November 9
Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Genre: Romance
Author: Colleen Hoover
Favorite quotes:
“Whether or not the couple ends up together at the end of a book doesn’t determine whether that book has a happy ending or not. As long as the two people end up happy, it doesn't really matter if they end up happy together. (Hoover 73)”
Summary: November 9th is the epitome of what happens when a severely insecure girl meets a douche guy; they fall in love. Fallon, our main character, is the daughter of a self-centered Hollywood actress. Nevertheless, that's exactly what she wanted to be. Until the incident that left her so physically burned that all hope of rising to fame was demolished. Then we have Ben, an aspiring writer looking to publish a book in the near future. Upon meeting over a horribly awkward incident on the anniversary of Fallon's downfall, they form an attraction like none other. But of course, Fallon plans to move away to New York the coming afternoon. They agree to meet up once a year, on November 9th, until Fallon turns 23 (the magical age her mother associates with maturity). Ben would write his book based on their story, and Fallon would continue to pursue her path of acting. No meet-ups. No social media. No contact. As one would assume, they continue to fall deeper and deeper for each other every year. Until it comes to light that maybe Ben wasn’t the one to save her, he might just have been the one to destroy her.
*Slight spoiler
My thoughts: I will admit that though my summary looks to be quite demeaning and critical, this novel was one of my favorite romances read so far. The book community is clearly torn on Colleen Hoover's writing. Some think she's a genius while others despise the characters she creates. I personally enjoy how humanly realistic their personalities are. Ben is most definitely a creep. He comments on Fallon's body quite often, even using language to convince her to wear clothing she clearly isn’t comfortable with. However, isn’t that just men in some forms? Can we as readers really expect every male lead to be adoring and pure? Not every love story has to be perfect, because these two were very far from that, but it shows how amazing love can be to overcome these characteristics. In fact, I think as weird as Ben was towards her constant fear of being seen, he gave her exactly the comfort and flattery she needed to combat insecurity. The writing hooked me from the beginning. The fact that I finished the book in almost a day advocates for how well it was written. It also highlights the theme of self vs career, and showcases how much easier it is to choose comfort and love over a path of seeming hardship. I’ve realized how boring a romance book can get when the characters don’t actually have real feelings or problems. Something about November 9th felt grounded and had me much more invested than the cheesy romance I usually read (not that I’m complaining). My only critique that led to the deduction of 0.5 stars, is that the ending felt incomplete. She forgave him without any discussion and there was little dialogue in response to the conflict at hand. For me to label a book 4.5 stars, it has to be emotionally wrecking in some way. This book was heart tearing in every way.
