November 9 is a 2015 romance novel by Colleen Hoover.
Two years ago, sixteen-year-old aspiring actress Fallon O'Neill was caught in a terrible house fire on November 9th that left her scarred both physically and mentally, completely upending her life. On the second anniversary of the fire, eighteen-year-old Fallon is preparing to move from Los Angeles to New York for a fresh start, when she meets aspiring author and poet Ben Kessler.
Despite only having a few hours together, Ben and Fallon find themselves drawn to each other and make a deal: once a year on November 9th for the next five years, they will meet up and see how their lives have changed, for better or worse. They will have no contact with each other outside of this meeting for the rest of the year. As the years pass, Fallon and Ben become increasingly close, but Fallon is unaware that Ben is hiding a dark secret, one that could shatter her life yet again.
Contains examples of the following tropes:
- Aborted Arc: At the start of the novel, Fallon has to deal with finding out her father is having another child with his much younger girlfriend just as Fallon is about move across the country. However, the plotline goes nowhere as it's subsequently revealed that the girlfriend faked the pregnancy.
- Aerith and Bob: At first glance, Ben's name doesn't stand out as unusual next to his brothers' names. However, his full name is actually Benton, which is a lot less common than Kyle or Ian.
- Artistic License – Medicine: Fallon's burn injuries aren't really described or dealt with realistically. It's stated that she suffered fourth-degree burns to 30 per cent of her body, with her left side being covered in scars. Fourth-degree burns are some of the severest burn injuries you can receive, extending down to muscle and bone. In many cases, body parts such as limbs that have been burnt this severely need to be amputated and there's usually permanent damage to the affected areas (provided the person even survives). Fallon is extremely lucky that she didn't lose an arm or leg, or go blind in her left eye; it's also more likely that her left breast would've been removed as opposed to just being scarred. At the start of the book, it's only been two years since the fire and yet Fallon is completely physically recovered besides her scars, without so much as a limp. In real life, if she was that seriously burnt she'd likely still be in and out of hospital getting skin grafts and reconstructive surgeries, would probably be in physical therapy to regain use of her body and may not be fully able to eat, drink or speak on her own yet. She'd likely also be wearing protective gear to prevent her burns getting infected during the healing process and be taking pain medication.
- Awful Truth: In the latter half of the novel, Fallon discovers via Ben's novel manuscript that he set the fire that nearly claimed her life and has been aware of this since the day they met. She initially tells herself it's just a plot twist Ben made up for his fictional story, though she still finds it weird and upsetting because of how personal the incident is to her. However, upon reading more of the manuscript and then confronting Ben directly, Fallon comes to realise that it's actually true. Fallon is so horrified by the revelation she leaves Ben's house immediately, gets a restraining order against him and goes into a Heroic BSoD for around a year.
- Bowdlerise: Newer editions of the book alter the scene at the nightclub where Ben tries to seduce Fallon, namely removing the part where Ben keeps trying to kiss and touch Fallon despite her repeatedly saying no and instead having her show more enthusiasm. This is due to readers complaining that the original scene came off as sexual assault.
- Career-Ending Injury: Fallon's severe burn injuries put the brakes on her once promising acting career; due to Hollywood Beauty Standards, she struggles to get roles because of her obvious, difficult-to-cover burn scars. Fallon is pretty despondent about it, given she had dreamt of being an actor since childhood and worked hard at developing her acting skills, only to be rejected for something completely out of her control and unrelated to her acting ability. At the beginning of the novel, she's moving to New York partly because she thinks she might have better luck getting roles on Broadway. From what we can tell, Fallon's acting career never really pans out, though she does find success and contentment as an acting coach.
- Comforting the Widow: In the fourth year, Fallon discovers that Ben is now in a relationship with his sister-in-law Jordyn, who was widowed the previous year; in the process of grieving together for Ben's brother and Ben helping raise Jordyn's son, they developed an attraction and moved in together. However, encountering Fallon again makes Ben realise that while he cares for Jordyn, he isn't in love with her the way he is with Fallon. By the following year, they've broken up.
