Margaret Colleen Hoover (née Fennell; born December 11, 1979) is an American author who writes primarily novels in the romance and young adult fiction genres.^[2][1] She is best known for her 2016 novel, It Ends with Us. Many of her works were self-published, before they were picked up by a publishing house. As of October 2022, Hoover has sold approximately 20 million books.^[3] She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.^[4]

Hoover was born on December 11, 1979,^[5] in Sulphur Springs, Texas, to Vannoy Fite^[1] and Eddie Fennell. She grew up in Saltillo, Texas,^[6] and she graduated from Saltillo High School in 1998.^[7] She married Heath Hoover in 2000,^[8] and they have three sons.^[9] She graduated from Texas A&M-Commerce with a degree in social work.^[10] She worked in various social work and teaching jobs, before she started her career as an author.^[11]

In November 2011, Hoover began writing her debut novel, Slammed, with no intention of getting published. She was inspired by a lyric, "decide what to be, and go be it," from an Avett Brothers song, "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise," and she incorporated Avett Brothers lyrics throughout the story.^[12] Hoover self-published Slammed, in January 2012.^[10] She states that she published the novel so that her mother, who had just received an Amazon Kindle, could read it.^[13] A sequel, Point of Retreat, was published in February 2012.^[10] After a few months, Slammed was reviewed and given five stars by book blogger Maryse Black,^[14] and afterward, sales rapidly rocketed for Hoover's first two books.^[10][15] Slammed and Point of Retreat reached #8 and #18, respectively, on the New York Times Best Seller list, in August of that year.^[16][17] Atria Books picked up the novels and republished them on August 10, 2012.^[18] A third book in the series, This Girl, was published in April 2013.^[19][20] After the success of Slammed, Hoover quit her job in social work to become a full-time writer.