'It Ends with Us' author Colleen Hoover is the queen of best sellers. Why is she so popular?
There has never been an author who has dominated the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list week after week like Colleen Hoover. Sure, other authors have had multiple titles appear on the best seller list for multiple weeks, but they have all fallen well short of Hoover, who boasted a total of 15 titles in a single week in 2022. Three of her books, "Reminders of Him," "It Ends With Us" and "Verity," took No. 1 spot that year.
10 years, Hoover has gone from self-published newbie to bestselling powerhouse.And on Aug. 9, her work will hit the big screen when Blake Lively (Lily Bloom), Justin Baldoni (Ryle Kincaid) and Brandon Sklenar (Atlas Corrigan) star in the adaptation of "It Ends With Us."
So just who is Colleen Hoover, and how did she and her novels get so popular?
"It Starts With Us" at Bookshop from $16.73
Who is Colleen Hoover?
Colleen Hoover, 44, lives in Texas. She worked for several years as a social worker before becoming a counselor at WIC, a nutrition program for women, children and infants. While at WIC, Hoover began to pursue her writing career. She would write on a laptop borrowed from her mother during her off hours, often while one of her sons was at play rehearsals. She gave the novel to her mother as a Christmas gift, and not long after, she self-published it to share with friends and family. "Slammed" (2012) would become her first published novel and her first book to appear on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list. In total, she has written more than 20 novels and three novellas, and contributed to various anthologies.
What types of books does Colleen Hoover write?
Hoover's books fall into new adult and young adult genres. The subject matter varies. For instance, the author's interest in slam poetry heavily influenced "Slammed." Both the "Slammed" and the "Hopeless" series were inspired by Hoover's social work career.
But Hoover has explored different genres in her novels. For example, her interest in the paranormal led her to write "Layla," in which the title character survives a life-threatening attack, after which inexplicable things start happening around her. Hoover also has written thrillers and love stories with twists and turns involving heartbreak and mental health struggles.
Which Colleen Hoover book should you read first?
"It Ends With Us" is one of Hoover's most popular and well-received novels, and a good starting point. It has been the highest-ranking novel of Hoover's on the bestsellers list.
Many of Hoover's plot lines involve emotionally intense situations including sexual assault, surviving trauma, infertility and abusive relationships. If you want to start out with something less intense, try "Maybe Someday." For young adult fans, the "Slammed" series, "Regretting You" and "Without Merit" are good choices.
How did Colleen Hoover's novels become popular?
While Hoover has steadily had bestsellers since her debut on USA TODAY's list, her popularity has exploded in the past few years. Her sales surge can be attributed in part to her massive popularity on TikTok, particularly in the platform's #booktok subculture. Publishers Weekly chronicled the phenomenon when Hoover's 2016 book "It Ends With Us" started climbing the bestsellers lists in 2020.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'It Ends with Us': Who is Colleen Hoover and why is she so popular?
