Anamika Gharti
Title: IT ENDS WITH US
Author: Colleen Hoover
Genre: Realistic Fiction
The novel ‘IT ENDS WITH US’ by Colleen Hoover is by far the best realistic fiction novel I have ever read. Hoover is known to deliver an emotional read more than most authors, writing main events in the book based on her childhood with an abusive father.
This realistic fiction follows a twenty-three-year-old woman named Lily Bloom in the city of Boston, where she finds love, happiness, and violence from her husband, Ryle Kincaid. During their relationship, through constant fights and beatings, she feels a familiar sense, a reminder of her parents when she was a teenager. Everything changes when Ryle finally goes too far, with one beating too many, triggering memories of how her mother was abused as she is now. But Ryle’s beatings come with reasons of his own. Another man, Atlas Corrigan, Lily’s first love, whom she can’t move on from, reappears in her life. Lily later finds out she is pregnant and becomes torn between divorcing Ryle and forgiving him. Throughout their fluctuating dynamic, she soon gives birth to a baby girl and is left with the same unnerving question. She finally decides on an answer and lives with the consequences.
This book teaches us the oblivious reality of our society: that domestic violence and abuse towards women are still rampant. Even in our own neighborhoods, we have seen women suffer but are bound by tradition and financial, economic, and societal pressures, unable to do anything about it. Taking advantage of these loopholes, it becomes common for women to be abused in homes, blamed for not being independent, and reduced to nothing more than just a wife—just a woman.
Though fictional, the book is without a doubt an inspiration. It shows us that even in developed countries, there are the same or similar problems of violence and abuse towards spouses. Hoover describes her father as abusive, with graphic details such as him replacing his knuckles after constant impact on her mother’s skull. This type of violence can cause most women to fall into depression and even suicide. Like a genetic cycle, we cannot stop it, but we should have the courage to disrupt such a hostile pattern. Our future generations, being part of us, will inherit the same social injustice against women, regardless of how developed or respected society is. Just like Lily’s family—her father was a respected mayor, and her mother a teaching assistant, seeming perfect, yet no one knew how abusive her father was behind closed doors. This book is not only about domestic violence within family walls but also an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price, including Lily’s strong determination for her future.
It’s a story that digs its claws into you and doesn’t let go, giving new meaning to the quote by Kami Garcia: “Every person with a heartbeat should read this book.” You will laugh, cry, and read it all over again—a most irresistible read, guaranteed.
( Reviewer Anamika Gharti is a student from Dang)
