ARC, 352 pages
Release Date: April 5, 2016Published by: Bloomsbury USA Children’sStand-aloneSource: Around the World ARC toursFor fans of: Contemporary Romance, Summer Loving, Diversity (Neuro-diversity), Chick-lit, Sparkly Covers, YA
Meet Vivi and Jonah: A girl and a boy whose love has the power save or destroy them.
Vivi and Jonah couldn’t be more different. Vivi craves anything joyful or beautiful that life can offer. Jonah has been burdened by responsibility for his family ever since his father died. As summer begins, Jonah resigns himself to another season of getting by. Then Vivi arrives, and suddenly life seems brighter and better. Jonah is the perfect project for Vivi, and things finally feel right for Jonah. Their love is the answer to everything. But soon Vivi’s zest for life falters, as her adventurousness becomes true danger-seeking. Jonah tries to keep her safe, but there’s something important Vivi hasn’t told him.
Perfect for fans of E. Lockhart and Jandy Nelson, When We Collided is a powerful story of two teens whose love is put to the test by forces beyond their control.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Emery Lord landed on my fave contemp author list with Open Road Summer and The Start of Me And You, But with this book, she has found her way to my auto-buy list. Anything she writes, I will read. I don’t care if it’s her to-do list.
“Most of the things I do in life are for flavor, not necessity.“pg. 7
When We Collided is about a girl named Vivi and a boy named Jonah who meet each other over the summer and fall into a whirlwind romance. And by whirlwind I mean that literally. They start doing so many different fun things together with “the littles” and Jonah forgets what he was even going through at first. But then, there’s a serious change and neither Jonah nor Vivi know how to handle it.
“She looks like lemon meringue pie tastes. Sunny, tangy, sweet.“pg. 24
Mainly, what kept me going through this story was Jonah’s family. ” They were all adorable in their own right. On top of that, they were all a real part of the story. I felt like they all had a purpose and all of them were fleshed out. As a character driven reader it was interesting to see how she was able to make sure they were all playing a big part in the story.
“When someone dies, that person no longer is your best friend. He was your best friend. But when you’re the person left here, like Felix is you’re still in the present tense.“pg. 43
I also liked seeing the way she portrayed the disability. As a family member has the same illness the character does, it really felt like I was watching a real life scene and not reading it in a book. In other words, Lord definitely did a wonderful job portraying the character with the disability. I read the author’s note and the acknowledgements (I mean who doesn’t?) and it stated she was alost afraid to write about it. She did a great job in my opinion.
“Do you really think that a lifeguard- one single person- could stop the universe from taking you if it really wanted you?“pg. 97
For those that think this may be all light and fluffy? It won’t. This book was raw and real and very emotional. In a couple spots I also remembered my eyes filling with tears, This book is definitely not as fluffy as her predecessors, but it’s still certainly a great book.
“Ships are safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.“pg. 181
With that being said, the romance is still electric. I loved seeing Jonah and Vivi together. Add in the rest of Jonah’s family and it was even better. I loved that she incorporated them all with Jonah. To me, that was how she showed she loved him. Acceptance. And vice versa for Jonah.
“…each broken person is different, and there is no right way for everyone Just a lot of wrong ways.“pg. 214
This book was such an accurate representation of what it’s like to know someone with this illness. Add in the romance and it is definitely one to look out for in the future. Emery Lord has definitely knocked it out of the park with this one!
Overall, I give this
