Colleen Hoover Is A Toxic Mess

[@RachelOates]

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[@introusas]

Heya, I only found this video because I clicked on your playlists! I have no idea how YT works so maybe it’s intentional but I was a bit confused!

[@geraintthomas4343]

Tbf your result isn't surprising seeing as you're from yorkshire...

[@overthinker5805]

@@introusasbrother are you aware of what “playlist” means

[@hannabio2770]

Rachel, thank you for another cool video! I really love your takes on Coleen Hoower's books! ❤

[@The_Cloth_Surgeon]

I was going to say, “You’re Definitely fully English… ya know just like William the Conqueror was fully English” because of course the Norman (Norseman) conquest and all, but then you mentioned York… aka Jorvik… yeah you’re definitely a Viking, that’s awesome! (Side bar I love Jorvik, it’s so cool ).

[@tyler-df3wy]

Two things Colleen Hoover can never leave empty: a woman’s womb and a father’s tomb

[@greywalker505]

*WHEEZE*

[@Tacosswift]

💀💀💀

[@sophiet.3426]

oh my god

[@thrashbin2001]

You're a true poet 💀

[@sciencefantastic]

HEYO!!!

[@freyjathecat549]

Its crazy how someone can write such an accurate representation of an abusive relationship without realizing its an abusive relationship.

[@SirMasterRattington]

Colleen Hoover is good at that 😂

[@kaeriangrin5149]

E L James is also very good at this. 😬

[@lollabunyxxx]

honestly that makes me worried about the relationships she's been in and what she is teaching her kids (all boys if I'm not wrong)

[@mittag983]

​@@lollabunyxxxAnd one of her boys already SA'd a minor 💀

[@glennaschoeler]

especially considering she was a SOCIAL WORKER before she was an author???

[@MasterVerk98]

"The only person you can know for 20 minutes and know if they're perfect is a dog." Is the best line of the video.

[@irradiated_woman8016]

Shout out to everyone named Colleen who's actually normal-yall apparently beat the odds, and we love you for that.

[@SILLY_N3SS]

Spread the love for the normal Colleen's, we love yall!

[@tahliae]

I know no normal ones, but I know they exist somewhere! 😂 ❤

[@MaggieCantRead]

My favorite aunt is named Colleen but I wouldn't call her normal lmao

[@jydakota95]

They’re having a rough couple of years

[@BlackCat69909]

@@MaggieCantRead Well, I think differentiating in the good kind of weirdo and the CoHo kind is only fair.

[@finchfry]

Javier Chorizo is almost literally the Spanish version of a boy being named Johnny Sausage and it is so f-ing funny and unserious

[@finchfry]

Sorry to anyone named Johnny Sausage out there

[@andromedasignage]

LMFAO JOHNNY SAUSAGE

[@Tareltonlives]

Well, Juan Chorizo to be technical but this is so funny I can't stop laughing

[@memeosaurusrex3382]

Xavier Sausage….that sure was a name to find out she named a character as a Spanish speaker lmao

[@hils6928]

"People don't want to talk about death because it makes them sad," yes, Will, much like, "teachers don't want to date their students because it makes them abusers."

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

And then there are Deathlings who enjoy Ask a Mortician and learning about death and death rituals. :D

[@hils6928]

Aaahh I love Ask a Mortician!

[@my_girl_seraphine5294]

@@hils6928 Me too :)

[@tyler-df3wy]

I think if my parents called me Layken I would probably just never talk to them again

[@warlordofbritannia]

*Lichen

[@farmerbeebop]

@@warlordofbritanniaokay is it bad that i kinda love the name lichen?? it’s so pretty and i just love nature…maybe i’m evil 😭

[@warlordofbritannia]

@@farmerbeebop Probably, yeah

[@djreems8813]

​@@farmerbeebop Lichen sounds kinda like a bomb ass goth name ngl

[@mariascott4915]

Someone i went to grade school had that name and i thought it was really cool and unique.

[@sneakysnek572]

SHE NAMED THE MEXICAN GUY CHORIZO?????

[@accioenchiladas]

HUH

[@mst3kharris]

Oh nooooo

[@XYZ-kb3mm]

Javier Chorizo 😍

[@codexstudios]

GOD DAMMIT

[@paulatamaramohamad5794]

A ningún editor tampoco se le ocurrió decir, ponele algo menos ofensivo... Seriously??!!

[@pixelsbykris5494]

If you think Leeds is a dumb name for a character, then you might not be prepared for Colleen's book with characters named Utah, Merit, and Honor.

[@RachelOates]

WAT

[@pixelsbykris5494]

@RachelOates YES! I saw a video yesterday by Nikki Carreon, who read four of Colleen's lowest-rated books, and they were siblings. The MC, Merit, her twin sister Honor, and their older brother, Utah. At this point, I've just accepted that Colleen Hoover likes giving all her characters "quirky" names.

[@SirMasterRattington]

Stop it 😵

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@RachelOates It’s only a matter of time before Hoover’s trolling fundie board and naming characters Aynjel, Ansyr, or Anchyr. They’re three kids of Karissa Collins, the racist white lady who married a black man and whitewashes her mixed race kids in photos. She went with Lily Blossom Bloom for a florist, and Diem…as in carpe. It’s only a matter of time.

[@XYZ-kb3mm]

LMFAO like Merit and Honor roll 😭😭😭😭

[@vanda_XL]

I like how CoHo seems to think that repetition = poetry

[@michiganscythian2445]

I get the impression that she just learned that poems don’t have to rhyme

[@NdieCity]

My god... It's like poetry... It rhymes

[@osheridan]

CoHo is the new ScoMo

[@runa_7022]

the best way i can describe this book is that this is what people think lolita is. the way this book was written and treated is exactly how uneducated people treated lolita.

[@erika2m16]

You mean people who think it's a legitimate romance novel?? I don't think those people are just uneducated... they are actually insane

[@WynnWynn-gl3fk]

Still a horrible idea for a book

[@nattyfeatureseverything6179]

you know what her writing reminds me of those types of girls who write I love the smell of his cologne on their Instagram stories, but they miss spell cologne as colon lol

[@anjisarv]

Pls this is so funny to me

[@yms4355]

LMAOO💀💀💀💀

[@nattyfeatureseverything6179]

you're welcome i should get stoned more often when i watch youtube videos i come up with comedic gold it seems lol@@anjisarv

[@brunetteartist24]

Are we sure she just didn't want to publish her pretty little liars fanfiction about ezria

[@Tink00]

I was thinking the same thing 😅

[@dogcathorsefish13]

