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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Ik voel me, na het lezen van de epiloog, bijna schuldig over deze lage score. Maar de waarheid is: ik vond dit een verschrikkelijk boek.
Het mannelijke hoofdpersonage is gewoonweg hatelijk vanaf seconde 1. Ik heb nergens tijdens het boek ook maar enige sympathie kunnen opbrengen, terwijl dit duidelijk wel de bedoeling was. Ik vond alle stukken met hem in, en dat waren er veel, compleet ongeloofwaardig en irritant. Misschien omdat ik nog nooit eerder halsoverkop verliefd ben geworden op een man enkel en alleen omdat die neurochirurg is en met stoelen gooit? Alsook: in welke wereld komen neurochirurgen naar huis in hun 'scrub'? Hebben ze geen kleedkamers in Amerikaanse ziekenhuizen?
Je ziet: ergernis. Nope, not for me.
Het mannelijke hoofdpersonage is gewoonweg hatelijk vanaf seconde 1. Ik heb nergens tijdens het boek ook maar enige sympathie kunnen opbrengen, terwijl dit duidelijk wel de bedoeling was. Ik vond alle stukken met hem in, en dat waren er veel, compleet ongeloofwaardig en irritant. Misschien omdat ik nog nooit eerder halsoverkop verliefd ben geworden op een man enkel en alleen omdat die neurochirurg is en met stoelen gooit? Alsook: in welke wereld komen neurochirurgen naar huis in hun 'scrub'? Hebben ze geen kleedkamers in Amerikaanse ziekenhuizen?
Je ziet: ergernis. Nope, not for me.
Sju år senare valde jag att läsa om It Ends With Us. Dels för att se om den fortfarande är precis lika bra som jag tyckte då, men även för att färska upp minnet inför It Starts With Us som jag tänkte påbörja härnäst.
Jag älskar boken precis lika mycket som jag gjorde 2016. Fullpott i betyg utan tvekan. Men jag undrar nu i efterhand HUR detta kan klassas som romance. Inget jag funderade på förut men nu väcktes tanken.
Jag älskar boken precis lika mycket som jag gjorde 2016. Fullpott i betyg utan tvekan. Men jag undrar nu i efterhand HUR detta kan klassas som romance. Inget jag funderade på förut men nu väcktes tanken.
I really enjoyed reading the book, and there are aspects that I thought were excellent… The unpredictability of his rage, the gray area that makes it so difficult for a partner to leave… But what I found really disappointing was the tidy, tie-a-bow-on-it ending. I’m glad I started reading the sequel right away because the beginning starts to address things that I was missing at the end of book one.
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Despite my love for Colleen Hoover and her stories, I didn't love this one.
Hoover does an amazing job here of illustrating the cycle of abuse. There is a situation with someone who has slipped through the cracks of the public assistance system in the US; she uses this to illustrate how flawed the system is in some cases. She really gets into the head of a girl who is determined to not repeat her mother's mistakes, and this is where the book really shines. It is both enlightening and heartbreaking.
My problems with this story are somewhat hard to define. The primary romance seemed to happen in a way that is contrary to the main romantic lead character. He is decidedly one way and while he doesn't instantly change, it isn't the kind of gradual turn that would define him more clearly. It's probably because the book is written in first person from the main character's perspective. Hoover has often written from two points of view, and that would have benefitted this story greatly. Being in Ryle's head would have explained a lot and made him both more and less of a sympathetic character. As it was, we only got a brief explanation of the reasons for his actions. We got none of the complex thought processes needed to totally understand him.
This isn't the case of a love triangle, really. But again, the book would have been greatly enhanced by a more extended ending, maybe a longer epilogue, even a third POV. This isn't the happy ending Hoover usually does; it is abbreviated so as to be more impactful in its message. It is a hopeful ending, but a sad one nonetheless.
I think this book does exactly what Hoover intended: it highlights the complexities of an abused victim's thinking. It offers no easy answers. The characters all have depth and Alyssa was my favourite - she had an optimistic, effusive personality that was honest above all else. She and Marshall were the characters that kept this story from being completely maudlin and morose.
The author's end notes are perfect. Hoover notes that she usually writes to entertain, not to educate, persuade or inform. She explains the story behind the story with her personal experience. She has my utmost respect for, as an author, choosing to step into Lily's shoes and experience her life. I cannot imagine living through the process of writing this book.
I think the ending is partially what kept this from being a 5-star book for me. There are so many different solutions to the challenges that Ryle and Lily faced in this book. I wish that Hoover had enabled her characters to take advantage of things like therapy and some of the current drugs that have done wonders in terms of altering a defective brain chemistry. She may have been able to provide her traditional happy ending if she had gone that direction. Even with the ending as it is, I hope she gives us a short story to let us know how Lily fares in the future.
On audio, the book is narrated by Olivia Song. She does a fair job with the narration although it wasn't perfect. Again, the book would have benefitted greatly from two perspectives rather than just one. Song's lower range for the male characters was pretty much the same one to the next and sounded a bit forced. But her ability to translate the high emotion of some scenes really balanced that. It was an above average performance in my opinion, not the best but a far cry from the worst I've ever heard.
Overall I feel very conflicted about this story. It was somewhat positive but I wish it had been more so. It was devastating, but in the end I think for me it failed to balance the devastation with joy. There really were no uplifting moments. Rather it was just a peaceful acceptance that life is sometimes very unfair and in real life, true love does not conquer all.
