Colleen Hoover moved to tears by movie based on her novel

Acclaimed author Colleen Hoover is thrilled to see her 2016 bestseller adapted into a film, directed by Justin Baldoni and starring Blake Lively, Baldoni, and Brandon Sklenar.

The movie follows Lily's journey as she overcomes a traumatic childhood and navigates a complex relationship with neurosurgeon Ryle, who exhibits disturbing similarities to her abusive parents.

As Lily confronts her past and present, she must tap into her inner strength to move forward.

Hoover acknowledges that the process of turning the book into a movie was occasionally "overwhelming," considering how "surreal" the finished product was. As the author, she was moved to tears in a few of the scenes.

“I think it’s all of the emotions,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview earlier this month before rumours of a rift between Baldoni and Lively were made public.

“I’m able to separate it in the sense that I see the book and the film as two completely separate things. But at the same time, I think they did such a good job condensing this book into a film that I’m very happy with this adaptation.”

Both the novel and the movie drew criticism for several things, such as how they portrayed domestic abuse and how the characters were made older for the film.

Hoover does, however, point out that she felt compelled to write the book with an emphasis on characters in their 20s because it was the popular choice at the time, and she actually thinks the movie allowed her to make some corrections to the book.

“I felt like the film was a way to correct that mistake that I felt like I made in the book,” said Hoover.

“Especially with having them as their teenage selves compared to their adult selves, you need more space in between and more time to mature. So I think it plays much better on film.”