I would like to point out that "I was wearing my blue sweater, the one I got at Dillard's" is....ripped from Verity. "I was wearing my red dress, the one I stole from Macy's". It seems like a simple turn of phrase, but it cannot be a coincidence. 1) both items of clothing were written about a first meeting between a couple. 2) both involve pregnancy and abortion 3) both involve a violent man. However, in it we see a microcosm of Hoover's worldview. The woman wearing the blue sweater is coded instantly as modest and childlike (thumbs in the holes, not wanting to wear gloves) and by extension, pure, which is corroborated by the natural description of the eyes. She wonders at or at minimum is neutral about her pregnancy, observing the way her body changes. She focuses on her sweater stretching, not her stomach. However, the violence of a man ends her baby's life, but not hers. This is a tragedy enacted upon a victim (the baby) who is harbored by a woman in her pure, blue sweater. In Verity's manuscript, she is wearing a red dress which explicitly in the text is meant to code her as a self centered whore. She becomes pregnant, but because she does not want her pregnancy and is HORRIFIED by her belly stretching, she enacts violence upon herself in an attempt to abort her baby. Her babies are just fine, but she dies at the hands of a man because she a whore and a baby killer. She is not the tragedy; she is described as a villain, the woman in the red dress who gets exactly what she deserves for even pretending to not have a maternal desire. It's almost too perfect. How could this not be intentional? I could write another 1000 words on this but I have a job and dinner and stuff

[@SirMasterRattington]

Holy shit you are not wrong. A part of me wants to believe that Colleen Hoover is a secret genius whose just trolling everyone. Verity, that book lives rent free in my head! The idea that it’s meant to be interpreted as a psychological thriller with Lowen as an unreliable narrator, completely brainwashed by the psychopath Jeremy, is so so tempting. A lot of the plot inconsistencies and poor writing seem to make more sense. But…I just don’t think Colleen Hoover is that self-aware.

[@dogcathorsefish13]

​@@SirMasterRattingtonI don't honestly think it's intentional either, she just has a very limited set of ideas and a very limited imagination. It's just unbelievable how her work reads like a parody of her own work.

[@valolafson6035]

Woman in blue sweater as Virgin Mary.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

“It’s almost too perfect. How could this not be intentional?” Because Hoover has admitted to not researching. She doesn’t care to think about what she writes.

[@d_alistair-years]

This is CoHo’s debut. Verity came later

[@NoHandleLol13]

As an American I can confirm that there is absolutely no way a man who manages a paint store could afford a ranch. That’s absolutely ridiculous especially in the current housing climate in the county.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

As an American in an area where I know a couple people who manage stores like that and do own houses… And Layken’s mother is a nurse, and nurses make a LOT of money in most areas, even part time. Colleen Hoover accidentally wrote something plausible. This book was originally written in 2011 as a Christmas gift to her mother (her mother should have asked to exchange it for a good book), and when it was republished, the trad publisher she had should have asked her to update it. While it’s plausible Layken’s parents owned acreage, there are too many questions, and a lot of people wouldn’t believe it. Really, it would have worked fine to have had Layken’s parents renting, and they moved for cheaper rent. Selling and buying added nothing to the story.

[@JeanetHenning]

Not that this necessarily would make it more believable but the book was written in 2012 so maybe the housing costs mightve been a little bit more affordable back then?

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@JeanetHenning It was post-housing bust and banks were sitting on houses they wouldn’t sell.

[@tayloradams3993]

unless "paint" was code for something illegal that would sell for much more?

[@XYZ-kb3mm]

maybe it’s super old?

[@elise12345]

...even if he thought she was in college, he teaches 18 year olds and it would be so creepy to find out your teacher is dating someone your age.

[@Habssx]

Honestly I’d be creeped and concerned if someone my age was dating someone that old especially knowing that they are a teacher, like they deal with kids. Very creepy. And emphasis on the word kid cause that’s what an 18 year old is, no matter how many people say that they’re now a legal adult.

[@faithborak7375]

I worked as a TA for an entry level college biology lab about a year and a half ago, at 22-23 years old. My students were all 18-19 and even though the age gap was only 3-4 years, the maturity gap is huge. I couldn’t imagine dating one of my students

[@XYZ-kb3mm]

@@Habssx ok? obviously it’s weird but the kid isn’t creepy for it

[@Habssx]

@@XYZ-kb3mm I think my comment rubbed you the wrong way but I wasn't saying the kid is creepy but the dude.

[@Nothereforit174]

I mean maybe but they’re an adult and that person is in college so I’d file it away as things that aren’t my business as long as he’s not dating any high schoolers. Like I get what you’re saying but people don’t base their lives off of what their students might think so I’m not sure that’s the argument you think it is because it’s not really about them

[@RainWelsh]

Eddie is overly pushy and ignores Layken’s autonomy because she’s got a masculine name so Colleen got confused and defaulted to how she writes men. We actually had a teacher in my school who ended up dating, and eventually marrying, one of his students, allegedly only starting the relationship as soon as she left sixth form. Absolutely none of us had any respect for him, he could never control a class again without the majority of the girls (all girls school), sometimes even including the otherwise well-behaved ones, essentially going “okay, paedo” and ignoring whatever he had to say. Turns out “It’s technically not illegal” isn’t a great defence against social stigma.

[@my_girl_seraphine5294]

At my college, I had a creative writing teacher who made very sexual comments toward every female student there. None of us wanted to be in a room alone with him. And when someone went to report him we learned he’d had many rape allegations against him.

[@zapacunotres59]

None of you know what a pedo is if you're calling him that.

[@reptoidrenaissance]

​​@@zapacunotres59If he's creeping on minors, _as he was,_ then the label applies.

[@diewott1337]

​@@reptoidrenaissancePerson you replied to was probably using the "Technically, not pedo" argument.

[@babygirla5717]

@@zapacunotres59Ok 🤡 you might be an undercover one.

[@tyler-df3wy]

“What’s the point of the sweater being blue?“ no no no Rachel you don’t get it. The sweater’s blue because it represents depression and it’s a sad poem. Colleen Hoover’s actually a genius writer who definitely understands symbolism on such a deep complicated level and not a hack in the slightest

[@heysaras]

That’s a trite, well known device (or crutch), to focus on a blue object as a stand in for actually describing the character’s mood through their behavior. Is the rest of this woman’s writing symbolic? No? It stands out and feels immature to lean so heavily on it. Of course some people will enjoy it, including the author, but Rachel didn’t. It’s just a sweater. Maybe the authors is asking it to do too much.

[@spunkmckunkle5604]

Maybe the sweater was just blue. I know it's more thought than the author put in, but maybe the poet didn't do anything with the color because the sweater was just blue.

