I am a firm firm spoiler hater. But it is less about thinking that the ending give something away. I mean occasionally it does. And sure, I did recently look up spoilers for something, but it was something I already knew I was going to not watch, so I think that's different. When talking about romance and how the core promise of romance (not all stories, to be clear, just those purporting to be romance) is a happy ending, people often say something silly like, well if you know how it ends, what's the fun. And they are wrong. I assume if you are here, you know this. Because of course we are here for the journey. Not just the resolution. I assume people read books about mountain climbers already knowing if they reached the top of the mountain.
And recently I read Suzanne Collins' Sunrise Over the Reaping, and oh wow. Now, to be clear, this is not a romance. This - for those who have not been following The Hunger Games, is the story of Haymitch's hunger game. So, you know how it ends. Because (spoiler warning for book from 2008 that has already been made into a movie) Haymitch won his game. So, see, what is there to learn? Except of course there is everything to learn. And it is heartbreaking, and funny, and touching as you follow Haymitch through his game, see him interact with other characters we know, and several we didn't. I had to take breaks while reading it because I was very stressed out and the book was making me more stressed. I had to blink back tears at one point.
And romances are often the same. Knowing the characters will get together is somewhat relieving, but it doesn't mean they can't or won't hurt each other, surprise each other, and even sometimes just be incredibly thoughtful about each other. Watching all the things they love about each other, watching them see how amazing the other is, is an incredible journey. And if the individuality of each wasn't interesting, you would only ever have to read one. Instead we are blessed with a cornucopia of choices.
And for people who don't like knowing the ending, there are also books for you too.
