Skip to content

This Girl

This Girl

a novel
Contemporary RomanceRomance
Pages
288
Published
2013
Language
English

Synopsis

Structured around Will and Layken's honeymoon, This Girl is told from Will's perspective as he reads Layken the story of how they fell in love — complete with poems he wrote for her that she never knew about. Rather than advancing the plot, it retells the events of Slammed from Will's point of view, adding new scenes, revealing his interior experience, and providing closure for the couple's future. It is both a companion novel to the Slammed trilogy and its emotional conclusion, rewarding readers who have followed the series from the beginning with layers of meaning invisible on a first reading of the original.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

EmotionalHeartwarmingNostalgicHopeful
Second ChanceComing of AgeForbidden LoveSacrificeMultiple POVs

Genres

Contemporary Romance Romance Contemporary Literature

About the author

C
Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover was born on December 11, 1979, in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and grew up in nearby Saltillo. She earned a degree in social work from Texas A&M University–Commerce in 2004 and worked in social work, latterly as a counselor for the federal WIC nutrition program. She began her first novel, Slammed, on a borrowed laptop in 2011, originally intending it as a Christmas gift for her mother, and self-published it in 2012; its word-of-mouth success led to a publishing deal with Atria Books....

Characters

Will CooperProtagonist

The novel's narrator; shares the full account of falling in love with Layken — including poems written for her that were never performed aloud.

Layken CohenProtagonist

Will's wife; receives his retelling of their love story as a honeymoon gift.

Caulder CooperSupporting

Will's younger brother, whose perspective enriches several scenes retold from Will's point of view.

Kel CohenSupporting

Layken's younger brother; his friendship with Caulder is given additional context in this retelling.

All characters in This Girl

Frequently asked questions

  • Does This Girl introduce new plot events or is it a straight retelling of Slammed?

    Both. It retells Slammed from Will's perspective and adds new scenes, new poems Will wrote privately for Layken, and backstory that gives his earlier decisions new meaning. The honeymoon framing also provides brief new scenes set after Point of Retreat.

  • What is the framing device of This Girl?

    The novel is structured as Will reading the story of their relationship to Layken during their honeymoon. The retelling happens in flashbacks nested within that honeymoon present-tense frame, with short new scenes bookending each section.

  • Do I need to read Slammed before This Girl?

    Yes — This Girl assumes complete knowledge of Slammed and is meaningless without it. Reading Point of Retreat first is strongly recommended as well, since the honeymoon framing takes place after that novel's events.

  • Are there new poems in This Girl that were not in Slammed?

    Yes — Hoover wrote original slam poems from Will's perspective specifically for this novel. Several appear in scenes that parallel moments from Slammed, recontextualizing what readers previously experienced only through Layken's reactions.

  • Why does the trilogy end with a retelling rather than a new chapter in the story?

    Hoover has said the choice was deliberate — she wanted Will's perspective to be its own complete emotional experience. A straight plot continuation would have required inventing new conflict rather than deepening what was already present.

  • Does This Girl show what happens to Will and Layken after Point of Retreat?

    The honeymoon scenes (set after Point of Retreat) appear only in This Girl and provide the closure for the couple's future that neither earlier novel explicitly shows. They are brief but significant for readers invested in the characters.

Read all 2 reviews