Hoover Keeps Hitting

Cassie Libby
Contributing Writer

Photo contributed by Cassie Libby

For any young adult tuned into pop culture, the name “Colleen Hoover” probably rings some sort of bell. She has taken the world of reading by storm and is no doubt the biggest young-adult romance writer out there. Hoover rose to fame through social media sites like TikTok, with over 3.9 million followers on all platforms, and is still using these platforms to keep her novels in the spotlight.

Colleen Hoover has now written dozens of books, most of which have a huge influence on popular culture today. Some of her biggest books include titles such as: Ugly Love, November 9, Verity, Reminders of Him, All Your Perfects, and her most well-known book is It Ends With Us.

It Ends With Us was published Aug. 2, 2016, and it follows the life of a girl named Lily Bloom. Lily grew up in a household where she was exposed to the world of domestic violence, and eventually finds her adult self in a similar situation. Hoover sold four million copies of It Ends with Us. According to the New York Times, the book hit the top-selling book in 2021 and is still there to this day.

Due to the massive amount of support for Colleen Hoover’s emotional drama romance stories, Hoover decided to publish a book her fans had been begging for since It Ends With Us hit the market in 2016. On Oct. 18th, 2022, Hoover released It Starts With Us, the sequel to her #1 New York Times bestseller. Even though the book came out only a few weeks ago, it has already sold 2.5 million copies, according to Publishers Weekly. It Starts With Us follows the life of Lily after her abusive relationship and the struggles that come with moving on. Hoover’s fans all over the world pre-ordered the book, myself included.

While Hoover does know how to use social media to promote herself, her books are hard-hitting and well written without all of the embellishment. Most of her books touch on hard topics, ranging from domestic violence, life after prison, to conceiving and marital issues. Hoover has a way of making these experiences feel firsthand, but she leaves you with mostly happy endings. Her books are a different style of “feel-good” books, but that’s what makes them unique.