Reminders of Him

There is something so compelling about seeing real, flawed characters put into impossible situations and then watching them grow, adapt, learn to be better people, and Colleen Hoover’s new novel spins that very premise into a powerful tale of redemption, forgiveness, love, and the lengths to which a mother will go to be part of her child’s life. Told with piercing prose and savage honesty, Hoover’s every word is designed to have an effect, and it truly takes a writer at the top of her game to deliver a story that has so many jagged edges, yet leaves the reader feeling uplifted and changed—once they can see through the tears again.I know from experience that if you’re going to grow up with an imperfect mother, it’s better to grow up knowing your imperfect mother is fighting for you than to grow up knowing she doesn’t give a shit about you.A tragic mistake cost Kenna Rowan five years in prison and custody of her only child. Determined to reclaim the daughter she’s never even held in her arms, Kenna is back in the town that would always view her as a villain, starting life from scratch by working a minimum paying job and living in an apartment with not even so much as a bed to sleep on. She has spent the past five years coming to terms with the events of that one fateful night that shaped the rest of her life, accepting her role in it and submitting to the decisions of those whose lives she changed forever. But Kenna has never lost hope in being a mother to her child, in giving her daughter the kind of unconditional love she’s never known herself, and even though she is willing to do anything in her power to have that, she knows all too well that there might always be an insurmountable mountain of pain standing in her way. I’m starting to wonder if you’re the saddest girl I’ve ever met.All is reflected in the ending—family, compassion, love—but the focus remains on Kenna’s journey of self-forgiveness until the very last sentence. This beautifully tragic story should be on anyone’s must-read list.