Book Review: When We Collided by Emery Lord

Image (c) Bloomsbury USA Children

When We Collided by Emery Lord
Release Date: April 5th, 2016
Book Format: ARC (thank you Quality Fangirls for the copy!)

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.

This book hit me. Really really hard. (In a metaphorical sense, but I suppose if someone actually threw this book at me... it would really hurt). I'm still recovering from it. I think, what I'm feeling right now, this feels like what I imagine a book hangover would feel like. But minus the stomachache which, in all honesty, I'm incredibly grateful for.

I knew mental illness would be discussed in this book but, at the beginning, it felt like... just something normal. In fact, I even recall just thinking 'oh gosh, please don't tell me it's just a typical love story' because I have been finding myself just tired of this cliche. And these two people- Vivi and Jonah- met because one little girl just had to go to an art class (not that I'm against that at all, of course). 

Despite that, I feel like this book pulls you in with a little light nudge until, all of a sudden, the calm suddenly becomes an uncontrollable storm that tears you apart but you stay because the ocean just looks beautiful in its fury.

... You can probably blame Vivi for this vivid explanation. (I also just realized - Vivid. Vivi. That's so perfect because that's how I saw Vivi - vivid and full of color and rainbows that are uncontrollable).

Verona Cove: a place where Jonah has grown in his whole life. For Vivi, Verona Cove is a place to start anew. A home away from home. Vivi just wants to recover from her past. Jonah craves for a future that seems far off now ever since his mom fell into depression.

Somehow, despite their differences, they manage to clash - in a good-bad way (??? I don't know how else to explain it).  Jonah stresses out how she's going to view his family but Vivi found herself brightening everyones' day. A beacon of light. Life is still stressful but, admittingly, it felt less so with her in the picture. The kisses weren't so bad, either, of course.

But Vivi's past is slowly crawling back as she refuses to believe what it in her mind - and drives herself to fix it herself. 

I'm not saying that this book shows a 100% representation of bipolar disorder but that doesn't make it any less worthy. I felt myself brewing in Vivi - potential for irritation even if there is only a sliver of worry for the situation. Overactive happiness to where sleep is no longer an option. Rapid, vivid, uncontrollable thoughts. Finding connection in the smallest of things. Creative imagination - with art and her words.

This barely even scrapes the surface on what I deal with a lot. It is unpredictable a lot of times. Just today, I found myself going through many emotions: optimism, guilt and an overwhelming sadness, calm, irritation over feeling like I'm selfish, not feeling much at all, stressing out and being heavily paranoid, exhaustion. Finally - silence and calm. As far as I know, though, my symptoms are pretty tame in comparison to many others who are bipolar.  

I think this, in itself, should be enough for a little taste in what you should expect from this book. It's not one that you can explain easily with words - When We Collided is one of those books that you just have to experience to understand. When you snag this book - you'll understand why.

(Originally posted on A Court of Ink and Paper, previously known as Cosying Up With Books)