From Book to Screen: Colleen Hoover's 'It Ends With Us'

Globally renowned YA and romance author Colleen Hoover recently announced that her novel, It Ends With Us, will be made into a film. When it first hit the shelves, Hoover’s novel took the literary world by storm. As BookTok and Bookstagram devotees offered raving reviews on the piece, readers flocked to bookshops in search of copies to devour. According to Forbes, It Ends With Us capped the 2022 list of bestselling books and, as of October 2022, had sold over four million copies since its publication in 2016.

The story follows Lily Bloom, a recent college graduate who moves to a new city and falls for Ryle Kincaid, a clever, confident, and career-driven neurosurgeon. However, their whirlwind romance is cut short when Atlas Corrigan, “Lily’s first love and a link to the past she left behind,” the book’s synopsis reveals, steps into the picture. As tensions build among the trio, Lily’s and Ryle’s budding relationship is put to the test. Interlacing Lily’s past and present, Hoover relates a semi-autobiographical tale of boundless love, loss, and forgiveness.

Although the book is marketed as a romance, it’s hardly a light read. Braving themes such as domestic abuse, gun violence, sexual assault, and alcoholism, Hoover’s bestselling novel is as heartrending as it is warming. Still, fans have been hooked on the storyline and its promise of riveting drama since the book’s initial publication. Due to the unprecedented volume of support and positive feedback that she received from fans, Hoover went on to publish It Starts With Us, the much-anticipated sequel to the original narrative.

According to Seventeen Magazine, a release date for the film adaptation has yet to be announced, but initial casting details are gradually trickling in. In a video that she posted on her social media page, Hoover revealed that Blake Lively—who previously starred in The Age of Adaline, Gossip Girl, and A Simple Favor—has been cast as Lily, while Justin Baldoni will play Ryle. “Our Lily is going to be played by Blake Lively,” the best-selling author stated in her video. “Blake Lively, y’all. She’s my dream Lily. And then when I first met Justin Baldoni, who is directing the film for It Ends With Us, I immediately wanted him to be Ryle.” Indeed, hours after Hoover’s announcement, Lively shared a snapshot of her new brunette hairdo on her Instagram stories, confirming her role as the film’s female lead, Lily Bloom. Sony Pictures, the studio behind the film, has yet to announce a release date for the film. Still, if the sheer breadth of Hoover’s fanbase is any indication, It Ends With Us is sure to make a splash when it hits the silver screen.

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