REVIEW – WHEN WE COLLIDED by Emery Lord

When We Collided 
by Emery Lord
Publisher – Bloomsbury
Release Date – April 7th 2016
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository

Seventeen year old Jonah Daniels has lived in Verona Cove, California, his whole life, and only one thing has ever changed: his father used to be alive, and now he’s not. Now Jonah must numbly take care of his family as they reel from their tragedy. Cue next change: Vivi Alexander, new girl in town.

Vivi is in love with life. A gorgeous and unfiltered hurricane of thoughts and feelings. She seems like she’s from another planet as she transforms Jonah’s family and changes his life. But there are always consequences when worlds collide …

A fierce and beautiful love story with a difference, When We Collided will thrill fans of All the Bright Places and I’ll Give You the Sun.

Ever since reading Open Road Summer, I am indebted to Miss Lord’s swoon-worthy romances and now with When We Collided being brought across the shores to the UK I think the entire country will fall at the knees of both Jonah and Vivi’s journey in Emery’s latest novel.

Emery Lord isn’t short of creating such individual characters and this one includes the famous Vivi. Believe me when I say this but you haven’t read a character like it! Just imagine her at the top of the hill, arms spread and saying – HELLO WORLD, I’M VIVI ALEXANDER – COME AND MEET ME! From page 1, Vivi character was like a breathe of fresh air, what I felt was that she was like the sun – gorgeous, one of kind, bright, vibrant and raw but also can have fiery, burning self to her. That there is basically the essence of Vivi. After living here there and everywhere because of her mum’s art and her business, she takes everything in her stride literally. What I loved was that as soon as you meet you think she is totally bonkers, exactly the way Jonah Daniels met her. Vivi is eccentric to the core, she is individual, strong and determined, traits in a girl that we aspire too, we connect too and we want to be her. We want to have that breath of fresh from everyone perspective. She hated being nothing if not perfect or totally indistinguishable from the rest of the world. She wants to be nothing but her, no matter what!

“I keep wondering if it’ll ever hurt less. This…this hole in our lives.” “Oh, I imagine it’ll hurt less eventually. I think there will always be a hole, though. But lace is one of the most beautiful fabrics, you know. All those holes and gaps, but it’s still complete somehow- still lovely.” 

Jonah and the Daniels made my heart beat just that little bit faster. You will be falling all over them with how big each of their hearts are as a family. Emery really creates a thoughtful, heartfelt and just adorable family. There isn’t a bad bone in each of their bodies and they are just so lovely. They just keep everything going even with the pain and struggles that have endured as a family, they just keep on going…Jonah keeps them going. With the absence of their father and their locked in her room it’s hard for Jonah to really keep everything up to keep it all in perspective. He fixes the kids lunch, cooks, cleans and works. What more do you need to fall in love with him. It’s hard for Jonah to really open up and be honest with himself and what he wants in life especially it being surrounded by his father restaurant and his culinary skills.

Until he meets Vivi. Together they fall impossibly and irrevocable for each other. It’s the like they were meant to be. Feeding off each other’s personalities and creating something that each of them can just be themselves without anyone or complications getting in their way. It’s a classic Emery Lord tactic of her YA novels and particular aspect I will always fall for… hard. This is the reason that this book is one of my most anticipated becomes my most favourite too.

Lately there has been a growing number of authors really trying to make the sensitive subject of mental health more apparent especially in the likes of YA. I absolutely love these types of books because it just explores the realism of the world and that not everyone is perfect even if they act like it. Vivi is a clear semblance to this. It’s also let’s me really help those in my line of work recommend books that can make young people speak up or connect with this world that we aren’t afraid to speak of anymore. I’m honored and inspired by this and there is so much more to Vivi than just her mental health and I think we don’t look beyond that and I know that Miss Lord wants us to see her vibrancy and just boldness of beautiful character that she is.

Emery Lord took a very different approach to her usual genres, country singers and the like. I love that she is diversifying her work to really build better relationships with her reader’s and her audience. Personally I loved it and there is not enough words in the world to really convey any more about it. To see the beauty in things you have to get to know them especially with When We Collided.

Rating – 5