Looking for the more books you’ll devour if you liked It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover? As an award-winning author and blogger about issue-driven YA fiction, I know how stories can take us to other worlds, allow us to see through the eyes of other characters, and develop empathy for their situations. Here are my top three recommendations about dating violence:
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess - a steamy thriller about a runaway teenager who must find a way to escape an abusive relationship.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen - a powerful story about a teen girl who falls for possessive and physically violent boyfriend.
The Girl Who Fell by S.M. Parker - a hypnotic novel that shows how a girl can lose herself in a dating relationship that she believes is love.
These must-read books can be helpful for someone struggling to understand what an abusive relationship looks like or to help someone else who needs help coming to terms with an escalating and dangerous love relationship. Stories have power. They remind us that we’re not alone, that others have walked similar paths, and that healing is possible.
So which books similar to It Ends with Us should you read for Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month? Below you will find reviews of all my favorites in this category. Be warned! They portray characters whose romantic relationships escalate with extreme possessiveness, jealousy, manipulation, emotional and psychological abuse, and even physical assault. I’m confident that you’ll find something new to love in this roundup.
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess
“He kissed me again and again, and I began bargaining once more with the wind. I vowed to do better and try harder to keep this Quentin who loved me and kept me safe. The Quentin who I loved. Who loved me. Who didn’t treat me badly. Sex was the one place where he was always himself. His very best self. “― Khristina Chess, quote from Junior Missing
Love shouldn’t take prisoners.
Sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world with a bright future, is missing. At first, police assume she ran away. But when they find her abandoned phone along the highway, the truth becomes far more terrifying.
No one knows about Quentin Brock—the older musician she met online. He’s charming, funny, and perfect. Until he isn’t. Until she’s trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
What makes Junior Missing so special is the gripping, slow-boil depiction of how Grace falls into the trap of an abusive relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go. I worried about her. This is the kind of thrilling, authentic novel that really shows how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in this kind of situation.
Dark, gripping, and impossible to put down, Junior Missing is a slow-burn psychological thriller that unravels the chilling reality of physical and psychological violence. If you devoured It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, this one will haunt you long after the final page. In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
“Sometimes, it was just a little rough: a blocking bruise. Other times, a hard foul. And if things were really bad—full contact.” ― Sarah Dessen, quote from Dreamland
I've read a couple Sarah Dessen books that were "okay," but wow, this one really, really grabbed me!
It starts when Caitlin's sister, Cass, runs away. I knew the story was about relationship abuse, and I was expecting the runaway sister Cass to be with a bad guy, but no. After she disappears, Caitlin falls for a guy named Rogerson who ends up being the abusive one. Caitlin's downward spiral is emotional, realistic, and heartbreaking. From the first time Rogerson hits her, I kept waiting for someone to intervene or for her to wake up, but it went on and on until the climactic moment when something had to shatter.
I felt really bad for Caitlin. She seemed invisible to everyone who supposedly loved her. She was hiding her pain in front of everyone. And people she loved kept leaving her: first her sister Cass and then her new friend Corinna.
I don’t want to give too much away. If you liked It Ends with Us, just read it.
Criminal by Terra Elan McVoy
“But in remembering, and in telling them what they needed to know, that golden feeling I’d had with Dee came back over me—the feeling of being a kind of temple for him. I was someone who worshipped him and understood him, in all the ways he needed and deserved. I could feel them hating me, thinking I was wrong, but they’d never had Dee’s hands on them, never felt him as completely as I had.” ― Terra Elan McVoy, quote from Criminal
This book was so absorbing I read the whole thing on a Saturday afternoon. I couldn't put it down.
It's a sad story about a girl from a bad home who falls in love for the worst kind of guy, and she is pulled into a crime with him. How far will she go to protect him? Why?
I loved Nikki's character. I loved how blind she is by her obsession with Dee. She’s honest, not particularly likeable, but real. Her mother was terrible, and Nikki found friendship and safety for herself with Bird. It was no wonder that she found herself in this bad relationship with Dee. Her world is tragic, but she is strong and makes good choices, even if they're really, really late.
Criminal is not a YA book about abuse and relationship violence in the sense that Dee physically harms Nikki. Rather, it is the escalating nature of the psychological manipulation in the relationship which creates the harm.
Pick this one up. Fans of Colleen Hoover’s It Ends with Us won’t be disappointed.
The Girl Who Fell by S. M. Parker
“Still, there’s a rumbling in the pit of my stomach telling me I’m missing out on something. Something I wouldn’t have missed for all the world before Alec.” ― S.M. Parker, quote from The Girl Who Fell
In this hypnotic story, Zephyr Doyle falls in love with the wrong boy. Only, he seems like the perfect boy. A boy she's willing to give up everything for: friends, her hockey team, even her future. He's saccharine sweet, but a bit jealous. Creepy. But she can't see his emotional abuse for what it is until it's too late.
I really enjoyed this one and read it quickly. Although I guessed the relationship was doomed (surely?!), I couldn't tell how it would fall apart and was surprised by the twists at the end. Creepy behavior just escalated into more and more aggressive awfulness. It shows how a person can lose herself in a dating relationship that she believes is love.
This is an important YA novel about abuse and relationship violence. If you loved It Ends with Us, you will enjoy this one too!
Other Books You’ll Devour If You Liked It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
If you are looking for other books like It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, Goodreads also offers a great book list: Readers Who Enjoyed It Ends with Us. You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of book reviews.
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Hollow Beauty, her book about eating disorders, was named a finalist in the Next Generation India Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, and adventure.