Colleen Hoover facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Colleen Hoover
Hoover in 2022
Born	Margaret Colleen Fennell (1979-12-11) December 11, 1979 (age 45) Sulphur Springs, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Author
Education	Texas A&M University, Commerce (BA)
Genre	Young adult fiction and new adult fiction
Notable works	It Ends with Us
Spouse	Heath Hoover ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	3
Signature

Colleen Hoover (born December 11, 1979) is a popular American author. She writes many novels, mostly in the romance and young adult fiction styles. She is very well known for her 2016 book, It Ends with Us. Many of her books were first published by herself before bigger companies picked them up. By October 2022, Colleen Hoover had sold about 20 million books. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early Life and Education

Colleen Hoover was born on December 11, 1979, in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Her parents are Vannoy Fite and Eddie Fennell. She grew up in Saltillo, Texas, and finished high school there in 1998. She married Heath Hoover in 2000, and they have three sons. Colleen went to Texas A&M-Commerce and earned a degree in social work. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked in social work and teaching.

How Her Writing Career Began

In November 2011, Colleen Hoover started writing her first novel, Slammed. She didn't plan to publish it at first. She was inspired by a line from a song by The Avett Brothers, which said, "decide what to be, and go be it." She even put lyrics from their songs into her story.

Self-Publishing Success

Colleen Hoover self-published Slammed in January 2012. She said she did it so her mother, who had just gotten an Amazon Kindle, could read it. A second book, Point of Retreat, came out in February 2012. A few months later, a book blogger named Maryse Black gave Slammed a five-star review. After that, sales for Colleen's first two books grew very quickly.

Slammed reached number 8 and Point of Retreat reached number 18 on the New York Times Best Seller list in August 2012. A publishing company called Atria Books then bought the rights to her novels and republished them on August 10, 2012. A third book in the series, This Girl, was published in April 2013. After Slammed became so popular, Colleen Hoover left her job to become a writer all the time.

More Popular Books

Colleen Hoover's novel Hopeless was self-published in December 2012. This book is about a girl who was taught at home before going to a public high school. Hopeless became number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed there for three weeks. It was the first self-published novel to ever reach the top spot. A related book, Losing Hope, was published in July 2013.

Finding Cinderella is a free short story that Colleen published in 2014. It includes some characters from her Hopeless and Losing Hope novels. A printed version was later released with extra parts, like a new ending.

Maybe Someday, published in March 2014, was the first book in a small series. It tells the story of a boy and a girl who write music together and fall in love. A musician named Griffin Peterson even made songs to go with the novel. Readers could listen to the music online using links in the e-book or a special code in the printed book.

Teamwork and Thrillers

Never Never was a book Colleen Hoover wrote with Tarryn Fisher. It was first sold as three separate short novels. Later, all three parts were put together into one complete book. This young adult thriller and romance story is about two teenagers, Silas and Charlie, who wake up and can't remember anything. The book follows them as they try to get their memories back, learning about themselves along the way. Their journey uncovers secrets as they get closer to finding the truth. Never Never shows how Silas and Charlie's relationship changes back to what it used to be. When writing this book, Colleen and Tarryn took turns writing chapters and editing each other's work. Colleen said it was one of the most fun writing experiences she ever had.

It Ends with Us and Its Impact

Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends with Us came out in 2016. She said it was "the hardest book I've ever written." The book talks about challenging family situations and was written to help people understand these issues. The story was inspired by Colleen's own experiences growing up. The main character, Lily, goes through difficult times in her family when she is young and later finds herself in a tough relationship as an adult. By 2019, the novel had sold over a million copies worldwide and was translated into more than twenty languages.

Rise in Popularity

In 2021, Colleen Hoover became even more popular because of the BookTok community on TikTok. Because of this, in January 2022, It Ends with Us became the number 1 book on the New York Times Best Seller list. A movie based on It Ends with Us, directed by Justin Baldoni, started being made in May 2023. The movie was released in August 2024. It received different reviews from critics but was very successful, earning over $250 million around the world. Colleen Hoover has said in interviews that the idea for the novel came from the difficult experiences her mother went through. After the movie's success, many film studios have shown interest in making movies from her other books.

A follow-up book to It Ends with Us, called It Starts with Us, was published on October 18, 2022, by Atria Books. Simon & Schuster shared details about the big marketing plan for the novel. It became the most pre-ordered book ever for that publisher. A coloring book for It Ends with Us was planned but canceled in January 2023 after people online had concerns about the book's serious topic.

In October 2022, Simon & Schuster UK bought two more standalone novels by Colleen Hoover. By October 2022, Colleen Hoover had sold more than 20 million books. Alexandra Alter from The New York Times wrote about Colleen's success in 2022, saying that just calling her the best-selling novelist in the U.S. doesn't fully show how many fans she has and how loyal they are.

Awards and Achievements

Colleen Hoover has won several awards for her books.

Top Selling Books

In 2022, Colleen Hoover had six of the top ten spots on the New York Times paperback fiction bestseller list. Some of her books that have been best sellers include:

• Slammed
• Point of Retreat
• This Girl
• Hopeless
• Losing Hope
• Maybe Someday
• Ugly Love
• Confess
• November 9
• It Ends with Us
• Verity

Her Books

It Ends with Us Series

• It Ends with Us (2016)
• It Starts with Us (2022)

Slammed Series

• Slammed (2012)
• Point of Retreat (2012)
• This Girl (2013)

Hopeless Series

• Hopeless (2012)
• Losing Hope (2013)
• Finding Cinderella (short story; 2013)
• All Your Perfects (2018)
• Finding Perfect (short story; 2019)

Maybe Someday Series

• Maybe Someday (2014)
• Maybe Not (short story; 2014)
• Maybe Now (2018)

Standalone Novels

Movies and TV Shows Based on Her Books

• Confess (2017)
• It Ends with Us (2024)
• Regretting You (2025)
• Reminders of Him (2026)
• Verity (2026)

See also

In Spanish: Colleen Hoover para niños

• New adult fiction