book review // it ends with us (2016)

written: sept. 6, 2017

it ends with us is a story of love, loss, and friendship with a little bit of darkness thrown in the mix. i can't say too much because i think it's best to go into this story without knowing anything, so if you haven't yet read this book, STOP HERE and read the book!!! then feel free to come back anytime :-)

**warning: spoilers ahead!

i have to say, i'm extremely impressed with college hoover on this book. unfortunately, i was not a fan of hers to begin with because i didn't enjoy one of her other novels, but this book is one of my favorite stories of all time and i seriously just couldn't put it down.

the main character, lily, is a likable character that you grow to admire. she had a rough childhood, but she still managed to come out okay. the story is told from her single first-person narrative, and the beginning half of the story alternates between her perspective and past letters she had written and addressed to ellen degeneres as her makeshift "journal". these letters serve as a window for the readers to lily's past. the amazing thing about the interspersed letters in the story is that we get to slowly fill in the entire story up to the present moment, yet they aren't typical flashbacks. they make the story greater in the rawness of her childish perspective and narration, and when lily stops reading the journals, we stop too. it allows the reader to feel strongly connected to lily in an entirely different way, leaving us aching for more of her story to lead us to understanding.

the pacing of the story was remarkable, jumping many months at a time at one point to ensure that the story was reasonable and believable. like really, how does so much actually happen in less than a year in other typical books? in this novel, the events happen here and there and the pace feels real.

when i first picked up this book, my expectations weren't very high. i didn't think i would enjoy it very much because i typically prefer fantasy romance novels over contemporary (though i believe that preference is gradually shifting more in favor of contemporary.) as i was reading the first few chapters, i was disappointed with how predictable the plot felt. little did i know, this book would later make me question everything i thought i knew and every character i thought i loved. it starts to become unexpected and unpredictable and everything that i love about a good story. because i'm normally the type to spoil myself a little bit before and during a movie or book (though i'm trying to change this about myself) in the hopes that the ending would work out in my favor, i definitely searched to see how this book would end. surprisingly, and fortunately, i didn't find anything that told me what i wanted to know.

i was hooked to this story. i spent the weekend in vegas, and while sightseeing i could not for the life of me put this book down. that's how amazing it is.

this book really hit me in my soft spot. there are so many things i love about the story and the characters, and even though i finished it yesterday and i absolutely love to read, i have not been able to pick up another book as of yet because of the lasting impact this story has left on me.

finally, the way that hoover traces the story back to the title of the book is incredibly clever and all sorts of heartwarming (and so was the ending.) because of the pain and suffering i went through while reading this book, the ending was really able to put me back together and left me sitting there, staring and smiling at the ceiling.

i'd say this is within the top 3 books i've ever read. it's that good. i highly highly recommend it.

my overall rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars)