a popular romance novel, Hoover was applauded by many readers and critics for finally stepping out of the box on a topic that rarely is depicted in such literary work more so in romance where a different kind of love is portrayed.

The novel was also appreciated for its vivid characters and their relationships as well as for the work’s psychological background. Many people enjoyed Lily’s story and could easily relate to her; at the same time, many readers got inspired by her. Nonetheless, some critics asserted that the pace of the novel was incongruous: specific moments were too sketchy while others were extensively elaborated. Nevertheless, It Ends with Us is widely agreed to be one of Hoover’s most influential novels.

Pros and Cons

Pros

1. Emotional Depth: ‘It Ends with Us’ is an Emotional Rollercoaster that takes complex topics and handles them with kindness. One of the services of Hoover is her skill in portraying the nature of relationships, love, and abuse, as well as strength and hope.
2. Relatable Characters: All the characters in the novel especially Lily is well developed and one can find true resemblance of some characters in their society. Again, readers can quickly relate with Lily’s challenges, thus developments that she undergoes are felt more profoundly.
3. Thought-Provoking Themes: These and many other aspects that the novel discuses with relation to domestic violence, cycle of abuse, and the need for women to love themselves make the work worthy of reflection. It is one of the creative ways that defuse the societal perception and knowledge on abuse and call for more knowledge on the same.
4. Realistic Portrayal of Abuse: Altogether, Hoover managed to describe the phenomenon of domestic abuse rather responsibly and, at the same time, in quite a cinematic manner. she does not dramatize the issue but rather embraces emotional and psychological aspect of the victims.
5. Empowering Message: In its essence, “It Ends with Us” is an uplifting women’s rights novel. Nevertheless, the decor of the novel is pessimistic, though the main message is the ability of people to overcome all the adversities.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial

Cons

1. Pacing Issues: The continuity may also be an issue some readers will have with the novel, specifically the slow and the fast pace the story seems to take in several instances. This can at times pull down the brightness of the work or somewhat reduce its ability to tell a compelling story.
2. Predictability: What is more, as any book, it retains both emotional strength and certain plot expectations, which those who read the author’s other books or those who read romance genres more often can predict.
3. Characterization of Secondary Characters: The most criticised elements of this series are the lack of depth of the characters, where Lily, Ryle, and Atlas are more significant than some of the secondary characters and their friends and co-workers. This can make some elements of the story seem more open-ended than they’d be were the setting not multi-layered in this way.
4. Intensity: Still, because of the fact that the novel deals with some highly important topics, some audiences could be touched emotionally too much. While this is to Hoover’s credit as a writer it may not be for everyone.
5. Limited Exploration of Resolution: While the resolution to the technophobia depicted in the novel is presented in relatively concise terms, there are critics who complained that the novel failed to delve much into the protagonists ‘future and the impacts of some of the occurrences in the overall story.

Conclusion

Designed to excite feelings of empathy, the novel “It Ends with Us” by Colleen Hoover raises concerns about the necessity of domestic abuse and the options that derive from it. In overall, the main idea of Hoover’s novel is built as a journey of love, strength, and the endless circle of violence. Despite the weakness of the novel, its crucial elements can be named – slow pacing and weak secondary characters’ development.

Click Here To Read "It Ends with Us" for free with a 30 day free trial