The Book:
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Published November 10th 2015 by Atria Books
Date read: October 25, 2021
The Characters:
Fallon
Ben
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.
Can Ben’s relationship with Fallon—and simultaneously his novel—be considered a love story if it ends in heartbreak?
The Twist:
Ben set the fire that gave Fallon her scars. His mother had died by suicide, and Ben blamed Fallon’s father. They had been dating at the time. Ben set fire to Fallon’s dad’s car, not intending for the fire to spread to the house. He later learns that his mom had killed herself because she had cancer and didn’t want to take away from his inheritance by spending money on medical bills, not because of Fallon’s dad.
The Review:
This book has been out for ages and is wildly popular, so I’m going to keep my review short and sweet. I loved the story just as much as I loved the cover. It made me laugh and cry, and even though this is only my second Colleen Hoover novel, I definitely understand why she’s so loved.
Honestly, I don’t really buy insta-love, but I liked that Fallon acknowledged this and was determined not to let Ben change her goals. It made me like her so much more that she didn’t change her life for Ben, that she knew she was too young to make decisions like that right away. I definitely identified with Fallon more than Ben, which I believe was the point given that we learn Fallon’s backstory right away. They both seemed older than their 18 years at the beginning of the story, which I appreciated. More often than not I find characters seem younger than they’re supposed to be.
I really enjoy this one-day-per-year trope. I’ve read a handful of books that are written this way, and I think it’s a really creative way to tell a story that takes place over a really long period of time without things dragging out.
Overall, I’m really glad that this novel lived up to the Bookstagram hype. I’m always a little nervous to read extremely popular books!
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The new cover isn’t as good! I’m obsessed with the manuscript version.
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