[@tyler-df3wy]

@@spunkmckunkle5604 it’s a reference to the old ‘the curtains are blue because it represents depression’ joke. But genuinely, poetry’s probably one of the most symbolic forms of writing there is; little details like colour can be a major aspect A lot of poems try to convey a story with real depth in an extremely short period of time, but Colleen just shoves stuff into them with no critical analysis or consideration of the artistry. She doesnt seem to understand what makes poetry special or unique, it’s just a shitty short story in her eyes. There’s a reason Rachel analyses the poems in the book, because she understands what’s important in a poem and wants to encourage her audience to analyse the deeper meanings in them

[@extraterrestrial615]

"The sweater isn't blue, it's in fact cerulean"

[@_piranha]

​@@tyler-df3wyEXACTLY, i know next to nothing about poetry, and i am complete garbage at it, but even i could see some ways to incorporate some of the random stuff. You could take the stars in the oceans imagery and say that HER star in the ocean has died out and it's light has disappeared, both symbolising the fetus (star) dying in the amniotic fluid (ocean) (kind of gross with the fluid but it works), and the end of their relationship and love. The star dying out representing the "light in her life" showing himself his true colors and darkening, etc etc. There's so much you can do here honestly

[@addendumBeekeeper]

the opposite of chekhov’s gun: hoover’s hair clip

[@diesdas5851]

I want this to be a common phrase so bad hahaha

[@osheridan]

Omg

[@Butterfly-ql4pg]

I don't know what kind of education Layken's received, but being an American myself, I can confirm I didn't need to take an SAT prep course to know what "inhabited" means 😂

[@supercrazylegs1]

I think that that line was supposed to show how smart Layken is, because apparently smart people can recite synonyms for basic words as though they're a human thesaurus. Because that's definitely what SAT prep courses are for.

[@smilegirl6429]

I learned the word accolades from a book written for 9 year olds. Inhabited should not be the focus of an SAT course.

[@reptoidrenaissance]

That's how unintelligent people think intelligent characters are written.

[@mst3kharris]

As a cancer survivor, I hate seeing cancer used as an death flag. Lots of treatments are successful! People live for decades after their diagnosis! Also, there’s no way a doctor would leave the weight of telling the family to the patient. Layken should have been told in a setting with supportive people there to cushion the shock. She absolutely should not have been able to storm off to her groomer’s house, what the actual hell.

[@novabadova4238]

My grandma had cancer and I was devastated when she died last year. I would’ve never reacted that way to my grandma when told that she had cancer the way layken reacted! I regret everyday when I used to have tantrums and lash out at her when I was younger. I am also a survivor of grooming and i can understand some things layken does but I would’ve never reacted the way she had

[@greywalker505]

My grandmother had breast cancer. Twice. She got through both of them.

[@mst3kharris]

@@greywalker505 that’s amazing. I choose to think that I’m done with cancer because I don’t want to think about doing it all again. If I do have to, I hope to have your grandmother’s success.

[@greywalker505]

@@mst3kharris I hope you never have to go through it again.

[@alisaurus4224]

My MIL was told of her cancer alone. I was too. Policies differ

[@samuell.foxton4177]

There’s quite a lot of “tell me you’ve never been to a poetry slam without telling me you’ve never been to a poetry slam”

[@momomomo__]

I'm curious, since I've never been to one, how off is the depiction here?

[@not.this.anonymous]

@@momomomo__ same

[@cassidyperry5002]

i’m sorry, being in college makes me realize just how nasty a 21/18 age gap is, especially when the eighteen year old is in high school! so disgusting. i’m only 20 and i could never imagine dating a high school senior, it’s just foul

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

A couple that started at 16/19 wouldn’t be an issue so much, but yeah, meeting when she’s still a kid in high school and he’s teaching at a college?

[@RainWelsh]

Yeah, it always makes me think of the time back in university (like a decade ago for me now) when my friend hit it off with a guy in a club, made out with him a little, got his number, and then found out the next day that he was a fresher, plus an August baby, so at the time he was like 18 and five months or something. We were in third year, plus my friend took a gap year, plus she’s a December baby, so she’d just turned 22. She was horrified, and we all called her Cradle-Snatch Jude and Judephile and shit for weeks afterwards, because the idea of being in your twenties and pulling a teenager was just so weird. Age gaps throughout your teens/really early twenties are so much bigger than just “oh there’s only a few years in it!” because you’re ageing and maturing so much year on year. From your twenties onwards it gets less of an issue, I work with people of all ages and honestly barely know the difference between the 24-year-olds and 40-year-olds, we’re all just co-workers. But being a university student going out with a high school student? Fucking gross.

[@MissMoontree]

21/18 is fine if they are both in college or uni. It is more about life phase at that moment. The age isn't the problem, because they might be labpartners in the first or second year of uni even.

[@SavedBeforeSunset]

These authors who refuse to grow up have to keep writing kids. It’s like they never mentally left high school!

[@cassidyperry5002]

@@NoelleTakestheSky that’s still bad, what? A freshman in college dating a hs sophomore/junior? Rethink that, I beg you

[@PortasRex]

Property in America is not that cheap. Most of us are renting tiny cramped apartments, no shot you are affording 2 kids and a house with land on a manager/nurse salary.

[@hellomynamesninooo6017]

It's not that cheap, but it used to be much cheaper than it is now, especially in Texas. The only thing that makes me think it's possible is just how much easier getting approved for a home loan used to be compared to after '08... But there is little chance they just earned it with their paychecks the way colleen makes it sound. My headcannon now is that it was inherited or bought for them lmao

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

Depends on where you are. In some areas, nurses make BANK. I do know nurses who own homes, on just their own income. And then her dad managed a store. They were absolutely doing fine for most of the US, actually. While the US isn’t cheap, it’s also not so expensive that you need to be a CEO to buy anything anywhere. Not everywhere is Manhattan or San Francisco. We bought a handful of years ago when my husband was making south of $80k near Portland, Oregon.

[@hellomynamesninooo6017]

@@NoelleTakestheSky pre-2008 Texas housing market meant you needed to make $100k combined to afford higher-priced houses/properties (median house price was

[@michiganscythian2445]

Depends where in Texas. Booming metro areas are expensive but a small town might be more affordable

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

​@@hellomynamesninooo6017 In the pricier areas, yes, but not in small towns, and even pre-2008, nurses were making serious money. I knew a lot of nurses. My mother was one. Between a nurse mother and a father who managed an entire paint store (it’s odd how much that makes, but anything home improvement is pricy, and managers are expected to have serious knowledge of all of it, making is a very skilled job), they’d easily clear that $100k hurdle. I’m not crediting Hoover with getting this right since it’s not on purpose. She doesn’t exactly bother researching anything for her books. She probably thought that she was making relatable characters, and in this one she staaaarted to, then went off the rails back to the pure WTFery we’re used to. Just funny that, even when she gets something plausible, it still feels false.

