When We Collided

by Emery Lord

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.

• ISBN10: 1408870088
• ISBN13: 9781408870082
• Publish Date: 7 April 2016 (first published 5 April 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
• Imprint: Bloomsbury Childrens Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

When we collided, we bounced each other back into orbit.

This was such a roller coaster ride for me. I was filled with joy and happiness, sadness and fear. Vivi was such a force, and I really liked a lot of the things Vivi had to say with respect to her illness and the way other people treat/should treat those struggling with mental illness.

To the deepest, most cellular level of my being, I resent people who believe that depression is the same as weakness, that "sad" people must be coddled like helpless toddlers.

I will not lie, many of the things Lord wrote about depression hit close to home for me. I found myself nodding my head as I read many of the descriptions of depression. I also may have gotten misty or full-out cried a few times.

Last year, they curled their inky arms around me until my Technicolor world became crackling gray static. Until I felt nothing but blankness.

Jonah was amazing and such a precious cupcake. I loved his devotion to his family and to Vivi. I wanted him to have all the joy and success his heart desired. I think there may be a Jonah was here scribbled on my heart too.

This is my second Lord book, and it is the second time where she left me with a beautiful closing paragraph, but no closure. I am super needy and endings are so important to me. I would have loved just a little bit more. Maybe a little peek into the future of these two, who I had grown to care about. Needless to say, I did cry a river on the train, because it was very touching and beautiful, and I am grateful that Lord shared this story with me.

[readingwithwrin]

"I'm just looking for some kind of permanence, so my mark will linger on the world once I'm gone, in the places where I found joy. Does that make any sense?"

See Reviews first on my blog

Vivi is a young girl who is summering in Verona Cove with her mom this summer, and she is determined to make it count. She will live life to the fullest she can and maybe if she's lucky enough even convince her mom to let them stay.


Jonah's family has recently dealt with a tragedy that has affected them all in very different way, but has also left him and his older siblings in charge of making sure the 'littles' are cared for and that the house doesn't fall into chaos. For the most part they are all able to make it work, but its also all starting to build up on them and they are at a loss of what to do.


When Vivi and Jonah meet, Vivi is truly a tornado that has come crashing into Jonah's life and at first seems to make it all a little easier to deal with. She seamlessly helps out with the 'littles' and makes Jonah truly smile and feel hopeful for the first time in a while. But of course its too good to be true and Vivi starts doing reckless things and not listening when she should. At first its easy to just say it was being a teenager, but after awhile it became very obvious that Vivi was hiding something and that it was all just a matter of time before it came out.


Before I get to what I liked about this book lets get to the parts that completely annoyed me. If this town really was as close knit as they kept mentioning that it was, then why in the world was no one stepping in to help? It's obvious they could tell something was going, yet no one really did much of anything to help Jonah and his siblings out. Sure when the time came they helped with the restaurant, but besides that they all just kept quite. It just bother me. Now lets move back on to what I somewhat liked about this book.



Overall I enjoyed this book at first. But towards the middle and end I started to lose interest in the characters. Vivi went from being this seemingly carefree person to someone I was honestly afraid was going to hurt herself and then in turn hurt everyone around her. I lost hope for her honestly, because it seemed like the adult in her life didn't know how to control her and make sure she was doing what she should have been doing. As for Jonah I had such high hopes for him and I was glad to see that even though he was going through his own tough stuff and that even though Vivi was being completely careless and clueless with him he still stuck by her and was wanting to stick around if she wanted him to. Yet he also understood when she didn't want that and gave her her space and did what he could from the sidelines.

The only reason I was able to give this book three stars is because it made me think. Not just about mental health, but also about the relationships we all have not only with our families, but with are friends as well. How we all death with darkness differently and how no one truly knows what to do to help, because every person is different and what every person needs is different.

So while I didn't enjoy this book as much as I was hoping or it seems other people have, I am glad I read it.

Also thanks to Filipe The YA Reader and Britt grlonkindlefire for allowing me to be apart of your book read along. At times it was the only thing that got me to finish the book.


"I think we'll more than survive. I think we'll be good. Maybe even great."

[Stephanie]

I would say this is more 2.5 stars because I did enjoy the first 100 pages or so. But then Vivi got on my nerves and the romance just wasn't working for me. Vivi and Jonah were not compatible at all, no matter how hard the author tried to make them.