- Connected All Along: It turns out Ben's late mother and Fallon's father Donovan had known each other and been in a romantic relationship years before Ben and Fallon met. The dissolution of their relationship led to Ben thinking Donovan was in some way responsible for his mother's suicide, which had devastating consequences for Fallon.
- Continuity Cameo: Miles and Tate, the main protagonists of Colleen Hoover's 2014 novel Ugly Love, make a brief appearance. They're friends with Ben's older brother Ian, who was a supporting character in Ugly Love.
- Contrived Coincidence: When Fallon comes across Ben's manuscript and decides to peek at a random section, it just so happens that the first page she turns to is one revealing that Ben started the fire at Fallon's house when they were both sixteen.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Ben, Kyle and Ian's father is deceased.
- Kyle ends up being this to his son Oliver, as he's killed in a car accident before Oliver is born. Oliver's uncle Ben takes over as a father figure to him, even moving in with his mother, but he takes a step back after breaking up with Oliver's mother while he's still a toddler, albeit he intends to stay involved in his life.
- Disposable Fiancé:
- In the fourth year, Fallon learns that Ben is in a relationship with Jordyn, his brother's widow. However, Ben makes it clear to the reader and later Fallon that they mostly got together out of shared grief and he realises they don't have the same connection he feels with Fallon. Ben later reveals he broke up with Jordyn because he felt it was unfair to her that he couldn't love her as deeply as Fallon and because he hoped he might still have a shot with Fallon. It's never really explored how Jordyn feels about the situation, especially given that Ben was helping raise her child.
- By the fifth year, Fallon is dating a man named Theodore and is on a double date with him, her roommate Amber and Amber's boyfriend Glen on November 9th when Ben shows up at the nightclub to win her back. It's made pretty clear that Fallon isn't that into Theodore - who doesn't get much of a personality beyond wearing silly pants and being a bit dense - and he's treated as a jerk for muttering that Fallon "isn't even that pretty" after she ditches him for Ben (prompting Ben, Glen and Amber to beat him up).
- Driven to Suicide: It's revealed that Ben's mother chose to end her life by shooting herself in the head after discovering she had ovarian cancer, which was likely untreatable. Sixteen-year-old Ben found her body and understandably did not take it well, with the fallout making things worse for several people, some of whom had nothing to do with his mother's death.
- Easily Forgiven: Ben is a contender for one of the top recipients of this in fiction. Ben intentionally started the fire that nearly killed Fallon, ruined her acting career and gave her both permanent scars and a lot of trauma, never once told her this in all the time they knew each other until she finds out herself and did a lot of other shady stuff that greatly upset her. Yet in the end Fallon not only forgives Ben and proclaims her love for him, she says she needs to apologise to Ben for not accepting his love sooner and ditching him last year (when she first found out what he did). Fallon's mother also forgives Ben's misdeeds even faster than Fallon and chastises her daughter for not doing the same because of how guilt-stricken and tormented he claims to be.
- Fake Relationship: During Ben and Fallon's first meeting, Ben inserts himself into Fallon's argument with her father after overhearing them, claiming to be Fallon's boyfriend in order to defend her. He later says he also wanted an excuse to talk to her because he finds her beautiful and intriguing. Fallon goes along with it because she finds Ben interesting and attractive, too.
- Famed In-Story: Fallon's father Donovan O'Neill is a famous TV actor, which partly inspired Fallon herself to go into acting.
- Fictional Document: Early in the story, Ben begins writing a romance novel titled November 9 inspired by his and Fallon's lives and relationship, with Fallon even initially believing that getting material for the novel is the main reason they continue to meet once a year on November 9th (she's wrong, of course). The manuscript becomes particularly significant when Fallon reads a section and discovers from it that Ben actually set her house on fire two years before they met. In the end, reading more of the manuscript and learning why Ben did this prompts Fallon to forgive him and accept that she's in love with him.
