Unless you’re not on social media I guess theres no way you will have avoided the conversation about It Ends with Us. Im not going to rehash the conversations but in a nutshell the film, and by association the book has been marketed as a romance novel with Lily, our leading lady being cast as Blake Lively. Thats where it all goes wrong.
But lets start with the book. Theres heartbreak, romance and personal growth. Theres also a cycle of domestic abuse, for more than one character. Its not all sunshine and roses and for those of us lucky enough not to have been in Lilys shoes some of it can be hard to understand. You want her to make good (better) choices but its just not that easy.
The book deals with this well. You can see why Lily does what she does, you root for her to succeed and whilst the flashbacks help her relive her childhood they give us a great insight.
For me theres 2 big problems.
- What girls really writes to Ellen/a celebrity rather than just notes, entries or dear diaries? its a bit weird.
- There should never have been the sequal.
Lets talk about the second book. Its starts with us. There was no plan for it – but good ol TikTok made it happen. I understand why they wanted it, but it just shouldnt have happened. The writing felt forced and lazy. The diary passages are the same ones – at least give us new ones – and it felt like there was no story, not really.
I have yet to see the film, I know I will always prefer the book and once the characters are in your head thats it – the casting will never work out the same as you imagined ( Kristen Stewart as Twilights Bella might be my only exception to the rule). Heres what I know, from the trailers and those that have seen it:
- The story was set for people much younger than the leading actors. It just doesnt feel right
- Key Parts of the storyline are skipped. Yes they always do this but these were significant
- This is a survival story, not the romance it has been promoted as.
- Its set up for a sequal we dont want or need.
- TikTok shouldnt have this much power.
- Noone has said it was a good film – but they ve all enjoyed the book. Maybe its time Hollywood started coming up with more original stories
So, what does this all mean? Read the 1st book. Dont bother with the second and only see the movie if you havent read the books and arent looking for a love story but check out the trailer first, just incase.
One More Chapter 