Hopeless
Written by Colleen Hoover
Originally published in 2012
About 406 pages
Rate 9/10
My summary of Hopeless (No spoilers)
After being adopted when she was six years old, Sky has been homeschooled ever since, her mother Karen is super anti-technology, but that doesn't stop her from having friends. The girl next door named Six always makes sure that her boyfriends have a best friend to set Sky up with. Sky doesn't mind having the boys sneak in to her room at night because she doesn't really feel anything towards them, but she knows that after they are done making out with her she gets to hang out with Six and eat ice cream and watch movies.
Now that it's senior year of high school Sky wants to go public school and get to know what it's really like to be a teenager with her best friend Six. Even though Six has decided to be a foreign exchange student and won't be going to the same school as Sky, Sky still goes. Sixes reputation has followed Sky and she has a hard time making friends. However, at the local grocery store, she's bombarded by a boy who thinks he knows her. Even from a distance, this is somehow the only boy she's felt attracted to.
My thoughts on Hopeless
I actually really loved this book, this is the first time in a long time that I have read a book that's main purpose is the romantic appeal. They are both seniors in high school so it's not too far fetched, but some times I couldn't really accept what was happening. I think that it a bit wild to go from feeling gut wrenching sadness to horny as hell; that was wild to me. Putting aside the odd transition, those love scenes were great! The amount of passion was so perfect, the intensity of their love was jaw dropping.
I also really liked how the story was set up to begin with, it started in the heat of it all then went two months earlier. Even without that solid introduction I think I still would have enjoyed reading this book because of the way the story was written. There weren't a ton of characters to keep track of and everything about the story was so captivating. I also liked that there was a gay Mormon side character, it was unnecessary, but I liked that character nonetheless.
Quotes
"And we sit there in complete silence for what seems like forever but also not long enough. It's getting late and I'm afraid he's about to say he needs to leave because there's nothing else to say, but I don't want him to. It feels right, being here with him now. I don't know why, but it just does." (107)
"The intensity he conveys isn't unnerving... it's beautiful. I've gone so long trying to find ways to feel numb any chance I get, but seeing the enthusiasm behind his eyes right now... it makes me want to feel every single thing about life. The good the bad, the beautiful the ugly, the pleasure the pain. I want that. I want to start feeling life the same way he does." (182)