- Foreshadowing:
- There are a few hints that Ben is hiding a dark secret from Fallon. In his narration he sometimes remarks that there are things Fallon doesn't know that she may not take well and he feels guilt over, or that he's getting what he deserves when things go badly for him. During the second year, Fallon also walks in on Ben and his brother Kyle having a physical altercation that seems to be related to Fallon showing up at their house, though Ben brushes it off as Kyle being stressed from wedding planning. It's revealed that Ben has been aware all along that he caused the fire that left Fallon with scars and mental trauma, with his brothers being the only other people who know of Ben's crime.
- At the beginning of the story, Fallon says she tries to make herself feel better about her scars by telling herself lots of people have scars from past trauma and heartbreak; hers just happen to be more visible than most. Fallon and her mother realise this applies to Ben, who isn't physically scarred like Fallon but is also carrying a lot of pain and anguish from the events of November 9th.
- Early on, Fallon thinks it's an eerie coincidence that she and Ben happened to meet and arrange to catch up on November 9th, the same day that she nearly died in a house fire. That's because it's not a coincidence and the date is significant to Ben too.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: The end of the novel sees Ben telling Fallon he intends to marry her (he says he'll propose a year from now). While they've technically known each other six years at this point, they've collectively spent two days or less in each other's company (during the fifth year, Fallon states that she's worked out they've spent just twenty-eight hours together since meeting). While presumably them waiting a year to actually get engaged gives them more time, it's treated as a given they will marry despite having spent such little time together (especially as they weren't even a couple for a lot of it).
- Grave-Marking Scene: It's revealed that on the day Ben met Fallon, he'd been at his mother's grave, as it was the anniversary of her death, and he saw Donovan arrive to lay flowers at the grave. Ben followed Donovan to the restaurant where he was meeting his daughter for lunch, thus meeting Fallon for the first time.
- Happily Ever After: The novel ends with Fallon forgiving Ben for starting the fire and deceiving her, and deciding to move in with him. Ben says he intends to propose to her a year from now and it's all but stated Fallon will say yes, with Ben even lampshading that they will live "happily ever after".
- House Fire: In the backstory, Fallon was seriously injured and almost died in a house fire, which started when her father's classic car caught fire in the driveway, with the flames spreading to the house. Fallon has been left with permanent scarring and a lot of psychological baggage. It's later revealed the fire wasn't an accident, or at least the arsonist deliberately set the car alight, though he didn't intend for it to spread to the house.
- Informed Ability: Ben is consistently praised as being a highly talented and emotionally stirring author and poet. However, the samples of his writing we see often come across as amateurish; a lot of his poetry in particular comes off less as profound and moving, and more as pretentious, melodramatic or hackneyed. This might be intentional to an extent given Ben doesn't have a lot of serious writing experience - he's only 18 at the start of the story - though apparently an agent was so impressed by his November 9 manuscript he gets a publishing deal by his early twenties.
- Interchangeable Asian Cultures: This comes up briefly when Fallon claims that pad Thai and sushi are "almost the same thing" simply because "they're both Asian". Anyone who is remotely familiar with either food - regardless of how knowledgeable they are on Asian cultures - will be able to tell you they're nothing alike, nor are they from the same culture: sushi is Japanese and pad Thai is...well, Thai.
- In-Universe Nickname: Ben's full name is Benton James Kessler, but he's frequently referred to as just Ben both by the text and by other characters.
- Missing Mom: For most of the story it's not revealed what happened to Ben, Kyle and Ian's mother, just that she died when Ben was younger. It's revealed she committed suicide two years before the story begins, on the same day Fallon's house caught fire. And yes, these two events are connected.
- Most Writers Are Writers: Ben is a writer who aspires to get published someday. During their first meeting, Fallon challenges him to write a romance novel given he previously stated he had little interest in or experience with the genre, and he decides to write a story based upon his own relationship with Fallon. Also scattered throughout the novel are examples of Ben's poetry, where he discusses his inner thoughts and feelings.
