Review: When We Collided

Title: When We Collided
Author: Emery Lord
Pages: 344
Published by: Bloomsbury
Release date: 7th April 2016
Source: Netgalley
Synopsis:
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.

Purchase from: Amazon | Book Depository | Waterstones

Firstly, thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review via Netgalley.

Review:

I picked When We Collided up on a whim when I could feel a reading slump coming on and wasn’t sure what to read next. I ended up reading it in a day and really enjoyed it while reading, but for a long while I really wasn’t sure how to rate it.

The thing I loved most about When We Collided was the characters. They were all very strong, and so much fun to read about. I loved Jonah especially, because of his strength and support for his family, and I thought that Vivi was a very bright and fun character, and I loved the positive impact she made. I liked the family dynamic in this book the most, though. I haven’t seen many large families in books, and I loved the insight into how eventful and hectic things are with lots of siblings, as it’s something I can relate to, and I loved how supportive Jonah and his siblings are of each other.

The main reason  I wasn’t sure on how to rate When We Collided, was because of the problem I had with Vivi and Jonah’s relationship, which was quite a big part of the book. Although I loved them as individual characters and as friends, I felt that their relationship needed more development leading up to it. I would have liked a bit more time to get to know and warm up to them, though I did really like how supportive of each other they turned out to be.

I liked how upbeat Emery Lord’s writing style was, and I breezed through the book in a day, which was he fastest I had read a book in a long while because of college – I was so drawn in to it. I really appreciated the positive representation of mental health, particularly bipolar disorder and depression in this book, too. Emery Lord is nothing but honest with the representation of mental health, which I think is very important. She also shows just how important and how much it means to be supported, and I know that I will be recommending this book a lot for its mental health representation alone.

Rating: ★★★☆☆