Review: It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover

 

Review: It Ends With Us - Colleen Hoover - August 2016

Growing up Lily Bloom lived in a household where her dad was abusive to his wife, but to the rest of the world, he was a great man. The book starts with Lily sitting on a roof after the funeral of her father. It is here she meets Ryle, who is also going through a bout of tragedy as we learn he is a surgeon. The pair chats away and has a time of what they call "naked truths." Then they go their separate ways. During this time, Lily has collected some of her old stuff from home and included in that are her journals where she wrote to Ellen DeGeneres instead of the usual Dear Diary.  This is where we learn all about the homeless boy she fell in love with - Atlas Corrigan and her father's abusive ways. Lily hasn't seen or heard from Atlas in nine years, but she thinks of him every now and again and wonders what the boy she fell in love with is doing. Nine years later, Lily is now the proud owner of her flower shop and dating Ryle - the surgeon and her best friend is Ryle's sister. Life is going well for her, then one night at dinner she’s served by none other than Atlas Corrigan. We learn he has been in Boston and is now a Resturant owner. Lily starts to have old feelings bubble to the surface but is happily in love with Ryle. That is until Ryle's true colors are revealed, and it seems she has found herself in a similar situation to her parents. The one situation she never wanted for her life. Can Lily be strong and leave Ryle or will she find herself doing what her mother did and forgave him over and over again? What will happen though when she discovers she is pregnant - will Lily be able to bring this baby into the world - a happy one ? Will the baby be the thing to give Lily the strength to reach out to her loved ones for help ? In a way It Ends with Us was a personal read for me and it hit close to home as growing up I lived in a household where my father was like Mr. Bloom and Ryle towards my mother and to us sometimes -me especially being the oldest. He would then make it up with gifts etc and this has continued or use guilt-trips. To the outside world, my dad was this loving, kind Christian man but inside the home it was a different story and even now - I don't get the physical abuse but the mental and verbal abuse I do. I stay because I have my brother to care about but I look with the hope that one day soon - I can leave. I have always wondered that if I got into a situation like Lily's what I would do , would I be like my mother who stayed till she passed away or will I be like Lily and try not to get stuck in that situation ever.  Parts of It Ends With Us was emotional for me as it brought back memories of not so good times.  Overall , this book is one that needs to be read as in reality, you never know what goes on behind closed doors.