I just finished reading It Ends With Us. My thoughts on the criticism

OK, I saw how popular the book was online and now that photos from the set emerged it has caught my interest. Mind you I have never read a CoHo book before and I saw many people finding her style of writing cringy, basically calling it wattpad for a bunch of 20 year olds. I did not want to like it so much, but here I am. I finished the book in one sitting.

Is it perfect? Certainly not. Did the whole letters to Ellen thing, plus the fact that the character who wants to be a florist is literally named Lily Bloom cringe me a little? Yes. Is it honestly a bit Wattpad-like with every important male character being extremely handsome and head over heels in love with her? Yup.

But in all honesty, I think the story-telling of how we see the abusive relationship take on is true to the core and is not glamorizing it. I find it simply realistic. Abusive men are not isolated monsters that exist “somewhere” and are unlovable, with no redeeming qualities. Often, they are our fathers, our partners, our friends. Its complicated how we love them, how we can hate them and miss them at the same time.

As I read the book and fell in love with Ryle just as Lily did, I also found myself making justifications as to why his first act of physical violence could be forgiven. How a person should not be tossed out for one mistake, how they can change. In this case how Ryle’s awful childhood and guilt about Emerson’s passing must have ruined his ability to have anger management and sustain a healthy romantic relationship. However, as the story progresses and we see more instances of abuse, we realise how closely Lily and her mother’s story is intertwined. I personally have more understanding for those going through domestic violence who did not leave on the first instance and held on to the hope that things can change for the better.

At the end, its simply impossible for Lily to endure this cycle of abuse because Ryle is broken, and Lily cannot be the one who should “fix” him at the expense of her happiness, safety and future. Ryle will have more demons and more reasons created to continue his rage. I am not sorry to say, I absolutely loved the ending at the hospital.

Anyways, again, its not the best piece of writing but it was captivating, it shared a strong message and I enjoyed the book. How do we judge the success of a book anyways? If it reaches to a reader whose story resonates that of Lily or who finishes the book feeling compassion and understanding for everyone involved in the story (minus Lily’s dad f*** him), who are we to say its not a good book?