When We Collided Paperback – May 16, 2017

Vivi fell in love with Verona Cove when she moved there for the summer. She wasn't looking for love but love found her anyway. Verona Cove is a small beach town in California and with about 3,000 residents. Because Jonah promised little Leah she can paint pottery if she did all of her chores, the two end up at Fired Up. It so happens that Vivi works there over the summer. And this is where the story starts!When We Collided is honest and poetic. Emery Lord has a gift for capturing moments in a snapshot. Her descriptions are beautifully written and the imagery is strong. Life isn't perfect and Vivi and Jonah are able to complete each other despite their flaws. The slow build up from stranger to friend is remarkable. Vivi is vivid and so full of life. She is adventurous, humorous and free-spirited. Jonah is responsible and reserved. After all, he is one of the caretakers for his younger siblings. Vivi falls in love with the Daniels family but is smitten with Jonah.I enjoyed reading the dual POV novel. Lord writes the POVs wonderfully. I love how she transitions the dialogue so we see both Vivi's and Jonah's POVs. The way Lord tackles family dynamics is fantastic. Jonah comes from a family of five siblings. But his father passed six months ago and his Mom hasn't been the same after the death. The older children have to step up in terms of responsibilities in order to support the family whether it be working or babysitting the younger siblings. Vivi is an only child and lives with her artist mother. Jonah's POV is my favorite. Lord writes his voice perfectly.There is so much emotion and grit in this novel. The ending made me cry; it's a bittersweet ending. Lord has touched upon bipolar disorder in a way where everyone can understand. When We Collided is not a mental illness novel. It's a coming-of-age novel about finding who you are and how you can still persist even though you have some struggles and difficulties in your life. When life is tough, you keep moving forward.When We Collided is a MUST read! It's heartfelt and it's almost impossible not to fall in love with Vivi, Jonah and Jonah's family. The characters are real with flaws and all. If you're looking for a YA contemporary dealing with loss, friendship, love, acceptance, finding yourself and mental illness, When We Collided is the book to pick up! Vivi was here!

4 stars. It was a sweet read. It just got you to think about what people could be going through all around you. I don't claim to understand what being Bi-Polar even looks like but this did a great job of showing it to me. The tension of the build up from the very beginning is what made this a serious page turner for me. I just felt like something big was going to happen. Would it be my typical go to read, no. But it was not a bad read. I'm excited to see this story become a movie though. I really think it will be amazing.

Emery Lord is an auto-buy author for me. I fell in love with her debut, OPEN ROAD SUMMER, and every book I read from her is a wonderful and thoughtful experience full of growth, friendship, and a little bit of romance. After finishing WHEN WE COLLIDED, one of the things that I’m really starting to appreciate is how incredibly individual each book feels from is predecessor. Emery Lord’s writing is deep and powerful but still allows each character to let their silly side show and really tells a very realistic story without getting caught up in the dramatics that some young adult books tend to overemphasize. Each book has had a very different story to tell and WHEN WE COLLIDED may be the most powerful one yet.WHEN WE COLLIDED is the story of Vivi and Jonah but it’s also a story for anyone who’s dealt with grief, depression, mental illness, or really any hard times in their life. The reader learns that Vivi has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and that Jonah’s father has recently passed away and his family is still grieving. WHEN WE COLLIDED chronicles the journey of these two characters throughout one summer as they crash into each other’s lives when they’re both at their very bottom and how they’re able to help each other grow and heal. The book is incredibly powerful. There’s so much emotion as Vivi and Jonah sift through their struggles individually and how once they start to open up, they’re really able to help and support each other by sharing their own personal hurdles.What I loved the most about WHEN WE COLLIDED was how realistic everything truly felt. Sometimes I have a hard time connecting to big families like Jonah’s (especially young children for some reason) but just like Vivi, I easily fell in love with each and every one of them. Emery Lord is able to bring even minor characters into full color and share their dazzling personalities with the reader. I also really appreciated all of the personal experience as well as research that went into Vivi’s character. I haven’t personally seen the effects of bipolar disorder in any of my friends or family members (that I know of) but I felt like this was an incredibly realistic and thorough view of what someone with this disorder might be going through. Experiencing Vivi’s emotional highs and escalation as she went through her manic period was truly an emotional roller coaster and as an observer, I was incredibly nervous for her throughout the book. I was afraid of what might happen when that mania finally came back down and feared for when depression might hit. Vivi has a naturally spirited and unique personality so there was also this blur and question of whether her actions were simply because she was such a sizzling personality or whether some of her decisions were affected by her disorder.I adored the relationship between Vivi and Jonah. It was such a sweet romance full of highs and lows and it was exactly what these two characters needed. Jonah needed someone who would break down the door and push themself into his life in order to really accept help and start to talk about what his family was going through. She opened Jonah up to acting a little silly sometimes and allowing himself to really act his age when there was so much weighing on his shoulders. Vivi needed someone a little grounded to reel her back in at times but still love her for exactly who she was. Jonah was able to offer her a peek into a big family and the loss of a loving father and these two really learned a lot from each other that they never set out to find.I could really go on gushing about WHEN WE COLLIDED but it’s a book that really must be experienced. It was so incredibly well-written and I love how it shares some similar elements of Emery Lord’s previous books (strong female characters, great friendships, tons of growth) and yet it truly stands on its own. It was such an emotional ride for me and one that I will absolutely continue to recommend. If you haven’t read any of Emery Lord’s books yet, start anywhere but make sure you do read WHEN WE COLLIDED as soon as possible!

A little difficult to get into but a good book overall!

There is so much to say about this book that I cannot even put it into words. Vivi's story reminds me of myself. I live her life every day as I have bipolar disorder. And I tell you it's not easy to be the person with bipolar disorder or be the loved one of a person with it. The author nailed this story on the head with this story and she should be proud.

Vivi is my soulmate and fans of all the bright places and my heart and other black holes will love this . I'm bipolar so I could understand her so well and Johan was such a sweetheart . It's a beautiful read .

I bought Emery Lord's book because "When we collided" sounded like something else. I hate love stories packed with the most successful and perfect people.The people in this story are not perfect, but so much more. Viv has bipolar disorder and this illness makes every day ... harder than it might be for other people.Jonah lost his father and has to take care of his siblings as well as his mom who is mentally unstable.When the two of them meet, something really special starts to evolve and I had a great time learning about them as well as the other loveable and truly wonderful characters in this book.But more importantly, I shed more than a few tears. This book moved me and this book is so much more than any average love story ever could be. It is telling the truth. The truth about what life is like for many people out there.Many people who are not perfect, but so much more.

Well written and a well crated story.A story that deals with the sorrows and challenges and beauty of life.This has added to the list of my all time favourite books.