Colleen Hoover's Hopeless, a self-published mature young adult novel about the darker side of sex, enters the list at an eye-popping position: No. 2. Hoover's reaction? "This entire experience has been surreal," she tells USA TODAY. Hoover had two books on the list last year: Point of Retreat, which reached No. 31 in July, and Slammed, which peaked at No. 17. Hoover says she turned down the chance to have Hopeless published by a major house and opted for self-publishing. It's obviously working.