When We Collided by Emery Lord

I knew I was in love with Verona Cove on the first day, but I waited until the seventh to commit. After one week here, I'm carving my name into a tree in the centre of the town.

Published by Bloomsbury in April 2016

Pages - 337

Summary

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 is a bit of a heartbreaker! No wonder it's called When We Collided, because when things start to unravel, they spin out of control. The ending was so painful to read, but the book couldn't possibly have ended any other way. 

You get the sense that something is not quite right with Vivvi from the first chapter. Her vivaciousness explodes out, but no one can be that happy and excited by life all the time. Can they? To Jonah, she is the like a beacon of light and hope as she warms the hearts of all his family which have stood frozen since his father's death. Vivvi is summer personified. She is grateful for the things that we often take for granted and hustles the family into returning to the living. 

Jonah is besotted with Vivvi, because he can be himself with her as well as starting to enjoy life again and not feeling guilty about his father's death. Jonah is a beautiful soul. Seriously, one of my favourite male characters this year. 

As Jonah grows in strength, Vivvi spirals downwards out of control. And that's when the heartbreak hits. I spent a lot of the book, whispering,'Oh Vivvi,' as her life lost it's sparkle.

I loved everything about this book. It represents the cycle of life, the excitement of summer and the coming of age journey. Your feelings are tied up in the characters as you hope that life will keep their dreams alive.

Verona Cove is the kind of place you would want to live in. The townies hold such love and respect for each other; there is a sense of purpose and ownership about them as they come together to wave goodbye to the past and herald in the future. 

 

If you love your love stories to be real and not fairytale, then this is the book for you.