The romance was completely unnecessary, if that was taken out and this was just a story about a girl with bipolar disorder, it probably would have had a bigger impact on me.

[Kelly]

When We Collided was charming and a brilliant read for those who enjoy their contemporaries with heart and depth. Following the dual storylines of both Vivi and Jonah, two teens who are both at a crossroads in their lives and on the verge of crisis. What initially immersed me into the storyline was Vivi. Her zest for life is infectious and a delight to read. But under the happy go lucky facade hides a girl who believes she has no need for her medication, but rather keeping a positive outlook in a new town where no one knows that she was once ill. It isn't long before Vivi is accepted into the Daniels family where she and Jonah begin to rely on one another for comfort and support. While Vivi hides the truth behind her illness, Jonah's family is struggling with their own grief.

Since his father passed away suddenly, Jonah has taken on the role as caregiver to his three younger siblings while his older brother and sister both work and attend college. Working in his father's restaurant, Jonah wants to follow in his footsteps and become a chef. But the plans for his own future are put on hold while his mother is unable to care for the children, driven to the safety of her bedroom while her depression is left untreated.

Although both Vivi and Jonah's mother were suffering from two different aspects of mental illness, it was written with care and emphasises how differently we cope with grief and depression. Although both share a connection, the romance wasn't love but rather a support and escape from their lives, an all consuming need for companionship.

I was utterly smitten with the Daniels family and especially five year old Leah. The family dynamics were wonderfully written, but I had hoped that there had been more discussion between the adult children in regards to their mothers mental state. Being young, I assumed that it was because they couldn't recognise the symptoms in their mother or emotionally, not wanting to see there may have been a bigger issue than just grief they were dealing with.

When We Collided was so wonderfully written, endearing with likable and darling characters. Emery Lord is an incredible contemporary author, creating flawed yet realistic characters that are lovingly brought to life throughout the pages. Immersive and engaging that also touches on serious social issues, it was absolutely beautiful and one recommended for all contemporary young adult lovers.

[Bianca]

I would have loved you the same.

[girlinthepages]

I found myself lucky enough to acquire a copy of When We Collided last summer at ALA, when I chatted with a lovely Bloomsbury representative who recommended it when I told her I was interested in heavier contemporaries. I had of course heard Emery Lord's name due to the success of her first two YA novels, but I hadn't had a chance to read her work yet. I decided I wanted to go in blind and have my ARC of When We Collided be my first experience with Lord's work, so I wouldn't have any preconceived notions or expectations about a book that deals with topics, such as mental illness and grief, that generally need a very nuanced approach.

*Please note that this review will reference the mental illness that afflicts one of the characters in the books. It is revealed partway through the novel, and talking about it is essentially to providing a comprehensive review of the story.

When We Collided was not the book I was expecting. I've read my fair share of YA contemporaries that take on grief and mental illness, and while some have surely been executed well, none have truly made me feel as though I was IN the mind of one dealing with such an affliction, nor have I ever seen the grief and struggles of those who have a loved one dealing with a mental disorder portrayed so effectively. The cover is a great representation of how the story felt: rushed and sort of manic but with such beauty in its scenery and relationships that it made up for the imperfections, for the most part.

When We Collided is told in dual perspectives by the two main characters, Jonah and Vivi. Jonah is dealing with the aftermath of his father's death, drowning in the responsibility of trying to raise three younger siblings while his mother is catatonic with grief, and rarely has time to unpack his own feelings about his father's death. He's responsible, patient, and most of all dedicated, and pretty much the perfect book boyfriend- kind, considerate, respectful, and warmly and fully human (in that wonderful way that just restores your faith in humanity through the common decency you so rarely seem to find in people these days). Vivi is Jonah's opposite in pretty much every way, and is as bright and erratic as the haphazard paint stripes of the cover of the book. Vivi suffers from manic-depressive bipolar disorder, and while she brings great joy into the lives of many people in the small, seaside town that the novel is set in, her impulsive and sometimes downright selfish behavior hurts a lot of people, including herself.

