Having written over 24 novels that have gained hate as well as love from different audiences, Colleen Hoover is no less than a literary sensation of today’s time. Although people deny considering her work as part of mainstream literature, book reviewers today believe she has a major role to play in the bookish world. They have also considered that even though Hoover’s works give secondhand embarrassment sometimes, Verity holds a lot of weight comparatively. This is the one work that makes you feel Colleen Hoover can come up with good stories.
Also, this book is one of the most-read books on Goodreads and the #1 New York Times Bestseller. It also quickly rose to fame as a USA Today Bestseller while also becoming a Globe and Mail Bestseller. Various study guides have also been published around this one. This one is rocking as far as young adult fiction and suspense-mystery books are concerned. Therefore, it became important for me to read it and understand why there is so much hype.
The open-endedness has also intrigued a lot of theories and fans are expecting a sequel to have all their questions answered. So if you are also in doubt whether to pick this one up, or understand why this one is so hyped up, read this article till the end. I will try my best to answer all possible questions this book leaves us with and yet not give out major spoilers…
The Upcoming Adaptation and The Plot of Verity
While the 2016 novel of Colleen Hoover called ‘It Ends With Us’ has already been adapted into a movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, her 2018 work ‘Verity’ is just on the verge of being adapted in 2025. The buzz around this started appearing in the headlines in 2024 and now the cast has been announced too. Let us briefly discuss the plot for that…
The story follows the protagonist-cum-narrator, Lowen Ashleigh (to be played by Dakota Johnson) who is a struggling suspense/thriller writer as well as a person in financial ruin. One day, she gets an offer to co-author one of the biggest writers named Verity Crawford (to be played by Anne Hathaway) as Verity herself is unable to continue writing her series as she is incapacitated after a car wreck. Amongst all this is a medium that keeps us hooked till the end Jeremy Crawford (to be played by Josh Hartnett)- the husband of Verity. The decision that Lowen makes completely changes her life from then on.
So, as one might think… No! This is not a love triangle. It is beyond that. It is dark, sometimes gory, full of suspense, sex, and deceit. In short, there are piles of truths against the truth that you are confused about which one should be believed.
How Does Reading ‘Verity’ Make You Feel?
‘Perfectly unhinged’ could be a way of describing Verity due to the unsettling, eerie, and chaotic energy that it produces in the reader. These words might seem a bit too much on the face but that is how most readers have described it. The kind of works Colleen Hoover has produced before have contained violence and disturbance coming from the past traumas of its characters. But, the book in discussion goes beyond that parameter to disturb you in certain instances.
Most people get stressed as soon as they begin because the first line of the first chapter gives you the image of a skull bursting open. The first chapter itself is pretty dark and gory but also helps you process and understand the first connection that builds up between Lowen, the narrator, and the man who out of nowhere gets to help her through the accident she just witnessed- Jeremy. This only brings them closer and creates an air of mystery around Jeremy as we see him through the eyes of Lowen.
The genre that is currently working best amongst readers of this century is mostly gore and sexual. Verity consists of them both in proportions that hardly feel overdone. Suspense builds on from the very start which intrigues the reader to know what is to come next. We get to understand that both Lowen and Jeremy are victims of tragedy. While she loses her mother to cancer, he loses her daughter to severe drowning. And if you ask about Verity’s tragic part in the whole scenario- the disbelief around it happening or not lurks on till the end and the book finishes before giving you the answers. You keep wondering if she is a villain or the victim. Who is right and who is wrong? And, to further add to this confusion, Colleen Hoover published a new version with a bonus chapter.
Narrative Style Of Colleen Hoover In Verity
The book is primarily from the perspective of Lowen who describes what all is going on in the present time. However, Lowen comes across an autobiography written by Verity earlier while searching for material/notes to create an outline for the series she is supposed to be working for. The autobiography engages her so much that she is not able to put it down because the truths it unfolds for her are far from believable. The fact that it is about the people she is currently living in the giant house of- makes her even more anxious and honestly, she has her problems to deal with- so the autobiography adds up to her baggage.
The line between fictional and factual in the book goes on blurring. As Lowen reads on, she realizes that Verity is no less than a psychopath who is far from being a good mother and close to a dangerous and obsessed lover. Just like Lowen, we are also guided into thinking the way she does as readers. The little element of stream of consciousness used by the writer to reflect on what is going in the mind of Lowen as she encounters Jeremy in the first few chapters makes us think from her perspective. I also loved the way she compares her loneliness to that of an ant in the opening of the second chapter.
Later, we slowly sink into the shoes of Verity as her manuscripts are read by Lowen. Those chapters from her autobiography keep coming as flashbacks and an insight into her psyche. We believe whatever is being told in it is right and fail to understand that a writer could also be writing fictionally. Things take a turn when Lowen finds a letter towards the end of the book that explains a different side of Verity’s story. And hence, we are confused about which truth must be believed.
The bonus chapter published in the edition with a golden foil cover in 2022 further leads us to disorientation. In case you have the older version with the dark green cover, you may find the pdf of the bonus chapter online. Here is the Scribd link for that. This chapter opens up possibilities of Verity being a victim rather than a psychopath one might conceive her to be- including, including Lowen.
Setting In The Book ‘Verity’
The New York dread vibes are given at the start of the book where Lowen describes the way New Yorkers live their life. She also compares how people in Virginia are different from the ones in Manhattan, given their response to a pedestrian getting struck by a vehicle. She explains how it is one of the most populated cities in the world and yet, some people come here only to disappear and find peace as agoraphobics.
It is in the 4th Chapter that the setting shifts primarily to the eerie and secluded Crawford family home. The house, with its oppressive atmosphere, unsettling quiet, and secrets hidden within its walls, serves as the perfect backdrop for the novel’s tense and chilling narrative. The isolation further amplifies the psychological suspense and sense of unease throughout the story. A lot is going on in this house and you, at some point, might or might not think it’s ghostly.
Concluding Notes
At length, people are going bonkers about the upcoming adaptation, and why not? Theories are running around about who is the real villain. Suppose the truth of Verity was right or not. Lowen is trapped or not with whatever decisions she makes. The truth of Verity’s daughters. And what could have been the truth of Jeremy? There is a possibility that he was hiding something.
Well, when fans tried to ask about the upcoming follow-up book, Colleen Hoover replied that she was thinking about a book that follows the story of Crew, the son of Jeremy and Verity. But, she wishes to develop a good plot first, and till then, she will wait for him to grow up.
So, ultimately, let us keep our fingers crossed, hehe!
Jennis Jacob, a passionate literary enthusiast in her 20s, is a writer and poet. With eight years of experience in literature, she is currently a master in English and finds inspiration in Womanist, American, and Indian Partition Literatures. Her works have appeared in anthologies such as ‘Carved Words Of Creative Minds’ and ‘100 Splendid Voices,’ and she is working on upcoming books. Through LitWithASip, she aims to ignite a love for literature and empower individuals to embrace their true selves.
