Hopeless

Hopeless
by Colleen Hoover

Summary

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 that she wishes could just stay buried. 

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but 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 be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever. 

My Review

At first, I was a bit hesitant to read this book, because the title made me feel like the story would be all negative and sad, but as I read through it, I found out what it actually meant, and I thought it was really cool. So for anyone thinking that it’s a depressing novel, it’s not (for the most part). 

I think that Hopeless, despite not exactly being original, is a great book. It’s nicely written, and it describes the emotions of the main character so well that I actually felt like I was in her body feeling all those things with her. I love how the characters developed throughout the book, especially Sky. At the beginning of the novel, she wondered why she couldn’t feel any connection with others, but as the story went on and she met Holder, she started realizing how much she was really missing out on. She and Holder really complemented each other in their relationship, too, because through it they were able to help each other grow into better people. Holder kind of started out as this bad boy type, but when he’s with Sky, he’s gentle and caring, and it was really nice to see Sky bring out that side of him. 

The book mainly focuses on Sky’s past, and it opened up my eyes to the horrible things that parents could do to their children. I adore Sky’s bravery, because it takes a lot of courage to get past something that scarring and still turn into a person as strong as she is. I’m really glad that Karen was able to help her, and it made me see that sometimes, the best thing to do may not necessarily be the right thing. 

The plot is pretty intense, with so many tragic things happening. I also felt like the ending didn’t give me a sense of closure. Overall, was a tragic and painful story, but there was still beauty in all of that. It taught me that bad things can happen to anyone, and it is important that we stay strong amidst anything that life throws our way. As they say, you can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.

Quotes I Like

“The sky is always beautiful. Even when it's dark or rainy or cloudy, it's still beautiful to look at... it'll be there no matter what... and I know it'll always be beautiful.” 

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

“I'm not a sucker for happily ever afters, but if these two characters don't get theirs I might climb inside this e-reader and lock them both inside that damn garage forever.” 

And while I could sit here and feel sorry for myself, wondering why all of this happened to me... I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to wish for a perfect life. The things that knock you down in life are tests, forcing you to make a choice between giving in and remaining on the ground or wiping the dirt off and standing up even taller than you did before you were knocked down. I'm choosing to stand taller. I'll probably get kicked down a few more times before this life is through with me, but I can guarantee you I'll never stay on the ground.” 

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