I don't claim to be an expert in any way, shape, or form on mental illness, but I did appreciate that Emery Lord chose to portray one of her characters with a mental illness that's not as commonly depicted in YA novels (Schizophrenia, depression, and PTSD are ones that seem to appear more frequently in YA books, though mental illness as a whole is very underrepresented in the genre). The manic/depressive scenes were well done, especially toward the end of the novel, where reading Vivi's chapters felt like constantly hovering on the precipice of disaster. Almost as powerful as Vivi's erratic behavior due to her condition was seeing how Jonah was impacted by being close with multiple people who suffered from mental illness, and the toll it takes on those close to someone dealing with a disorder. The dual perspective was one I appreciated, and it felt like a well-rounded depiction of bipolar disorder, in the sense that it covered both the afflicted persons and the relationships that the disorder touched.

However, there were times where it felt like Vivi's bipolar disorder felt like it was used a bit as a crutch for her character to act extremely immaturely and sometimes rather cruel. She constantly prioritizes herself over Jonah, and whenever he calls her out on it she falls back onto the same excuse- that she's "living life to the fullest" and "wont' suppress or dull any of her emotions" and that her "creativity can't be contained and she's not going to apologize for who she is" (not exact quotes- I'm paraphrasing). Many of these statements tend to be made in her manic states, but I think it's quite possible that while Vivi is someone afflicted with bipolar disorder, she was also just an inherently selfish character. As the book progressed I really found myself liking her less and less, and felt that her inappropriate behavior really could've been dealt with or addressed a little more (such as her crazy possessiveness of Jonah and her verbally abusing him for even so much as talking to a female, even a longtime family friend). I feel it does a disservice to readers to insinuate that Vivi's immaturity and personality flaws are all tied back to her diagnosis.

Jonah, on the other hand, is one of the best things to happen to contemporary YA in a long, long time. Aside from all of the wonderful qualities I've already discussed, he channels his grief and anger at his family situation into something creative rather than destructive: cooking. His father was a chef and the passion for food runs deep within Jonah, and cooking plays a large role in the story, particularly as a healing mechanism. As someone who loves food and spends perhaps too much time watching Food Network, I loved how food was shown not just as a hobby (which is unique in and of itself in YA, as I don't think I've read of any YA characters who are aspiring chefs) but as a cathartic act that served as a constructive method for Jonah to simultaneously feel closer to his father while working out his feelings, and also strengthening his bonds with others, whether it be by making his siblings their favorite meals or trying to reach out to his mother by bringing her meals.

In some ways this novel was like watching a train wreck, as Vivi's personality was irritating and her downward spiral inevitable and I couldn't stand watching how horribly she treated Jonah. Yet I was also was compelled by the messy dynamics and inevitable disaster. While I didn't like Vivi, I appreciated how vivid her character was written, and how her and Jonah really balanced each other in the orbit of the story. I always harbor respect for an author when I can rate a book highly based on writing quality and overall themes even when characters or plot happenings don't agree with me.

Overall: When We Collided isn't a perfect book, but it revels in its imperfections and portrays mental illness in a very vivid way that compels the reader and makes them empathize with the characters in a very personal manner. It doesn't become singly focused on the afflicted, but also gives weight to the grief and struggle of the loved ones of those suffering with disorders too, which is one of the main reasons this book stood out to me. Lord also differentiates her novel by giving her characters unique creative outlets for their emotional baggage, which make them feel more well rounded then characters in contemporary stand alone novels usually do. While there are some things I would've preferred to have seen executed differently (particularly regarding responsibility and agency of personal actions), I think it's an incredibly well written book with many stunning scenes.This review was originally posted on Girl in the Pages

[bumblingbookworm]

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

OMG, can we talk about how amazing that cover is?!  It's so beautiful, I adore it - and it's so fitting for this story.  I really love bright, bold covers with amazing font :) Back to the story, I'm really regretting having put off reading this for so long.  I adore all of Emery Lord's other books, and this was no exception.  I loved the characters, particularly Jonah and his family - they gave a real My Life Next Door kind of vibe, which was impossible not to love.

I thought the portrayal of grief and mental illness was particularly excellent, and although I can't speak to the accuracy of the mental illness portrayal, it seems from the author's note that it was an own voices portrayal.  At times I was trying not to cry, which was particularly embarrassing since I was reading it in Melbourne Central! Also, unlike other books that feature instalove, I didn't have as much of an issue with it in this book.  It fit the context of the story, in that it was a characteristic of Vivi's mental health issues, which made it all the more realistic - 4.5 stars.
Check out the rest of my review here!