Wednesday, June 28, 2017

When We Collided

Finally, I got around to a book that's been on my book pile for a very long, long time. To be honest, it seemed like great book but somehow I got a bit scared that it would disappoint me! But... what a surprise! So without further ado, let's talk about When We Collided by Emery Lord. Also the cover is marvelous!


Jonah Daniels has been having a hard couple of months. His mother doesn't show herself too much and stays in her own room. That leaves him and his older siblings to take care of everything: the household, the money, the other kids,... But those rough months finally seem to ease up and become a bit brighter when Jonah meets Vivian Alexander. Vivi is on a holiday in Verona Cove, trying to escape all that has happened in the past. When these two collide, both finally notice what has been missing in their lives.


The first character I really want to discuss is Vivi! This book is written with two POV's, therefore it already captured my heart since chapter one (also the head banners per chapter are to die for), and Vivi got the first chapter. The things I noticed really fast about her is her eccentric behavior. She's really active and also full of life, which in my case is something I haven't seen in a main character before. Vivi also really relies on social contact and she's also very playful which makes her sometimes feel younger than she is in my opinion, but I still really love this trait in her. Although I like Vivi's impulsiveness and confident attitude, sometimes I felt like it was a bit too much and that's really a pity because she's such a great character!

From the beginning it's also really clear that something is going on with her, we don't know what until later on in the story. It was really nice to feel that buildup for us, readers, knowing what's going on with her. Her personality loves mystery but she feels like a mystery herself that has a very bright side to her. It was really amazing to discover this character from page one until the last page.

Jonah is the other main character we'll follow. He used to be a family of 8: the mom, the dad, Jonah, Leah, Bekah, Naomi, Isaac and Silas, and really can I just point out that Bekah and Silas are very original names? I've never heard them before! Our character, Jonah, is having a tough life. The 3 oldest, Jonah, Naomi and Silas are making up for the fact that their parents are not there and take care of the rest of the family. Their mom is in her bedroom almost all the time and their dad, well he's not there anymore. It's really easy to see how much Jonah cares about his family and his mother even though she's not there, I really like to see that in this character. Above that I really feel like Jonah grew up a lot faster than he was supposed to which makes him a very realistic and mature character.


His personality isn't just caring, it's also very gentle and sweet. He's the kind of guy you want to be your boyfriend. Or well, that's my opinion! I guess I just got myself yet another book boyfriend... I could easily go with this character because of his personality. I kind of have a soft spot for him! He puts everyone first and him last which really shows how much of a golden heart this one has.

When these two collide it's funny, their first encounter they're trying to mend together. I mean we have Jonah who's all serious and family supporter and Vivi who's all playful and active. And because Vivi is so active and playful, she easily finds her way with Jonah, while Jonah is a bit dumbstruck and uncomfortable while he actually really wants to talk to her. It's really adorable to see there personalities collide and trying to mend together. I really liked to see them balance each other out, Vivi trying to make Jonah more playful, less mature like he should be at this age and Jonah bringing some seriousness and steadiness in her life. 

When two people collide, not only positive things come out of it. The two will have a rough road during the story and that was something I personally really enjoyed (even though sometimes it was SO frustrating!). Especially because both will bring in factors that influence the rough road: Jonah has a lot to deal with but we also know something is going on with Vivi. These things all come together and bring them both happiness and other feelings. It's also because of a collision that both finally realize what they both should be doing in their lives and what was missing. 

The plot therefore will really balance both characters out as both of them will have major influence on the other. Through the many chapters, both readers and characters discover what life for each of them is about. Some need to mend things, others need to open their eyes, sometimes they need to ask for help and other times they should try to do it themselves. This book is really filled with so many life lessons but it's not laid on the story too thickly it's more subtle than I had expected.

Above that the feelings will be everywhere in this book, it's what you get when two characters collide and don't know what to do with themselves. When We Collided has so much happy moments but those also get broken and replaced by sad moments or embarrassing moments or frustrating ones,... It's really a great thing that there's so much variety in the book. 

And when we finally realize what is going on and our hearts have beaten together and broken together and laughed together, we all finally realize what this book really is about. It's such a surprise while reading because the characters will surprise us so much but also realize what life really is about. 

This book is absolutely amazing, I had my doubts when I started but all of those are gone! The characters are uniquely written. And although I sometimes thought Vivi was a bit too much, she really made up for it in the end. I was really into the story because of the characters but also because of the many feelings and life lessons that were buried inside the story. When you finally think you understand what's happening, you find out you were wrong all along but that this book holds an amazing, feels-loaded message for everyone who wants to see. A splendid read that's an absolute recommendation!

"But there are always consequences when worlds collide..."


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