Book Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord

Book Title: When We Collided
Author: Emery Lord
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Publication Date: April 5th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Mental Health, Romance, YA
Age Range: 14-17 years old
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

We are seventeen and shattered and still dancing. We have messy, throbbing hearts, and we are stronger than anyone could ever know…

Jonah never thought a girl like Vivi would come along.

Vivi didn’t know Jonah would light up her world.

Neither of them expected a summer like this…a summer that would rewrite their futures.

In an unflinching story about new love, old wounds, and forces beyond our control, two teens find that when you collide with the right person at just the right time, it will change you forever.

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MY THOUGHTS

I started reading this with really high expectations because I’ve seen so many great reviews about this. After reading though, I don’t know how I feel; I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would but it doesn’t mean that it’s not good.

The main reason why I didn’t give this a higher rating is because the romance bothered me a lot. It was 100% insta-love. Girl sees boy and boy sees girl, and then BOOM! they have feelings for each other? A big no for that! I kept trying to find (or feel) the chemistry between Vivi and Jonah, I swear I did, but no such luck. It feels completely forced and rushed.

There were times that I found it hard to sympathize with Vivi. I feel really bad for saying that but I was just so frustrated about how she bosses Jonah around.

Despite saying that, Vivi eventually grew on me and I hate the fact that I was starting to actually like and understand her better when the book is coming to an end. (I feel like that’s because I knew more about her feelings and condition near the end.)

Another thing, how Emery Lord describes everything in the book is incredible. How she portrays the things that make Verona Cove so special made me want to live there too. How she explains Jonah’s dishes made my mouth water. How she details the characters’ feelings made me empathize with them—well, not all the time for Vivi, but you know what I mean. The writing is just wonderful.

The ending was just so beautiful and precious. Around that time was the most I’ve felt for Vivi and Jonah.

I don’t know much about topics like this, to be honest, but I feel like I understood it on a whole new level. I love how mental health was so candidly talked about in the book. I think it’s difficult to write about this topic and generate awareness to its readers at the same time. This is a story that can certainly change one’s perspective on this area.

Would I recommend it?

Yes! Definitely yes. You might learn a thing or two about mental health here, who knows? Although beware of the romance, I didn’t like it so much.

All book cover photos and summaries are taken from Goodreads.

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