It Ends With Us is probably the most recommended book of the past few years - from its
romance to powerful message, no one can put it down. The novel starts on a high rooftop in
Boston with heightened emotions all around. After refusing to speak at her abusive father’s
funeral, a sad but conflicted Lily meets Ryle - an upset neurosurgeon - high above the Boston
skyline. Both deep in their feelings and without care for what the other thought of them, they
bare their naked selves to each other and then leave, presumably never to speak again. Until
six months later, when Ryle’s sister is employed by Lily to work at her new flower shop. Though
they can’t seem to stay away from each other, Ryle’s mysterious aversion to relationships
complicates things. But once they decide to get together, everything seems to fall into place:
Lily’s new business starts doing great, Ryle’s sister has a baby, and they buy a beautiful
apartment. However, the contents of Lily’s journal and her past relationship with homeless boy
Atlas begin to show the cracks in their perfect life together.
This book was really engaging and it was hard to stop reading. The portrayal of
homelessness and abuse had a lot of empathy and didn’t fall too much into stereotypes and
issues that often plague addressal of those issues. I got annoyed after a certain point with the
weird involvement of Ellen DeGeneres, the Dory movie quotes, the phrase “naked truth” and the
use of italics. However, my ability to get past all that was a testament to how interesting the
story and relationships were. I would recommend this book to any teen or adult, especially those
who have read other Colleen Hoover books and enjoyed them. I rate it three stars out of five.