[@holly5969]

As a young woman on the cusp of legal adulthood, I really appreciate video essays like this that discuss problematic aspects of popular media. Had I read this book before seeing this perspective, I believe there is a more than reasonable chance that I simply wouldn't have noticed the fact that there was a massive power imbalance. By sharing your knowledge and life experience, you've helped me understand a danger that my currently underdeveloped prefrontal cortex may not have noticed if left to its own devices. So Rachel, don't let anyone tell you that you are failing to contribute to future generations by choosing to be child free. A video like this may very well have prevented a young woman from falling victim to a trap like this. Thank you

[@flamebloom4659]

When you look at the overall plot of the story ... Why is him being her teacher even necessary for the themes/narrative? He could easily be an college student, just a neighbor, who used to go to her school. The story could make the relationship conflicts about their respective traumas, him feeling uneasy because if she ended up with him she would end up having to help care for a child, ANYTHING other than the weird student-teacher stuff!

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

$10 says she was a fan of Pretty Little Liars.

[@fernglade]

It's necessary in order for Colleen Hoover to satisfy her abuse fetish

[@Denise0001]

I think it's because Collen wanted to add a forbidden relationship in her book, to try to make deeper or more dangerous. Like: "Wow, look at the power dynamics between them, their relationship is so complicated and complex." But, I can tell you, she's going too far into the dark romance side with her lately books LMAO. I won't be surprised if she releases a book with the romantic interest being an step uncle or step brother.

[@hellomynamesninooo6017]

As a texan, no, its been a REALLY long time since land was so cheap that a nurse and a paint store manager could own a several acre home without significant outside financial help. This book was published in 2012. It had been a long time since then too!

[@katgreer6113]

Haha that could NEVER happen now.

[@girlwhomustnotbenamed4139]

If the book's timeline is contemporary then it checks out, as they would have bought their property around the late 80s/early 90s, when it was still possible I think.

[@hellomynamesninooo6017]

@girlwhomustnotbenamed4139 I was thinking something similar. Especially since she said she grew up there- that'd be around 15-20 years of homeownership at that point, which puts it as being purchased in the 90s

[@sarcomeresarecool]

...when I was sixteen, I learned that a twelve-year-old in an internet chatroom we were both in had a crush on me. It cost me, a teenager, ZERO DOLLARS to know that, even with a flat power dynamic, it would be incredibly inappropriate for me to reciprocate that crush, or to start talking to her privately outside of the main chat, because she was a *child.* Like. I did make another friend act as a go-between because I did not know how to let her down gently 😅 but.... like.... it's actually not hard?? To not be a creep??

[@MissingmyBabbu]

I remember when I was 16, talking and making lewd, innapropriate talk with people in their 20s and even 30s. It felt normal to me as the younger, but then we'd be talking about life. I'd be mentioning high school exams and prom, and they would mention full time jobs, college graduation and even marriage. Now, when I talk to teenagers as an adult, I'm very careful to keep it PG13, or at least appropriate. There's being a mentor and then there's grooming, you know? I got pretty screwed up by what I went through, and I don't want to do that to anyone else.

[@Sheblet]

absolutely begging colleen hoover to write one normal relationship

[@runa_7022]

and id like a million dollars, we both have very unrealistic dreams 😔😔😔😔😔😔

[@Sheblet]

@@runa_7022 💀💀

[@reptoidrenaissance]

She'd have to understand what a healthy & normal relationship is, first. She has the same problem Stephanie Meyer does: zero experience with anything resembling a healthy relationship ever in their life.

[@samuell.foxton4177]

First naming a character Leeds, then another Calder (a river which runs through Yorkshire, a little south of Leeds). Is she trying to troll Rachel, or is she secretly obsessed with Yorkshire?

[@catherineshaw3462]

I couldn't get "Calder and Hebble Navigation" out of my head. At least he wasn't called Calder Dale :D

[@Sableagle]

Coming soon, characters called Ray Cotter Aysgarth, Barnard Leyburn, Cover Masham, Janet Gordale, Settle Ribble, Esk Whitby, Otley Weir, ...

[@promisemochi]

"leeds" and "calder" are giving 2013 one direction fanfic lmao

[@ERIF2003]

I like to think she's naming her characters after english rivers and will one day create characters such as 'Trent Barton' (after the river and bus service) 'Dwent' (aftee the river) and have a london centric romance where both characters are fucking horrible, but name them 'Thames'. Idk lmao

[@samuell.foxton4177]

@@ERIF2003 once you get to Trent Barton, you can start using their service names… “his name was Rushcliffe Villager”

[@Set666Abominae]

Every time I’ve seen a breakdown of Coleen Hoover book I’ve had the thought of “yeah, this is someone who reads Lolita as a tale of a beautiful romance”. You hit the nail on the head! Pupper cuddles are normally a an added joy, but here are a needed part of reminding all of us there is still good in the world, after Hoover sucks all hope from us.

[@levibee9451]

Damn I need one of those blue sweaters from Dillard's. The double knitted hem and holes at the ends of the sleeves that you can poke your thumbs through sound great for when it's cold and you don't feel like wearing gloves.

[@andromedasignage]

you know, the one he ripped off of me. the blue sweater from dillard’s.

[@megan3576]

Okay look, it’s beyond shitty to romanticize grooming but you have to respect the accuracy of the child’s response to being groomed. I actually genuinely wonder if Colleen has unresolved and unexamined experiences with grooming and abuse that allow her to write with some degree of accuracy while completely missing the fact that she’s writing positively about horrific experiences.

[@valolafson6035]

I am also starting to wonder that.

[@Ashbrash1998]

I know her dad was abusive because she's talked about it and that she was a social worker. Which the latter is concerning

[@reptoidrenaissance]

It definitely feels like lingering Stockholm Syndrome, doesn't it?

[@abbulous]

as a teacher myself stories like this are absolutely vile. i hate that books like this are normalizing that kind of behaviour. edited to add: there is no way in hell he would be allowed to continue in the program (or let alone not face criminal charges) for physically assaulting a student even if the school board didn’t know about his sexual misconduct

[@Anindeterminateamountofbees]

I really appreciate the caveat that not everyone experiences romantic/sexual attraction!!

[@melissabattles3196]

Yes! 💙

[@thylionheart]

Yes!! as an aspec ace that genuinely meant a lot

[@osheridan]

When people say general ("everybody experiences this") stuff I know they mean no harm, but it's still always nice when people _do_ remember that A people exist

[@thesleepydot]

1:19:54 "then the mom has another coughing fit, so she's DEFINITELY gonna die" 💀💀💀💀 omg histerical

[@Ivy11110]

I call this Chekhov’s cough, no character can just cough

[@thesleepydot]

@@Ivy11110 hahahaha

[@osheridan]

​@@Ivy11110 That's one of the few things I personally prefer about movies over books. On screen, not every little mannerism is a big deal, which often makes plot twists more surprising

[@lil_dairy]

He’s so shocked that she’s in high school after she ordered chocolate milk??????