- Muse Abuse: Fallon becomes Ben's muse, with he being inspired to write a romance novel based upon their relationship, with the main heroine being based directly on Fallon. However, some of his treatment of her is questionable, such as pressuring her to show him her breasts (one of which is deformed from scars) and pressing her for details about the fire that nearly killed her and her feelings around this so that his novel will be be more authentic, although it's implied and later stated outright that Ben is less concerned with the novel than he is about getting to know Fallon better. When Fallon reads Ben's manuscript, she's unsettled when she finds out the character based on Ben set the fire that injured the character based on her, thinking that it's a rather ghoulish and overly-personal twist. It then gets worse when she realises that it's not just a made-up twist, but that it actually happened, with Ben never once letting on to Fallon he knew the truth yet writing it all down in a book he intends to publish. Fallon is so repulsed she breaks off her relationship with Ben permanently...or at least until the following year.
- Nephewism: Ben helps raise his young nephew Oliver after his brother Kyle dies before Oliver is born.
- "Not If They Enjoyed It" Rationalization: In the original nightclub scene, Ben keeps groping Fallon even when she tells him to stop; in her narration she tells herself she should stop him but that she actually likes it despite what she says. Consequently, it isn't treated as sexual assault by the characters. Out-of-universe, some readers didn't agree, which led to the scene being edited for newer editions.
- Once More, with Clarity: Reading through Ben's manuscript near the ending provides Fallon and the reader with extra context around their first meeting and Ben's reasons for starting the fire that scarred Fallon; in particular we see the entirety of their first meeting play out from Ben's perspective instead of Fallon's, revealing he didn't just happen upon her and her father by chance. A little earlier when Fallon reads about Ben and Kyle's fight (which she had walked in on), the scene is also re-told from Ben's perspective to explain what it was about.
- Practically Different Generations: At the start of the novel, Donovan reveals to Fallon that his current girlfriend is pregnant, meaning Fallon will have a half-sibling more than eighteen years her junior. Fallon isn't that impressed, considering Donovan is already a rather poor father to her, not to mention his girlfriend is only twenty-four and could easily be Fallon's sister herself. By the second year it's subverted, as it turns out there was no baby; Fallon reveals that Donovan's girlfriend only pretended to be pregnant in an attempt to get him to marry her, which backfired as he dumped her when he discovered her deception.
- Questionable Consent: In hindsight, it's doubtful if Fallon would've consented to sex with Ben if she'd known at the time he is responsible for her burn scars, something which Ben was always aware of but never told Fallon about; he finally decides he will tell Fallon after they've slept together a second time, as he knows she may not react well. Fallon finds out on her own mere hours after this and is completely repulsed by the situation.
- Scars Are Forever: The left side of Fallon's body is covered with burn scars that will never heal (it's explained that she had fourth-degree burns to thirty per cent of her body and it's not even mentioned how many second or third degree burns she suffered, so it's not surprising the scarring won't ever go away). Fallon feels extremely self-conscious about the scars, even believing that no one will ever truly love her because of them.
- Scars Are Ugly: Fallon has a lot of insecurities and negative feelings about her burn scars, which cover the left side of her body. They're a constant physical reminder of her traumatic near-death experience and she gets stared at for them. They've irrevocably changed her appearance and thrown a wrench in her dream of becoming an actor. She doesn't like going out wearing anything that could show the scars, including wearing long sleeves even when it's warm. She's also reluctant to let Ben - or any boy she's attracted to - see her undressed and thinks she could never be truly seen as attractive because of the scars. Ben tries to encourage her to not be ashamed or disgusted by her scars, insisting that he finds her beautiful and the scars show she's a survivor.
- Second-Act Breakup: During the third year, Fallon and Ben decide they will try having a relationship, with Ben even saying he will move to New York for Fallon. However, Fallon realises this won't work because Ben needs to be in California to help support his sister-in-law and soon-to-be-born nephew after his brother's sudden death in a car accident, while she can't just leave her life in New York. Rather than explain this, Fallon tries to sneak off in the middle of the night, greatly upsetting Ben when he catches her. Ben assumes that Fallon simply doesn't love him, while Fallon assumes Ben will eventually understand why they can't logistically be together just yet. By the next year, Fallon has realised how much Ben means to her and has moved back to California to be with him, only to learn he's since gotten into a relationship with his sister-in-law.
