Hopeless, Colleen Hoover – I have heard tons about Colleen Hoover and how great her books are, so in the interests of research, I asked my readers which was the most fast paced story, and they recommended Hopeless.
Going into this, I knew it was a contemporary, so my hopes were not high… but I really hoped to like this in the end. 
Unfortunately, that didn’t happen for me.
Was it the book’s fault?
No. Not at all. This was a typical scenario of a bad reader to book match. So even though I did not like this book, I would still rate it four stars for how well written it was, and how it attempted to address some really serious issues.
.
Why subtract a star if I can ignore not liking the book?
Well, there was one point in the story that I found very unrealistic. It had to do with the way two people dealt with a horrible situation. I didn’t buy it. So I took half a star off for that. I also took a half star off for the names that made me roll my eyes. This book had all the stereotypical ridiculous names you hear about in romance novels. Now, yes, I can see that there may be girls names “Sky” in the world, but do they have to have a best friend named “Six” and does the love interest have to be named “Holder?” (Holder was his last name, but that’s what he was called in the book.) It just seemed so cliché to me having all these characters with this type of name. It bothered me through most of the book.
Why I didn’t like it …
Overall, the reason I did not like this book was that I read to be entertained. This topic (abuse) is not entertaining to me. (Again, that’s just a bad match of reader to book)
Also, there is a trend in YA these days to have characters that come from horrible backgrounds. I know I am extremely blessed that my parents were not divorced, they did not physically or mentally abuse us (Other than a spanking and driving us to be our best) We were not poor. No one in my family has been murdered. No one does drugs. I could keep the list going, but I think you get the picture.
Personally, I don’t see why we can’t have more stories about normal people doing extraordinary things. I don’t know. I guess people would find that boring. Personally, I am glad I’ve had such a boring life.
Anyway – Four stars for “Hopeless” by Colleen Hoover. It was excellent – just not my cup of tea. (Book Review)
Jennifer M Eaton 
Like you, I tend to shy away from “real-life” drama in YA. Contemporary pieces are not my thing. I had a great childhood. I grew up without drugs, abuse. I did lose my dad when I was almost 12. My aunt was murdered while working in a convenience store, but no one in my family was a murderer. No one served time. We weren’t junkies. Do I always want happily ever afters in a book? No, because that’s not life, but I want to feel like I’ve been on an awesome adventure, one that lifts my spirits. I think more kids would gravitate towards “normal life” books if authors wrote them.