Like the main character, we’re left feeling empathy for Jared’s motivations, yet needing to decide whether we can forgive his treatment of Tate.

Honestly, I’m still not sure I forgive him and that’s the beauty of Douglas’ writing. I wasn’t sure until the last few pages whether I could forgive him for the merciless treatment of Tate, regardless of what motivated him. It was impossible not to despise Jared and yet, it was also impossible not to wonder what motivated his actions.Īs the story unfolds we discover what happened that summer that Jared spent with his dad and, along with Tate, have to decide whether we can forgive him for his actions. I was immediately pulled into Tate’s world and, from the first few pages, felt the hurt and embarrassment of a young girl wanting nothing more than to fit in.

Returning for her senior year, she hopes that Jared will have returned to the loving best friend she once knew…or at least have forgotten about her enough to stop the bullying.īully is heart-wrenching. He’s distant and mean, and begins a campaign to make Tate’s life miserable until she takes a year away from her high school to study abroad in Europe. When he returns, he is no longer the boy she once knew. Tate and Jared were best friends for years - inseparable until the summer before they began high school when Jared spent those months at his dad’s house. What I discovered was a beautiful story that gave Hoover a run for her money. I was intrigued when I realized the vote was close, so I knew I’d have to give this book a try. Privately, I’ve dubbed Hoover “The Queen of New Adult Fiction.”Ī couple of weeks ago, I was surfing around Facebook and came upon a fan voting site which pitted Hoover’s Hopeless against a title I’d never encountered: Bully by Penelope Douglas. Since then, I’ve read scores of “New Adult” novels but Hoover’s Hopeless has remained at the top of my list of favorites. I fell in love with the characters and the story, and it opened up a whole new world of writing style for me that I didn’t know existed. It was the first title I’d ever read in the new category dubbed as “New Adult.” It was a cross between Young Adult Fiction, with characters in their late teens, and Adult Fiction because it included themes that were a bit too intense for the under-18 crowd. A couple of years ago I read a book by Colleen Hoover entitled Hopeless.

Bully fall away series