When We Collided - Emery Lord

I didn't actually chose to read When We Collided myself, it was a part of the previous quarters Illumicrate book subscription box. I'd seen the cover being posted on social media but I had no clue what it was about and when it arrived I just steamed straight into reading it without even reading the blurb. