“Reminders of Him” Restores My Faith in Colleen Hoover

Most recent book cover for "Reminders of Him" that was created for the film. The cover includes a sideways picture of the main character, Kenna Rowan, sitting on Ledger’s orange truck. While the image is similar to any other book cover, it is full of symbolism from the story, which one could only understand after finishing the book. Photo creds: Amazon

Carrie Bradbury, Review Desk Lead

Heartbreaking, eye-opening, entertaining, "Reminders of Him" is a lesson and a story, a rollercoaster and a rocky road, a movie that must be seen. It is easy to write a modern love story between two people who should not be together, but it is much harder to turn that story into an addictive page turner. It is easy to then adapt that novel into an eye-catching film that will gain people’s attention for a month or so before they inevitably fall in love with the next romantic comedy, but it is much harder to create a film that transcends all of your previous work and leaves viewers completely speechless. It is near impossible to do both at the same time; however, Colleen Hoover struck gold with her brilliant story and movie adaptation of "Reminders of Him". 

As any book lover will tell you, reading the book must come before watching the movie, so that is what I did. Colleen Hoover is an undeniably talented author, but I have often found her work hard to resonate with. Her novels are riddled with adult scenes, complicated family dynamics, and juvenile love stories. They are a weekend read to take my mind off of things, not a life-long favorite, eye-opening piece of literature. "Reminders of Him" is no stranger to this stereotype, as it is also closely aligned with previous plots. However, something drew me in. Whether it was the unorthodox, yet relatable main character, Kenna Rowan, or the dramatic relationship between Kenna and the other characters, "Reminders of Him" certainly stands out from Hoover’s other work.

Like many of Hoover’s books, the story begins by portraying the main character as a damsel in distress, caught in a tricky love triangle that can only end in tragedy. As for this particular story, that book opened with the somber scenes of Kenna’s new life, the one that she is building after being in prison for the past seven years. In search of her five-year-old daughter, Diem, Kenna moves back to her hometown of Laramie, Wyoming, though what Kenna finds there is anything but a home. Ledger Ward has become a father figure in Diem’s life after the accident, and he has no welcoming feelings toward Kenna. In fact, he wishes she would leave town immediately. Though few readers can directly relate to the recently released prisoner or the overprotective godfather, ongoing themes of grief, longing, and yearning are a part of everyone's story.  

While the story is unique and the characters' experiences are their own, the audience can understand the underlying message without needing much in common between viewers and the characters. The suffering of each character, the ongoing battles they faced, and their actions in response, were all valid and respectable. Not once did I think that one specific character was being rash or harsh, despite the multiple heated scenes. This made reading "Reminders of Him" a realistic story that could happen to anyone, including me, rather than something entirely fictional. 

The book was a perfect mix of adult problems, while also being something teenagers could relate to. Whereas some of Hoover’s other works could only be enjoyed by one or the other, this story is perfectly acceptable for all ages, teens, and up. I’ll admit, I only read the book to prepare for the movie, but I found the reading experience shockingly pleasant. I had already gotten excited about the movie, and reading the book made me even more eager.

Walking into the movie theatre, I was undoubtedly a little nervous. Hoover had yet to shock me with her filmmaking abilities. I had been utterly disappointed with the movie adaptation of "It Ends With Us", as I imagine many fans were. My faith had been somewhat restored with "Regretting You", which had been an easy-to-watch movie that was a mix of coming-of-age and romantic comedy in the most basic way. Therefore, I put my full trust in Hoover to adapt her perfect book into a perfect movie to change my opinion of her abilities entirely, and, for once, she did not let me down. 

Having read the book only days before seeing the film, I worried that the story would feel redundant and boring. To my surprise, the film director, Vanessa Caswill, brought new life to the story and created a very entertaining film. Caswill took creative liberties with some of the scenes, but, for the most part, the movie aligned with the book. The most obvious cuts in plot were the more heated scenes between Kenna (Maika Monroe) and Ledger (Tyriq Withers), which I felt were unnecessary anyway. My opinion of the movie was elevated due to the fact that these scenes were missing, and the movie focused more on the emotions of these characters, rather than their actions.

I found it most intriguing how the two most famous actors did not play the main roles and had a smaller part in the movie. Anyone could spot Gilmore Girls legend, Lauren Graham, playing the overprotective mother, Grace Landry. It was also impossible to miss Lainey Wilson’s thick accent and southern charm in grocery store employee Amy. Almost more than anything, I went to see "Reminders of Him" for the opportunity to see these two women on screen together. They did not have as much time on screen as I had hoped, but they didn’t waste a single second during the scenes that they were in. They were two of my favorite characters and were most impactful for the story's plot. Playing the stereotypical mother figure, the audience felt comfort, belonging, and love whenever these two were on screen. 

The movie was undoubtedly sadder than I expected. While I didn’t shed a single tear reading the book, I left the movie theatre bawling my eyes out. The movie ended in the way any viewer would’ve wanted, with multiple heartfelt scenes and happy endings. Anyone looking for an emotional, sentimental summer story should read and watch "Reminders of Him".