COLLEENHOOVER’SROMANTICIZATION OFDOMESTICABUSE

By Coco Ferrari-Ross '26

If you’ve been on “BookTok”, a subcommunity on the app TikTok, or walked into your local bookstore recently, you have probably heard or read the name Colleen Hoover. The author of multiple bestselling books such as “It Ends With Us”, “Ugly Love” or “Verity”, who sold more books than the Bible last year, has been facing more criticism than appreciation lately in the media Although her books are usually some of the most recommended throughout America and Europe, readers have been looking harder at what is in front of them

Fans are finally realizing that her books may not just be badly written, they might even be harmful.

It takes a lot of time and patience and releases dopamine a lot slower than scrolling through Instagram. Many people find it difficult to find books that are entertaining and easy to read. You can't expect to pick up Dostoevsky and Kafka and understand everything Hoover’s appeal is that her books are meant to be read by today's generation; they are books that people of today's society enjoy reading Though it is certainly positive that reading is slowly becoming popular again, the books that got us to this point are causes for concern. Firstly, her books send morally wrong and useless messages For example, “It Ends With Us” romanticizes toxic relationships and glorifies an abuser who is charming, magnetic, and “misunderstood” (“It's not his fault his mother didn't love him!”) and it ultimately delivers a decidedly anti-feminist message that we should sympathize with an abuser because he had a “rough” upbringing.

In today's society reading is not a hobby that is very popular, especially amongst young people With social media, video games, movies, TV shows, and other instantly gratifying activities, reading is losing its place as a widelyappreciated form of entertainment.

Yet Hoover claims to be a feminist?

Due to her books being mostly popular during quarantine on TikTok, the main readers of her books are young, impressionable girls. Though she is not necessarily the one to blame for this, she should still recognize the effect that romanticizing abuse has on young people who are starting their first relationships.

It blurs the line of consent and confuses dangerous, toxic relationships with healthy ones. Girl meets guy, the guy is an attractive liar and they fall in love, they each have one chapter of trauma that they “process” together then it never resurfaces again.

She uses abuse as a plot and punch line instead of educating readers on real life abuse