Review: Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Published: December 19, 2012
Format: E-book
Source: Purchased on Amazon

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies... That's what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder.  A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she's never had before.  He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past she wishes could stay buried. Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he's trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her.  After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn't at all who he's been claiming to by.  When the secrets he's been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky's life will change forever.  

First Sentences

"I stand up and look down at the bed, holding my breath in fear of the sounds that are escalating deep within my throat.

I will not cry.

I will not cry."

My Thoughts

This book was recommended to my by my boss.  We've been discussing books recently and she'd read this one and couldn't put it down.  She warned me that it was probably for a younger age but said that it was just too good to skip.  

Each chapter is dated, sort of like a diary, which I did think was a little strange at first.  Honestly, once I got past that and got about 15% in, I was hooked.  It isn't a childish book, or even really a book for a younger audience.  The characters are teenagers, but the story line is a mature one.  One I don't really even know if a teenager could relate to.  Well, some parts, but not all.

Once I was hooked, it was all over.  I had to sit and finish the whole thing - in one sitting.  

Sky is a well-developed character that you love from the beginning, and your love just grows deeper as you read.  Her mother, Karen seems a little off and "new-age"-y, but you warm up to her.

Holder - ah, Holder.  In the beginning I was totally freaked out by him and just couldn't understand what the attraction was between him and Sky.  He's quiet, reserved, and she mentions that in the span of a day she sees quite a few different Holder's.  An angry Holder, a happy Holder, a sad Holder...He's very complex.

Without giving too much away, their connection is deep rooted, and Holder is definitely a character to love.  This book is full of twists that you never saw coming and were very well delivered.  The ending is shocking, amazing and full of love.  My heart breaks a little for Sky, but I've got to give credit to Colleen for leaving us with a warm feeling at the end, and no loose ends.

Favorite Quotes

"It's real, Six.  You can't get mad at a real ending.  Some of them are ugly.  It's the fake happily ever afters that should piss you off."

"Not everything is going to go my way and not everyone gets a happily ever after  Life is real and sometimes it's ugly and you just have to learn how to cope."

"Sky, I'm not kissing you tonight but believe me when I tell you, I've never wanted to kiss a girl more.  So stop thinking i'm not attracted to you because you have no idea just how much I am.  You can hold my hand, you can run your fingers through my hair, you can straddle me while I feed you spaghetti, but you are not getting kissed tonight.  And probably not tomorrow, either.  I need this.  I need to know for sure that you're feeling every single thing that I'm feeling the moment my lips touch yours.  Because I want your first kiss to be the best first kiss in the history of first kisses."

"Being adopted isn't really a stigma I've ever had to overcome.  I've never been embarrassed by it, ashamed of it, or felt the need to hid the fact."

"Like the purpose of the entire human race centers around this moment; around the two of us."

"If God's the type of guy that would damn you to Hell just for loving someone, then I wouldn't want to spend eternity with Him, anyway."

"And once again in my new world full of heartache and lies, this hopeless boy somehow finds a way to make me smile."

"The only thing that matters to me with you are the forevers."

"Whatever he goes through, I feel.  Whatever I go through, he feels.  It's what happens when two people become one: they no longer only share love.  They also share all of the pain, heartache, sorrow and grief."

"Sometimes you have to choose between a bunch of wrong choices and no right ones.  You just have to choose which wrong choice feels the least wrong."

My Ratings

Cover: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Writing Style: 5/5

Plot: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Overall: 5/5

Happy Reading!