- Sex Equals Love: Ben - who at this point has spent less than twenty-four hours in her company - decides he's in love with Fallon and that she must feel the same after they have sex for the first time. He's shocked and devastated when he discovers Fallon doesn't feel as strongly, wondering how she couldn't love him after the experience they just shared together. By the following year, Fallon realises her feelings for Ben are stronger than she thought, though the circumstances mean that she doesn't fully accept that she's in love with Ben until the next year.
- Sex for Solace: In the third year, Fallon visits Ben while he's in mourning for his brother Kyle, who died in a car wreck a few days ago and says she'll do anything he needs to comfort him, including having sex with him despite her insecurities about him seeing her undressed due to her scars. She and Ben end up having sex for the first time, which also doubles as Fallon's first time having sex ever.
- Someone to Remember Him By: Jordyn is heavily pregnant with her husband Kyle's baby when he dies. It's played for a bit of drama, as Jordyn doesn't know how she'll cope with a new baby alone and considers moving back in with her mother in Nevada, even though she doesn't want to. Her brother-in-law Ben promises that he and her other brother-in-law Ian will support her and the baby, so she can stay in California.
- Spurned into Suicide: Upon learning that Donovan and Ben's mother were romantically involved and that they'd recently broken up, Ben assumed that Donovan had broken his mother's heart, triggering her suicide. However, after reading his mother's suicide note he learns she took her life in order to spare herself (and by extension her sons) from a slow, painful death by ovarian cancer, not mentioning Donovan at all. Ben also realises in hindsight that Donovan appeared to be more in love with Ben's mother than the other way around, making him wonder if it was she who ended things.
- Stalking is Love: In the fifth year, Ben stalks Fallon to a nightclub where her friend Glen told him they'd be after she doesn't show up at their restaurant (she'd made it clear the previous year that she wouldn't) and tries to seduce her. Surprisingly, it works and Fallon goes back to his house with him despite her being there with a different date. The following year, Ben ups his game by violating the restraining order Fallon had put out on him to follow her to her house and leave a box with his manuscript on her doorstep; it's later confirmed he hid nearby and watched her take the box inside before leaving. Despite being initially creeped out, the incident eventually convinces Fallon that she and Ben are truly in love.
- Thicker Than Water: Ben's brothers Ian and Kyle don't approve of what Ben did in his past in the slightest, with Kyle even physically attacking Ben over it, but they still keep quiet about it and persuaded Ben not to go to the police to protect him.
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: After five years, it seems that Ben and Fallon have finally overcome all the issues keeping them apart and are going to start a proper relationship. But then Fallon reads Ben's manuscript and learns that he is responsible for the fire she barely escaped from and that he's known this all along. Fallon storms off and vows never to see Ben again, refusing to listen to his attempts to explain. A year later Ben finally persuades Fallon to read more of the manuscript and she learns that while Ben did deliberately start the fire, he didn't intend for anyone to be hurt and that earlier that same day, his mother had died in a traumatic way, so he wasn't in his right mind. Fallon feels that Ben has also suffered greatly and realises she still loves him, so they kiss and make up.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Ben's mother killed herself because she didn't want to suffer a slow and painful demise from cancer, nor burden her sons with this. However, she ended up causing them just as much pain and trauma by abruptly killing herself, letting them find her body and only explaining her decision in a suicide note. Ben, irrational with grief and shock, believed that his mother's recent break-up with Donovan O'Neill led to her suicide, prompting him to seek revenge against him, which in turn inadvertently resulted in Donovan's daughter being severely injured.
- You Killed My Father: Ben reveals he set fire to Donovan's car in a moment of rage and grief because he believed that Donovan breaking up with his mother had driven her to take her own life; he didn't want to harm Donovan directly, but did want to make him pay for what he allegedly did to Ben's mother. Unfortunately, the fire ended up spreading to Donovan's house, destroying it and severely injuring his innocent daughter, Fallon. Ben then learned that his mother's suicide had nothing to do with Donovan.