[@universal_stupidity]

(yes it's been 4 months but) I'm 18, not in highschool, and I want to defend the drinking of chocolate milk. I would never defend Colleen Hoover. But chocolate milk is good ok? Ordering it at a club is wilddd tho. But I drink chocolate milk and hot chocolate bc I can't drink caffeine or much alcohol for health reasons, so I'm just more offended by her terrible chocolate milk representation

[@introusas]

@@universal_stupidityI’m an adult who loves coffee, but even I order an iced mocha latte which is literally just chocolate milk with espresso 😂 Dat shit good

[@kris7607]

just found out through your video that despite my conscious efforts to avoid reading colleen hoover books, i actually read Slammed like 10 years ago before she blew up. the premise was immediately familiar: student-teacher relationship and there's slam poetry. i went to check my bookshelf and there her name was. the scream i scrumpt in realization...

[@Cherry-li6nk]

the trauma you tried to repress

[@TheBedroomMuse]

Broo the scene where he has a jealous fit and KICKS A STUDENT OUT OF THE ROOM FOR FLIRTING WITH HER. Like it was lokey triggering o my god. That's actually so horrible, how does she write this, edit it, have others look it over and never once said "hey this is a little weird."

[@demitwice]

i read slammed at 13 and i remember it rubbed me the wrong way but i didn't have the critical thinking skills to understand what was making me so uncomfortable about it. to think that there are other girls who were the age i was reading this now and internalizing it as normal and healthy behaviour is just sad

[@sarak4298]

Ok quick appreciation for the killer pink/blue look in the last part of this video, bc if you have to talk about someone with no writing style or talent, you might as well have style doing it!

[@sam.onella]

colleen may as well have named Javier Chorizo "José Taco"

[@hannar.2070]

I am in my last year of school and I have a teacher who used to date a student of his until they recently broke up. Not only is that incredibly inappropriate towards the former student, but the other girls in class and me often feel uncomfortable around him. Moreover, he sometimes makes inappropriate jokes about penises and sex positions during his biology lessons. That is not funny and should definitely not be normalized or romantized. Some friends of mine literally had to write a list of complaints and talk with another teacher, to make sure that he would not be able to come along to a class trip of them.

[@Habssx]

Man, I’m so sorry you and the girls in your class have to deal with that creep. Hopefully he doesn’t remain a teacher for long.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

If my daughter had a teacher like this, he’d be out of a job. And that school should have been held accountable. For decades now, while teachers can date students who are 18, most schools have barred teachers from dating students within the school until they’ve graduated.

[@hannar.2070]

@@NoelleTakestheSky The problem is that they officially started dating once she graduated, so the school really couldn't do much, since she wasn't a student anymore. Obviously there were already rumors about them before, but nothing really substantial enough to take action.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@hannar.2070 If there’s even a rumor, then the school needs to step in.

[@my_girl_seraphine5294]

I had a creative writing professor very similar to this. None of the female students ever wanted to be in a room alone with him because we weren’t sure what he would do.

[@KarenAMathis]

I'm sorry, but. A girl wrote a poem about a traumatic memory involving a pink balloon, and then her boyfriend arranges an ambush of pink balloons at her birthday party? Did I understand that right? I know it's not the worst thing in this book but geez.

[@azsuha]

You didn't get the point here.Her boyfriend aka Gavin was just helping her foster dad.Foster dad wrote an amazing poem,those balloons symbolises the abusive or unsuitable foster families she was sent to.They later let go of each of the balloon one by one symbolizing that she is not out of each of those foster families and now she is with her amazing current foster father.Don't speak without understanding it,it was such a wholesome moment.

[@saferapocalypse17]

age differences around these ages are so tricky to navigate bc it can be really difficult to gauge other people's maturity levels... this certainly isn't how to do it though

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

As an author who writes researched historical fiction (she said her asshole, I mean, the male love interest, in It Ends With Us was so young since she didn’t research his occupation, so didn’t know he was too young, which is why she’s fine with him being aged up in the movie…she didn’t even research that…), it fucking KILLS ME that her toxic bullshit sells so well while my work will never get noticed and never get popular because I REFUSE to romanticize the abuse she pushes. The assholes in my books end up punished, but hers end up being the poor, poor ones who their victims need to forgive and have babies with. It sickens me.

[@AshChiCupcak]

I had to look that up and I had no idea you can't even begin practicing being a neurosurgeon til you are in your 30s so him being this astounding surgeon at what, 33, is impossible. That took a 5 second Google search to figure out. Shows how much time and research she puts into her books

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@AshChiCupcak In the book, he’s a neurosurgeon at the age of 30. The most they thought they could get away with in the movie is just a little older. They cast a 39-year-old to try to gloss over how much she fucked that up. They’re trying to give the optics, just like Pretty Little Liars tried to gloss over Aria’s very young age the same way. (Had they cast actual kids, no one would have been okay with what they were seeing.) Colleen Hoover literally only had to google…for FREE. I got a goddamned pilot’s license for my books (an in April, will be traveling a couple time zones away to fly in a specific WWII plane that one of the characters will fly in a later book), though I’ll never break even, because I actually got a rat’s ass about writing great stuff that doesn’t treat readers like idiots. I’ve filed FOIAs, tracked down law books from the era since online sources update to the newest stuff, and have interviewed experts, traveled to museums for info, etc. I’m a nobody, and Colleen Hoover’s rich, but couldn’t afford a free google? I know some of her books were written before she was so rich, but google is FREE, and if November 9 could be revised post-big-publication to remove a blatant rape scene, there’s no reason the rest of her books wouldn’t have had some quick research and edits done. But no, she doesn’t care at all about anything. I’m not even sure she likes writing, to be honest. Yet her books are read in the millions, and mine in the dozens. I know a lot of great indie books with real research. But we get overlooked like she gets lavished with praise for her romanticization of abuse and lack of research.

[@Anonymama]

Oh please could you give the names of your books? I'd like to check them out

[@Elora445]

As the previous commenter, I'd also like to know the names of your books. :)

[@Shivafiregoddess]

I will third that request for your books. I am a sucker for well researched historical fiction!

[@vanguardshep]

Your talk about content/trigger warnings was spot on. If someone doesn't need content warnings, that's fine, but the lack of warnings can be harmful if a certain subject is triggering for someone and they weren't expecting it to show up in whatever media they're consuming. When my friends and I start a new D&D campaign, we always go over things we either completely don't want included in our game--like animal cruelty or sexual assault--and things we'd like to be handled more minimally or "off-screen"--like self-harm or spiders for those of us with arachnophobia. And consent is always on-going so we can stop a session at any time if something comes up that isn't sitting right with someone. During our gothic horror campaign, the only triggering thing for me was a very zealous cleric that brought up some religious trauma. Someone else might have had an issue with the body horror, etc. etc. Everyone's different and it isn't hard to be a decent person and just include a little "hey, maybe don't watch/read this if xyz is a difficult topic for you" for the people who need it. That said, CoHo thinks she's writing romance and not abuse so of course she didn't include a content warning.

