By Olivia Deebel ‘23
On October 18th critically acclaimed author, Colleen Hoover released It Starts With Us, the sequel to one of her most famed works, It Ends With Us.
Following the 2016 novel, It Ends With Us, the sequel, It Starts With Us, picks up a little while after the first had ended. The main character, Lily, now seems to have come to terms with all the issues she faced in the previous book.
The novel tells the story of another main character and his point of view. Having multiple POV’s added another level of depth to the story. Many were elated to hear we would hear our other main characters, Atlas, tell his side of the story.Picking up right where it left off, Lily finds herself drawn back to her first love, Atlas. She had previously been in an abusive relationship, but was able to move on. But, being with Atlas is not easy. In doing so, she finds more issues and more reasons for her heart to break.
Hoover encapsulated fans by not only releasing a sequel, but by also including Atlas’ point of view. This excited fans; they were finally able to see his side of the story.
Hoover has stated numerous times her disinterest in writing sequels, but after years of hearing fans’ hoping and nagging, she gave in. This became Hoover’s first sequel.
Selling over 800,000 copies of the book in the first 24 hours, many knew Hoover had changed the scene of romance writing. Along with that she was able to have a record breaking first print of 2.5 million copies. Simon & Schuster, Hoover’s publisher, had never had any book pre-ordered as much as It Starts With Us.
Along with the success of her recent books, Hoover has gained control of the young adult audience. TikTok, a popular social media platform, gave Hoover the platform to reach a wider audience, and after a few months her books were all the rage. From tragic romance to steamy romance scenes, people were hooked. Verity, Ugly Love, and November 9th were growing in sales as people realized what Hoover was truelytruly capable of.
Hoover has expressed her disinterest in righting sequels, but years af fans nagging Hoover gave in. In February this year Hoover announced the second book in the It Ends With Us series. People Many are excited to see what she will do next!
It Starts With Us is available everywhere now. I suggest you grab it and curl up on the couch, you will be in for a wild ride.