November 9

November 9

By: Colleen Hoover

Published November 10, 2015

Summary via Goodreads.com

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.

My thoughts: (Spoilers included)

I love, love, LOVE anything written by Colleen Hoover. Every time I open a book she's written, I become excited to see what's she's come up with next. I've read all of her books, in order. Every one of them has had something I didn't see coming. A twist so unexpected, and generally gut wrenching, that even though I know to expect this I never see it coming. No matter how prepared I am.....

This book started out like a conversation with an old friend. I felt comfort reading Colleen's words. However, this old friend was dark and had a past. A sad past. Fallon is an 18 year old who has survived a trauma that completely changed the course of her life. Once an actress with the world at her fingertips, now surviving the ghosts of her past. The day that we meet her, she's ready to pick up the pieces and move on, start something new. A new chapter in her life that will begin on the other side of the country.

Ben and Fallon meet by chance in a diner in California. Ben steps in to help Fallon out and from there their friendship, or relationship takes off. It starts out as an experiment: Lets have no contact with each other until next year on this date (Nov. 9) and do this for 5 years. By then we'll know.... and during this time, each pushes the other to pursue their dreams/goals/relationships. This goes on pretty well the first year, and then the next Ben is faced with tragedy. More tragedy than he should have experienced in his young life. This is a key turning point in the story. As time goes on, they start to learn more about each other, as they only spend 1 day a year with each other. 

Before this experiment can reach the 5 year mark though, Fallon is faced with the reality of who Ben is. And here is where it gets sticky for me. Colleen Hoover gets 5 stars for this book, because her twist in this one hit me like a punch to the gut when I read it. Immediately. And the whole build up to that moment... I was so captured by this story, I couldn't stop! I sacrificed a lot of sleep to plow through this book in just a few days :) But once I got done, and had some time to ponder the book, I wasn't sure how I felt. It wasn't as intense as her usual twists, which scares me because I don't want her to become a formulated, predictable writer. Her stories are stories that I look forward to and put the release date on my calendar so that I can run out and buy them.

I have some questions, that maybe someone who has already read the story can answer for me... (Hence, spoilers included): I do not understand how Ben's mom and Fallon's dad were involved. So, he saw his name in her cell phone? But I don't get why that had anything to do with Ben's next actions. I felt like that was a very unanswered part of the story. 

All in all, this was a great book. It was very well planned out, and it certainly gained my attention. I have high hopes that Colleen's next book will blow me away! she has so much talent and I can't wait for what is in store for her.