[@xoPotatoTreexo]

So much this! I had to DNF a book I was really enjoying a few months ago because self-harm kept popping up and I just couldn't get past it. If I know it's coming I can prep myself, but when it's unexpected (and written from the perspective of the thought-patterns and urge that leads to it, so a mindset that is familiar to me) it's awful. I live for the day trigger/content warnings become standard across all types of media

[@Starrykitkat1]

Layken may have done wrong but god I feel awful for her. Everything starts going wrong for her, she left in a vulnerable state and then is groomed and abused. I truly cannot see how anyone would find this romantic….

[@AyDiax]

CoHo taking a note out of another authors handbook with the name “Javier Chorizo”. It’s giving Cho Chang and Kingsley Shacklebolt

[@efoxkitsune9493]

What's wrong with Kingsley? Genuine question, I'm not familiar with any such stereotype. (Cho Chang is truly awful lol)

[@zaplepikachu]

@@efoxkitsune9493 Kingsley isn't the main issue from my understanding (though some speculate that it was because she thought black man-> MLK->name with king which seems fairly likely) but shackles as in the things used to bind both slaves and prisoners being used in the name of the only mentioned black character when I'm pretty sure that doesn't have the excuse of even being a historical name is a major yikes

[@efoxkitsune9493]

@@zaplepikachu Oh, right, I didn't even make the connection that the world "shackle" is in the name 🙈 That is.. unfortunate, yea... Though I have to say that Shacklebolt has such a good ring to it, idk, it's a shame she didn't give it to a different character without those connotations... 😅

[@overthinker5805]

11:11 Coho has admitted that she names a lot of characters off of street names she thinks sounds cool. Unfortunately for her characters, a lot of those are surnames and not good first names

[@JamGatess]

"is property in America really that cheap?" As an American (sadly), I can say oh dear gods no. It is not cheap. I will probably be forced to rent for the vast majority of my life. I think Colleen Hoover is just... In a different world.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

The cheapest part of owning a house is the price of it. Everything else is what makes renting a cheaper option. I know people who owned homes, then went back to renting since renting, while it’s a headache, isn’t the migraine that owning often is. I will cry if I think about how much we’ve paid compared to how little the principle has gone down compared to how much we’ve paid in maintenance.

[@gustavedore1073]

Laykens every reaction is prove that she is still very much a teenager and any adult should back off from dating her. Even the fact that she herself don't see it shows it. She is just a kid. This all also shows how emotionally immature and unaware CH is.

[@Faucetofstone]

The thing is in the circles I am sure CH runs in. This is how they think women should act. Like children. It makes them easier to control.

[@katanabluebird]

I hate how colleen has to name all her characters an uncanny valley version of regular names.

[@osheridan]

Ngl I do that 😅 but tbf my characters are like dragons and faeries

[@dea_thblow]

Rachel I owe so much to you i've been watching your videos for a while now and by sharing your experiences with abuse, you helped me realise that i've been in an abusive relationship and now i'm getting help with the trauma and issues its caused thank you so much, keep doing what you do

[@RachelOates]

Thank you ❤️

[@tyler-df3wy]

This book is really making me want to write a story about the inherent power dynamics and abuse of a teacher-student relationship purely out of spite

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

I’ma writer who appreciates books like this. I hope you do. I wonder if Rachel would consider compiling a list of writers and people with book goals from these comments so we could keep up on this stuff easier. Maybe a Discord group?

[@vapiddreamscape]

the parents went with layken when kayla was literally sitting right there smdh

[@Link-dx1lx]

Oh. My. God. My mind has just been blown. When you mentioned the name Layken, I was like huh, weird, I've heard that name before from that one student-teacher romance book years ago, what a coincidence! ...Then Will comes up and I realized... That IS the book! I'm German so I didn't get it from the cover and title, they both got changed - it's called "Weil ich Layken liebe" (because I love Layken, and if you write it out like an acrostic it spells Will, how poetic). I remember that I asked for a recommendation in a book store, and the clerk suggested this book. I'm pleased to say that teen me thought it sounded weird then and declined. I never read it. But for some strange reason, the memory has stuck with me over the years. Maybe it's because it was the first student-teacher relationship in media I came across, and whenever the topic comes up I remember this. It feels truly bizarre coming across this now, knowing who Colleen Hoover is, and all of her horrible writing, and I can't help but be proud of little me for recognizing this as the bs it is😂

[@tiredteen8906]

When the german translation of the title is more Poetik than the actual poetry lol, fellow german here :)

[@williamcarter1993]

I have woman friends who fall head over heels for Colleen Hoover's books and I'm just like--BUT THE VIOLENCE! THE SEX CRIMES! THE CREEPY FACTOR! they always tell me it's true love at the end. BUT LOVE ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS. I don't know if this author has ever been in abusive relationships herself but I don't like these books can feed impressionable young people the idea that love is these toxic piles of fuck

[@warlordofbritannia]

Having spent the premier advocating for gnome justice, I shall devote the fullness of my attention upon this video now. May the gnome be with me...

[@nidhishkp41]

The part where layken ran to will after she discoverd that her mom was dying scared me. I realised if her mother died will would be the only adult she has left. So even when she realises he is abusive she won't be able to leave. She would be completely lost and alone. I tied to write a poem conveying my feelings on this situation. So here you go. Scar. Walking along the edge Of a narrow twisted cliff As I try to ignore The deep dark abyss beneath. As my legs stumbled The ground beneath me crumbled In a flashing moment I was falling from the cliff. . . . Crying and screaming My hand reached out for Something. It held on to the branch Of a strong and mighty tree All the many green leaves Shading me from the sun. As the wind the flew by Plucking all the leaves Revealing the thorny ugly bush underneath. It's branches crooked and twisted And no leaves to hide the thorns They pierced through my skin Blood trickling down my arms Stared at the abyss below What if I let go? How much will I fall How much will it hurt. I have been holding on for So long What's a little more The needles cutted deeper It tore my flesh apart I decided to let go. In a flashing moment I was falling from the cliff . . . THUD! I reached the bottom. All my bones were broken. I had a hundred scars. And my hand was still bleeding. I couldn't stand up I wish I didn't let go My broken bones were mended And I could stand up again But my hand was still bleeding And it was stinging more than ever As I was far away from the cliff. All my scars had disappeared. Except the only one I stared into my hand The pain may one day vanish But the scar will always remain. (Sorry if the poems terrible.)

[@nidhishkp41]

.

[@smilegirl6429]

I don't think it's bad. It's a nice extended metaphor, at least. Certainly better than any poem I've ever written.

[@maddieb.4282]

I really love that you wrote a poem to express yourself. I hope sooooo much that you continue doing that. It’s amazing

[@maddieb.4282]

And I really like the poem itself 😊

[@lazylunarwitch]

I can’t get over the fact that Colleen thinks there’s snow on the ground in September in Michigan. I can assure you we don’t have snow in September lol. And as a former teacher….this is not how student teaching works. If he’s a student teacher he’s still in college and has a supervising teacher who’s an employee of the school. Google is free Colleen.

