Book Review; When We Collided by Emery Lord

Summary:
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.

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Sometimes There

As soon as I heard about this book, I wanted to read it. It had a vibrant cover and a very interesting plot. I had also heard some good things about the author’s previous works as well. Fortunately, I am glad that I read this book as I thought it was a very intriguing story to read. Unfortunately, I found it very hard to connect with the main protagonist, Vivi, and as such, struggled to find an emotional connection to the book thus impacting on my overall enjoyment of the book. I liked it a lot, I just couldn’t love it.

Is More

One of the things I loved lots about this book was the subject matter that it looked at. Our main protagonist is dealing with some mental health issues and I really liked the representation and treatment of this. I thought it was a very unique and interesting portrayal. I also really loved the setting of this book and how that played a part in the plot of the story too. Essentially I liked how the plot went and can definitely see why so many people have truly loved this novel.

Going On

I should mention now that I absolutely adored Jonah! I thought he was an incredible character. He was super sweet, sensitive, kind, protective, loyal and funny. He has his flaws too, like taking the world on his shoulders but I just loved him as a character a lot. Of course, on the other had, I really struggled with Vivi. I can’t really pinpoint why I found her character so difficult to connect with but I just found myself not liking her very much. As another positive point, however, I also really loved all of Jonah’s sibblings too. They were a nice addition to the story and gave it that little bit extra which was nice.

Underneath It All

This is one of those I liked it but I didn’t like it kind of reviews. The hardest ones to write as it looks like I just can’t make up my mind! But mostly I liked aspects of this book and disliked others. What should be noted is that I enjoyed reading this book as a whole, loved the subject matter that is touched upon and can see why others love this book. It just wasn’t the right book for me. I am still glad I read it and it definitely made me think more about mental health and how it affects people. I would also still recommend this book, especially as it might help to remove some of the stigma around mental health.