Hoover does an amazing job here of illustrating the cycle of abuse. There is a situation with someone who has slipped through the cracks of the public assistance system in the US; she uses this to illustrate how flawed the system is in some cases. She really gets into the head of a girl who is determined to not repeat her mother's mistakes, and this is where the book really shines. It is both enlightening and heartbreaking.
My problems with this story are somewhat hard to define. The primary romance seemed to happen in a way that is contrary to the main romantic lead character. He is decidedly one way and while he doesn't instantly change, it isn't the kind of gradual turn that would define him more clearly. It's probably because the book is written in first person from the main character's perspective. Hoover has often written from two points of view, and that would have benefitted this story greatly. Being in Ryle's head would have explained a lot and made him both more and less of a sympathetic character. As it was, we only got a brief explanation of the reasons for his actions. We got none of the complex thought processes needed to totally understand him.
This isn't the case of a love triangle, really. But again, the book would have been greatly enhanced by a more extended ending, maybe a longer epilogue, even a third POV. This isn't the happy ending Hoover usually does; it is abbreviated so as to be more impactful in its message. It is a hopeful ending, but a sad one nonetheless.
I think this book does exactly what Hoover intended: it highlights the complexities of an abused victim's thinking. It offers no easy answers. The characters all have depth and Alyssa was my favourite - she had an optimistic, effusive personality that was honest above all else. She and Marshall were the characters that kept this story from being completely maudlin and morose.
The author's end notes are perfect. Hoover notes that she usually writes to entertain, not to educate, persuade or inform. She explains the story behind the story with her personal experience. She has my utmost respect for, as an author, choosing to step into Lily's shoes and experience her life. I cannot imagine living through the process of writing this book.
I think the ending is partially what kept this from being a 5-star book for me. There are so many different solutions to the challenges that Ryle and Lily faced in this book. I wish that Hoover had enabled her characters to take advantage of things like therapy and some of the current drugs that have done wonders in terms of altering a defective brain chemistry. She may have been able to provide her traditional happy ending if she had gone that direction. Even with the ending as it is, I hope she gives us a short story to let us know how Lily fares in the future.
On audio, the book is narrated by Olivia Song. She does a fair job with the narration although it wasn't perfect. Again, the book would have benefitted greatly from two perspectives rather than just one. Song's lower range for the male characters was pretty much the same one to the next and sounded a bit forced. But her ability to translate the high emotion of some scenes really balanced that. It was an above average performance in my opinion, not the best but a far cry from the worst I've ever heard.
Overall I feel very conflicted about this story. It was somewhat positive but I wish it had been more so. It was devastating, but in the end I think for me it failed to balance the devastation with joy. There really were no uplifting moments. Rather it was just a peaceful acceptance that life is sometimes very unfair and in real life, true love does not conquer all.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wish relationships were deeper, only made up of trauma bonding and sex really. Very much wattpad coded.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I swear that I have read this book before.
But it is still so good! I'm glad that she left him.
But it is still so good! I'm glad that she left him.
I read this book prior to the controversy surrounding the movie. ....
That said.....
This was a such a good read. Lily Bloom was actually very lonely. She started writing letters to Ellen out of loneliness. When she met Atlas and the began their friendship is was out of sheer kindness and empathy that Lily extended him something he didn't have prior to her,..... human decency.
Their love bloomed until a tragically drastic turn of events seperated them and life took them to different places.
Lily moves to start fresh and meets a strikingly handsome man who is good with words and she starts falling for him. Her life is reaching a peak when she runs into Atlas , her first love and best friend, in a restaurant.
Lily soon finds herself repeating unhealthy patterns and following in her mothers footsteps.
When things go too far and lines are crossed Lily finds her self at the doorstep of someone she was forbidden from seeing again, Atlas.
Lily soon discovers a shocking revelation that sets her on a course that will change her life as she knows it.
She has to decide if she will continue a pattern or find the courage to end it for good.
This is a good book and although Justin Baldoni 's vision and portrayal was classy and tasteful ... there were key elements that were not included in the movie that may have not made editing cuts but were essential to the story of Lily and Atlas. Ryle's was excellently portrayed as he is a loveable character in the movie as well as the book.
The fashion sense of Lily in the book and on screen were so far off it's not funny. If you like the movie read the book because the book will fill in gaps that were important.
That said.....
This was a such a good read. Lily Bloom was actually very lonely. She started writing letters to Ellen out of loneliness. When she met Atlas and the began their friendship is was out of sheer kindness and empathy that Lily extended him something he didn't have prior to her,..... human decency.
Their love bloomed until a tragically drastic turn of events seperated them and life took them to different places.
Lily moves to start fresh and meets a strikingly handsome man who is good with words and she starts falling for him. Her life is reaching a peak when she runs into Atlas , her first love and best friend, in a restaurant.
Lily soon finds herself repeating unhealthy patterns and following in her mothers footsteps.
When things go too far and lines are crossed Lily finds her self at the doorstep of someone she was forbidden from seeing again, Atlas.
Lily soon discovers a shocking revelation that sets her on a course that will change her life as she knows it.
She has to decide if she will continue a pattern or find the courage to end it for good.
This is a good book and although Justin Baldoni 's vision and portrayal was classy and tasteful ... there were key elements that were not included in the movie that may have not made editing cuts but were essential to the story of Lily and Atlas. Ryle's was excellently portrayed as he is a loveable character in the movie as well as the book.
The fashion sense of Lily in the book and on screen were so far off it's not funny. If you like the movie read the book because the book will fill in gaps that were important.