[@Rinirinirinirin]

Javier Chorizo 😂😂😂 That sounds like a Sims 4 name!

[@tyler-df3wy]

It’d almost be cute how confident Colleen seems to be that her books are brilliant and genius if they weren’t just full of romanticised abuse

[@justjukka]

42:15 - WAAAIT!!! This is one of my gimmicks! When I was around 12 years old, my dad informed me that I was getting too old to order chocolate milk whenever we went out for dinner. Naturally, that is when I decided to always order chocolate milk when I'm out with my parents. Sadly, I think he is resigned, so it doesn't exasperate him, anymore. However, when someone joins my family for dinner, sometimes they'll order chocolate milk, too, because they haven't done so since they were a kid. 😁

[@louisev9707]

Commenting while listening, I think "this is just exposition with line breaks" is such a fantastic burn

[@ayannadivineempath]

Thank you for this video, so entertaining. I'm only 3/4 through. I am sorry for what you've been through and I have as well. Glad you're pointing this all out

[@sgurhs]

Wonderful informative review! Thanks for engaging with these sensitive and triggering topics with so much depth and intention - especially appreciated considering the emotional labor it takes to read and talk about the romanticization of your personal traumas. I'm glad you share openly about that part of the process when you make these videos! Also, the pink and blue makeup with that top in part 2 is so gorgeous! No complaints about you filming long projects in shorter segments to make your job more comfortable, especially when it means we get to see more cool looks. Love the channel ❤

[@sgurhs]

Also, holy shit even the "mild" creepy behaviors from Will at the beginning were an instant reflexive full body cringe/gross-out. The men who say that kind of stuff in real life are NOT charming and sexy; they are uncomfortable to be around and pathetic and manipulative and do not respect people they're attracted to.

[@finchfry]

2:32:31 My parents told me to never get credit cards and refused to cosign any for me, so I wasn't able to get one without ridiculous terms and payments until after I had student loans. So unfortunately there are parents who are very financially illiterate and put that on their children.

[@yoyoyoyo-lq4jb]

Okay so as an American, i think the house size thing is honestly Colleen being middle class 😂😂😂 i am not, and yes the home sounded perfectly normal. I dont have any kind of yard let alone "land" lmao. Most people i know have a small yard at most.

[@anjisarv]

Wait that’s middle class?! Not upper class? :,D As someone from a third world country, that sounds unreal lol (are upper class just people with yachts then?)

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

@@anjisarv I hate defending Hoover on anything, but for when this book was written, the housing stuff is reasonable. It’s still plausible now, but only because Layken’s parents were in well-paying careers that most people don’t have.

[@anjisarv]

@@NoelleTakestheSky Ohh, I see! Thank you for the info :D

[@mercuresis]

@@anjisarv upper class isnt entirely yachts, but yeah usually huge houses at least. i looked it up and it says ppl making above 150k a year ish but obviously that depends on family situation etc etc

[@yoyoyoyo-lq4jb]

​@@anjisarvwell in the US our middle class is super small. This might have been more reasonable when it was written but idk. We have a big lower class, so when i think middle class i think of upper middle class. Its almost like we have no real middle class here :////

[@jaylicious4694]

I was looking for a video to listen to while working on my drawings and got notification for the premiere of this one. Now I can work for hours.

[@buffystar3]

I’m surprised Layken & Will’s favorite band wasn’t The Police (because Will should be reported to them lol), since this book reminded me of “Don’t Stand so Close to Me.” Also when you referenced Lolita the lyric “That book by Nabokov” replayed in my head lmao

[@blanketeer6321]

It would be even more appropriate for them to be into Lana Del Rey, she has a song called Lolita and a few of her other songs reference the novel

[@buffystar3]

@@blanketeer6321 I never listened to her, I referenced that song in particular because my dad showed me the music video lol

[@maia.in.nightmareland]

Oh, I've been meaning to ask you to review this one after watching another KZbinr do it, looking forward for the premiere, will poor me some wine and watch!

[@Undcvrhlp]

Pour

[@Sheblet]

@@Undcvrhlpwow ur so smart

[@martiA113]

'Mr Chorizo' is absolutely hilarious. I can't even get offended.

[@alentia_thegreat]

Rachel your commentary is hilarious, my asexual/aromantic self is not getting this AT ALL!

[@melissabattles3196]

Lol, me, too. As a lesbian but also DEFINITELY on the ace spectrum (guess I could say I'm "gay and gray"?😂) I keep cringing and chuckling at the same time 😂

[@osheridan]

​@@melissabattles3196 Gaygray sounds like a name that would be in these books 💀

[@addymiller3748]

I live in Michigan and I already knew which city you meant when you said “I’m not even going to try to pronounce that, but its outside of Detroit”😂 Gotta love our state

[@cur1ouscatf1sh]

Isn’t Lakyn the name from that post of the mom with the weird baby names that got memed to hell and back?? If it’s not exactly that it’s pretty darn close

[@brittanybane2170]

That poem about the 1 million whatever minutes was actually the number of times I audibly scoffed at the excerpts you read aloud

[@AshChiCupcak]

Ive been hopping back and forth between you and Alizee watching old content, bout dropped my phone clicking the notification for a new video a little too fast 😅

[@anjisarv]

Me toooo omg, I love watching these two roast CoHo

[@thiccrat]

i just started reading this! found it at a Little Free Library (one of many hoover editions ive seen in there!) and just got past the bit where the Main Character says shes not like most girls because she doesnt think the hot guy is hot.

[@thiccrat]

btw the cover of mine looks like absolute garbage. its one of the worst covers ive EVER seen, literally.

[@gingerjessietalks7685]

Pausing just to gush about how good My Dark Vanessa is!! Such a heartbreaking, beautifully written book. While listening to this video, i kept thinking of the part in the book when she's in college and almost gets involved with her professor. And at that point, its totally legal, not technically grooming, but the parallels she feels between that and what happens with Strane and how tired she feels from the whole thing. Also, did you get your blue and pink checkered shirt from Lucy and Yak? Love them!

[@lanagomisc.6005]

I follow a band called Saint Nomad on Spotify, and I think I'm the only follower of the lead singer's solo project muloux. Get on my level, Layken.

[@Strawberrysoymilkk]

To answer your question about recording in chunks: I actually love it because I like to see your cute outfit and makeup changes lol ❤

[@hatchet1013]

So nurses and managers USED to make enough money to buy a comfortable home with a yard for their kids and properties USED be cheaper in Texas. Since this book came out i. 2012, this all seems reasonable as an American. Now? Hell no. Not even close

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

Nurses make a LOT of money.

