photos/DREAMSTIME.

COM

How Hoover took flight in the world of books

by LYDIAKAMPE | Editor in Chief

L
iving in a single-wide trailer with her husband, William, and ending of the novel just made it a huge success.”
their three sons, Cale, Levi, and Beckham, Collen Hoover It Ends With Us and Hoover’s other novels primarily fall into
spent her days making $9 an hour as a social worker. Behind Young Adult/Contemporary Romance/Psychological Thriller
the scenes, she was writing a story that would be the beginning genres, making her books especially appealing to teenagers.
of something big. In 2012, Hoover published her very first novel, Colleen Hoover’s publicist, Ariele Fredman, stated that since the
Slammed, for the sole purpose of allowing her mom increase in popularity of Hoover’s books, the average
to read it on her Kindle. In just about seven months, “I know I age range of romance readers has increased from just
Colleen Hoover had earned over $50,000 in royalties and 35-54 to a broader 18-54. Lilly Taveras is another senior
was listed on the New York Times bestseller list. Hoover could pick who loves Colleen Hoover’s stories, and she, like most
has only gone up from there. any of her teenagers, has been particularly intrigued by the romance
Colleen Hoover was the bestselling novelist for the romantic aspect. “I think a lot of people just like to imagine
year of 2022. In Otcober, over 800,000 copies of Colleen novels, and something for themselves that is fairy tale-like and
Hoover’s It Starts With Us were sold on the first day I would desirable,” said Taveras. “Imagining the scenarios that
of publication. The novel is a sequel to Hoover’s most Colleen Hoover is able to create and explain so perfectly
popular book, It Ends With Us, which has sold over 4 love it.” is a lot less scary than what the real world has to offer.”
million copies since being published in August of 2016. Emma Sevier Hoover has received some backlash from readers
Senior Emma Sevier’s first Hoover-read was that very 12
and critics for romanticising heavy, complex topics such
story, and she loved everything about it. “The whole as abuse, sexual assault, and suicide. Some readers feel
internal battle of Lily on whether she wants to leave her that Hoover gives young women a false idea of romantic
husband creates so much suspense and kept me reading,” Sevier relationships and teaches them the wrong lessons. An avid reader
continued. “I think that since the book was conflicted between and reviewer on “Goodreads,” Emily May, strongly dislikes most
the changing perspectives, it kept the audience engaged, and the of Hoover’s novels. “I’m genuinely worried about what these
books are teaching young women about relationships with men.
They say everything is okay as long as he has a pretty face,” May
photo/JAKE DOCKINS/new york times

LOOKING FORWARD: COLLEEN HOOVER has now sold over 20
million copies of her novels, and with continuous success, it is
likely that those numbers will only continue to rise.
wrote.
Due to glamorizing difficult topics, Hoover’s novels are difficult
for most readers to put down. Her stories are enticing, and the
glamorized aspects often are considered too go to be true. They
give readers an escape from reality that it so realistic it becomes
hard to turn away. “Every character she creates is relatable in some
way and it feels like you are actually inside their head,” Taveras
continued. “She creates characters that you can either fall in love
with or want to punch in the face.” Sevier also recognizes this
aspect, and feels like they remind her of Hallmark movies. The
characters seem like real people, and each storyline is similar, yet
totally unique.
Emma Sevier’s favorite Colleen Hoover book so far is
November 9. “It’s like a fairytale novel and I just like the growth
that is shown in the characters throughout the book,” said Sevier.
The book is currently sitting at #7 on the New York Times
“Combine Print and E-Book Fiction” list, and has been on that
list for over 20 weeks. Lilly Tavera’s favorite is Verity, which is
currently sitting at #2 on that same list, having been on it for
38 weeks. Lilly said that the psychological thriller was “almost
impossible to put down” and she “finished it in literally two days.”
Like Verity was for Taveras, readers all over the world feel that
Hoover’s books are fairly simple to read and nearly impossible to
stop reading. Having now sold over 20 million copies throughout
her career, it’s safe to say that more than just her mother read her
first book. Teens everywhere keep coming back for more.

32 | January 2023 // @GFMEDIAGROUP Graphics & Design | Lydia Kampe

 Hopeless
Published December 2012

Sky is a teenage girl who has long been sheltered in most every
aspect of her life. When she becomes acquainted with Dean Holder,
time reveals a long line of secrets from the past. Sky is faced with
a new world of knowledge and has to handle extremely difficult
emotions. Hopeless discusses several heavy topics that many believe
to be too serious to address in the cheesy context that Hoover’s
novel can be perceived to have. However, I felt that the book was
wonderfully written and did an excellent job bringing attention to the
psychological effects of traumatic events. I had to close it several times
just to pause and reflect on everything I was reading. Overall, Hoover
does a great job of detailing events from several different time frames
that come together to form one wonderfully heart-wrenching story.
This book is definitely a bit of a hidden gem in Hoover’s collection,
and I highly recommend it to all Hoover-book lovers.

Ugly Love
Published August 2014

After Miles Archer stumbles into Tate Collins’ life, their friendship
(and lack thereof) quickly becomes complicated. Tate doesn’t have
time for a real relationship, and Miles doesn’t want anything beyond
the physical aspect, so that ends up working out perfectly for them.
Until it doesn’t. Miles sets two rules for Tate, and those rules get
quickly shattered. Neither of them can control their hearts quite as
much as they hoped they could. This book was incredibly hard for
me to put down. There were several plot twists and cliff hangers that
encouraged me to keep reading. This book is definitely steamy... I
often feel like that can overwhelm a story, but overall I thought that
aspect aided this book’s storyline. In typical Hoover Style, Ugly Love
captures her readers’ eyes, minds, and hearts.

It Starts With Us
Published October 2022

If you’ve read any of Colleen Hoover’s books, it’s likely that one of
them was her bestselling It Ends With Us. After high demand from her
readers, Hoover wrote It Starts With Us as a sequel. This story details
the life that Lily lives after an adulthood encounter with her teenage
lover, Atlas. As the title suggests, the story carries readers through the
beginning of Lily’s new love story while still having to deal with her
jealous ex-husband, Ryle. Alongside her baby, Emerson, Lily breaks
down her walls to allow herself to experience love again. It Starts
With Us is a more upbeat novel compared to its predecessor (which
I admire), but it wasn’t as much of a pageturner. I gave this book 4/5
stars simply because I’ve enjoyed some of her other novels a little bit
more. Overall, I do recommend this book to everyone who enjoyed
reading It Ends With Us.
photos/AMAZON.COM

Graphics & Design | Lydia Kampe @GFMEDIAGROUP // January 2023 | 33