Introduction:
When the world shut down during the first waves of COVID-19 in 2020 many people were seeking different outlets to escape the reality that was our lives. Something that many people turned to was reading, and a big person that pushed that change was Colleen Hoover. So many people hadn’t picked up books since their last assigned reading in high school, and even that wasn’t voluntary. But Colleen Hoover blew up on many different social media channels, and turned the world upside down with her intense plots and fiery romances.
It Ends With Us:
This seems like a great thing in theory, increasing your literacy happens regardless of the things that you’re reading. So yes, it is great that Colleen Hoover was many people’s gateways back into reading. The main problem with this is the inherent issues that are a part of the many tropes and relationships that Colleen Hoover promotes. A big example of this would be her biggest hit, “It Ends With Us.” This book features a relationship between the two main characters, Lily and Ryle. We watch their relationship grow and evolve, until eventually their relationship becomes abusive.
Now the problem with this book isn’t the fact that domestic abuse is featured in it, it’s the way that it’s handled and glamorized by Colleen Hoover. Some could say that the following Lily and Ryle through time is to show how abuse sometimes comes out of nowhere, and is a gradual thing. But a lot of people, including me, think that this book is proposed as a love story even though it’s about domestic violence. It’s categorized and marketed as a romance and since we follow Lily and Ryle through the majority of the story, many readers get confused by the violence that comes. When the abuse starts, Hoover still tries to paint Ryle in a positive light. This leads readers to love Lily and Ryle together, and there’s a part of the internet that thinks they should have ended up together despite the abuse.
November 9:
This book isn’t the only one that has some deep rooted issues that are glamorized. In the book “November 9,” we follow Fallon and Ben. These two characters meet by chance one night, and then continue to meet up once a year on November 9 to catch up. This story is a romance, but later on in the story the audience finds out something troubling. Fallon’s house caught on fire and she ended up getting seriously injured, leaving deep scars on her body. The big conflict at the end of the book is that Ben reveals that he was the one who lit the fire, and that he knew who she was the whole time. Again, this couple ends up together despite this.
Dark Romance:
These books perpetuate violence and toxic situations while framing the books as romances. People are reading these books and are finding these harmful situations romantic, which might not be Hoover’s intention, but she’s enabling these people with her writing. Younger people are also reading these books, and are thinking that the events in these books are what romance is about, because Hoover is modeling it like that for them. Now these younger individuals think that true romance is a little toxic, or even outright violent.
It’s sad that these books are the things that are bringing people back into the practice of reading, because the book community is aware of how harmful these books can be. There is an entire genre that is called “Dark Romance,” and the great thing about this genre is that it’s upfront about the type of content that is included in these books. I think an easy solution that Colleen Hoover could follow through with is properly marketing her books and being honest with what they include. For “It Ends With Us,” she could just make it clear that it centers around an abusive relationship that we shouldn’t idolize.
Conclusion:
If younger people end up picking these books up, a factor no one can really control, they won’t misinterpret the messages she might be trying to get across. For the rest of her books that center toxic and darker relationships, she should make that clear as well. These small steps could really make all the difference in the way that these books are consumed and the impact that they have. People deserve to know what they’re getting themselves into when they’re reading books, and I strongly believe that Colleen Hoover is not doing that at this time.
Works Cited:
Willingham, AJ. “Colleen Hoover Is the Hottest Author in America. She Also May Be the Most Controversial.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 Aug. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/08/27/entertainment/colleen-hoover-books-controversy-cec/index.html.