[@michiganscythian2445]

“Ip sill an tee” College town not far from Ann Arbor and University of Michigan. It’s home to Eastern Michigan University, where I did a few semesters of grad work. Has world’s most phallic water tower Adding a bunch of things because I work in education in Michigan, including a district that was about 40 miles from Ypsi There IS a quick path to teacher certification in Michigan, but usually that’s only in the case of someone already possessing a 4 year degree. Several of my colleagues had bachelor’s or master’s and are on track to get certified over the course of a few months. Even to substitute teach in Michigan, you need at least 60 college credits. Ypsilanti, being a University town, is one of the higher performing and better funded districts although there are some impoverished areas in the city. Generally, Washtenaw county districts don’t have high turnover rates for staff. So extremely unlikely that Will would be teaching at a high school in Ypsi. I have no idea if Club 9 is a real place but it’s been awhile since I’ve been to Ypsi but I do know it’s full of trendy venues. Age of consent is 16 in Michigan, although there’s a gray area if one of them is over 18. I did work in a district for a few years that was notorious for staff-student relations with one serving a prison term (he used a school computer to do what Josh Duggar did except that he was uploading) and the others were dealt with in district. I glad that I’m not in that district any longer. Now that’s I’m at the end of the video … why would a Michigan resident talk about In and Out burgers? We don’t have In and Out in Michigan

[@Arwena111]

How the hell does she sell textbook grooming as romance? There’s also an additional layer to it - Hoover was a social worker, how does she not recognise abuse? Or worse, maybe she does but just ignores it and tries to sell it anyway because she knows she will make a lot of money. I also saw someone say that maybe all these tragic stories in her books are real stories of the people she took care of as a social worker which is at least concerning.

[@jennaberry2]

This isnt the most important in the scheme of things,but around 14:07 on - they didnt live on a ranch, it said ranch style home, which just means its a one story house. not like a sprawling ranch

[@bold_n_brash]

I’m from Ypsilanti and I’m loving the fact that it was mentioned (despite the awful context of being in a coho book)!!! the “yp-” is pronounced “ip” like in “skip,” and the rest of the word should be straightforward. the y throws a lot of people off (understandably) 😅

[@kaityr9693]

The snuffly dog pitbull noises bring me such joy. Had a family dog that was half pit half lab, and he made a loud snoring noise when happy and content or getting your attention for various needs. When he wagged his tail, it was like a helicopter in a perfect circle, and his whole body wagged with the force of his happy tail, including happy toe tappy dancing. Just feels like this positivity is needed because hfs this book is awful.

[@hanfam7665]

I forgot how much I enjoy your review/commentary on Colleen Hoover books😅 Edit: Halfway through. I appreciate you saying that even though she is of legal age, it is still inappropriate. I agree, two very different stages of life can cause power imbalance. I experienced something similar when I was over 18 and it was hard to process it all bc everyone says that over 18 is considered legal. Being of legal age doesn’t mean it’s appropriate.

[@hannabio2770]

This! 💯💯

[@bhaalpriestess]

I just read My Dark Vanessa because of this video, what an amazing recommendation. Even though i dont have the exact same experience it really resonated as someone with ptsd. Thank you!

[@abbyabroad]

I'm from the US and went back for a visit last summer after living four years away, and indeed, what stuck out to me most was how much SPACE there was everywhere (like how big homes were). At the moment, thousands of Californians are moving to Texas because land there is indeed cheaper than the coasts or the north. I also grew up in a decent sized ranch in Florida and can attest that 10+ years ago, land was much cheaper... but the pay for jobs like teachers and nurses is SO low in Southern states that it makes sense that her mom would get paid more in Michigan and move there, but have to live in a smaller space. As a former teacher, I also do want to say that SAT prep courses are EXPENSIVE and usually something that wealthier kids access, or via inner city programs that offer them for free... so it seems weird that she says she took them.

[@TiredNeedSleep-c3s]

I believe I speak for all of us when I say, your dog is disgustingly cute. I love how she has her own opinions she wants to share as well! Special dog spotlight episode?

[@letguelere1102]

I did read this book in highschool, I found it in the school library and I loved it so much at the time, later on bying the books for myself and only recently I've been thinking about it and seeing how wrong it all was. This book should not have been in the school library and it should'nt have been written at all. This is gross and yes it made me think this could be okay, given the "right" circunstances. (My luck is that i had a boyfriend at the time and no creeps in form of teachers) I actually had a 4 year gap relationship at the age of 12 and at the time it felt like nothing but now I can clearly see the wrongs of that relationship and how it affected me in the long run.

[@dragonwolftmaer5]

Trigger warnings are like accessibility, in the end they make rveryone’s life better. I saw a post about how it’s not everyone’s job to police themselves for other’s triggers and to SOME extemt, sure, but having warnings just says “tread with care, enter at your risk”. Ypu could argue it would “ruin the story” but if so then you’re just using those triggers for shock value, and not really examining the harm thst they can cause. It doesn’t hurt the creator or the “regular” readers to have these warnings, it only helps those who may be triggered to be prepared or avoid it depending on their needs. Trigger warnings create a safe and open place for everyone.

[@faramirbutnothatone]

Drinking milk in a club is literally a bit from the IT Crowd. I'm not calling Colleen a bitbiter, but I am saying that the IT Crowd bit was actually funny and creative.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

Ironically, when I was in IT, I used to go to slam poetry events, and you couldn’t get milk.

[@NoelleTakestheSky]

Been thinking-when it comes to content warnings, there are a couple catches: 1) They should be limited to what wouldn’t be expected in the type of book that it is. You expect kissing and sex and probably wine/alcohold in a romance, but you don’t expect a murder. You expect some hit jobs in a mafia book, but since children are usually left out, you wouldn’t expect to see children die. Unless a book has to do with animal abuse and the blurb indicates that, you wouldn’t expect to see a bunch of puppies get tossed into a fire while still alive. If this book’s blurb had said that a high schooler fell for a teacher and he returns her desires, then you’d know that it would contain that. But this book’s blurb said nothing. The genre isn’t one that usually deals with illegal relationships involving someone who legally can’t consent. So murder in romance, children being harmed in crime piece, animal abuse, child abuse-those things need content warnings if they’re not mentioned in blurbs. 2) To have a content warning at all would having the ability to see a potential issue anyway. Colleen Hoover doesn’t see this stuff as a problem, so she wouldn’t think to have a content warning in any way. Colleen Hoover is sick.

[@Pseudoknickname]

As the youngest person in my family I relate to having "large" age gaps between siblings. My closest sibling in age is 7 and a half years older than me and my oldest is 21 years older.

[@svnnyday]

I thought they were gonna say they named her Layken because they're really passionate about algae and couldn't spell Lichen lol

[@Sopherra]

I think anything I could say has already been mentioned, so here's a fun fact about Pretty Little Liars, since it got a mention. Ezra goes to jail in the books. They don't get a ton of time together at all. Shame it was changed in the show.