48 pages • 1 hour read
Maybe Someday
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Background
Authorial Context: Colleen Hoover
Born in 1979 in Sulphur Springs, Texas, Hoover began her career as a social worker and teacher. While still working as a social worker, Hoover self-published her first book Slammed in January 2012 and its sequel Point of Retreat one month later in February 2012. Soon, her books would find acclaim from online book reviewers and reach the New York Times bestseller list later that same year. This success allowed Hoover to pursue writing fulltime.
Many of Hoover’s books have found success as self-published works, and she is one of the most successful contemporary American writers of the 2020s. Hoover confronts difficult topics and themes within her works, including grief, sexual assault, infidelity, miscarriage, and toxic masculinity. As of 2022, Hoover has sold over 20 million copies of her books.
Genre Context: Contemporary Romance
The origins of the romance genre begin with romance novels of the 18th and 19th centuries. These early works focus on female protagonists who experience various conflicts before finding their happily ever after in the form of a romantic relationship. Defined as a romance set after World War II, contemporary romance novels showcase protagonists from the time in which they are written.
While romance novels of the past followed a similar structure that included a chronological plotline and a third-person narrator, who is referred to with third-person pronouns, contemporary romance novels implement increasingly complex plotlines and narrative structures. Contemporary romance expands on the genre’s origins and features protagonists with a diverse range of identities. In addition, contemporary romance novels strive to provide a realistic portrayal of a protagonist’s life by elaborating on other elements beyond the protagonist’s romantic connections. Authors like Hoover examine complex issues and explore the ways they can affect an individual’s search for true human connection.
Maybe Someday features the elements of contemporary romance. Hoover employs a complicated narrative structure that uses flashbacks and alternating narrators to highlight the stories of not one, but two protagonists. Through her exploration of Sydney and Ridge’s relationship, Hoover offers a look into the dynamics between two individuals striving to balance their passion for one another with their dedication to their individual journeys. Rather than focusing on only Sydney or Ridge’s storyline, Hoover combines their narration to provide a glimpse into the themes of Passion Versus Stability, The Pursuit of Independence, and Music as Emotional Expression.
As protagonists, Sydney and Ridge grapple with infidelity and trauma. Hoover does not shy away from examining these issues within her novel. Through her portrayal of Sydney and Ridge’s love story, Hoover explores the complications of love for musicians and for people who are deaf. Sydney and Ridge navigate their relationship by expressing their emotions through their music and by learning new ways to communicate through text message, letters, and drawing. This is reflective of the time in which Hoover writes Maybe Someday. She includes transcripts from Sydney and Ridge’s text messages as a means of contemporizing the epistolary form, which is heavily featured in romance novels of the past.
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