It Ends With Us is a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking novel by Colleen Hoover that explores the complexities of love and destructive power of abuse. The book tells the story of Lily, a young woman who falls in love with Ryle, a handsome and successful surgeon. As their relationship deepens, Lily begins to realize that Ryle has a dark past and a tendency toward controlling and abusive behavior. As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas, her first love and link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit and protector. When Atlas and Lily suddenly reunite, everything she and Ryle have created is now jeopardized. On page (361) it states, “It stops here. With you and me. It ends with us.” As …show more content…
Her insistence of providing him food, clothes, water, and shelter helps Atlas through a period of homelessness. Later Atlas joined the military, promising to return to her. On page (60) it states, “Until he comes back for me, I'm just going to keep pretending to be okay. I'll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head about water.” Throughout the book Lily revisits her memories of their time together by reading through her old journal entries from when she was a teenager, which help make sense of her current relationship with …show more content…
I am glad I have read this book and I have learned so many new things. It transitions between regents in the past and present really smoothly and moves the story along nicely. The dynamics between the characters were really enjoyable as well. I liked how Colleen vaguely hints about random details we don't think much of as a reader, then specific detail turns out to link to a huge turning point in the plot. Her use of motifs is page-turning. It's like everything in the novel was done so deliberately. Everything is mentioned for a reason. Another thing that was so entertaining was the frequency of plot twists and turns and big reveals. It didn't feel like the characters just existed to fall in love with each other, like in most romances. The plot got every character driven and the characters didn't feel two-dimensional or flat. It really focused on each of the characters flaws and personality traits. It Ends With Us has compelling characters and an emotional depth that will stay with you long after you're finished reading. It shows a powerful and poignant exploration of destructive consequences of abuse and the strength it takes to break free. It's very impactful and it opened my eyes to the reality of abuse. It's another amazing book that I love by
Lily's childhood was traumatic, as her father abused her mother, which has much to do with her staying in an abusive relationship. Lily and Ryle get married, and soon to follow, Ryle begins to regularly abuse Lily out of jealousy, anger, sadness, and his problems. When Lily loses hope and trust, she turns to her past boyfriend, Atlas Corrigan. Atlas was a boy
I did not have many complaints. Even though, at times, I may have felt there was information or conversations that were not entirely needed, it did add more depth to the book and allowed the reader to see more into each individual
Second it was a very good book. It was good mainly because it makes you like the characters more and more over time so when they die it makes you sad and it puts a lot of emotion into the book. That is good because a lot of books don 't have that. Those
I went and read several other reviews on this story and the majority said that they loved this book. And another can be also added to that list, myself. I absolutely fell in love with this book. After getting a couple of chapters in, the story really started to pull me in. I would look at the clock and realize that I had been reading for over an hour when it felt like I had been reading for twenty minutes.
”(Kidd 256). Lily is a very deep character who holds a lot of guilt, sadness, and hatred over herself for what happened to her and her mother. But as she grows more mature and finally learns the truth she knows she has to accept it for what it is. She's able to work it out herself and realize there is a place for her in the world. She never was able to accept who she was until
Lily is the main character, and narrator of her story, through her interactions she gains an understanding
she learns about bees and how to get honey from them and they help her understand who she really is. As Lily gets more comfortable with the family she decides to tell them the truth and finds out that they knew her mother. The bees and the beekeepers help Lily find out that there is definitely a better world available to her. In The Secret Life of Bees, Lily overcomes her fears and present troubles to attain a better life.
The sisters helped her to get her spark back after losing it for almost ten years. Also, a brief article by Aislinn McCormick, reveals a personal opinion that Lily “finally feels loved” while living with the Boatwright sisters. At the end of the book, Lily
Tired of lying to August, Lily decides to tell the truth to her, and find out about her mother, Deborah, hoping to hear exactly what she had pictured. As Lily unfolds the truth about her mother’s past, she becomes frustrated learning that she wasn’t up to her expectations. Lily wishes that her mother had “been smart enough, or loving enough, to realize everybody has burdens that crush them, only they don't give up their children” (278). Furious, she believes her mother is a blind and foolish person who doesn't know what love is. Hurt by the truth, Lily realizes that “once you know the truth, you can't ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies.
This book was interesting for me because it allowed me to relate to a character. I love reading novels that not only allow me to feel a connection with a character, but allow me to relate to their personality or
This quote encapsulates the influence Lily’s father’s violence had on her and how it shapes her perspective on relationships. The quote portrays Lily’s realization that the childhood trauma she faced has defined her character in adulthood. Additionally, as she is in a conversation with Ryle, Lily says, “Fight or Flight. That’s our natural instinctual defense when we sense danger. But when it comes to abuse of any kind, one or the other isn’t sufficient.
August, the beekeeping family's matriarch, becomes a loving mentor and a source of great insight for Lily. August's loving presence, paired with her great beekeeping skills, serves as a metaphor for the strength of community and the interdependence of life. “Well,” August said, going right on with her pasting, “you know, she’s really just the figurehead off an old ship, but the people needed comfort and rescue, so when they looked at it, they saw Mary, and so the spirit of Mary took it over. Her spirit is everywhere, Lily, just everywhere.” Throughout August, Lily learns about love, forgiveness, and the importance of accepting one's past.
She finds herself in a small town called Tiburon in South Carolina, living with August Boatwright who was once her mother’s maid. After staying in Tiburon for a while, Lily calls her father, curious if he knows what her favourite colour is. They only spoke for a short period of
I liked how the characters all went through their own personal development throughout the novel. They each had specific struggles which they needed to overcome in order to fully accept Lydia's death. Nath, for instance, overcame his jealousy of Lydia and began to care for Hannah. He was able to realize that he cares about his siblings, even though they make mistakes. I disliked how Marilyn and James put an enormous amount of pressure on Lydia, trying to achieve their dreams through her.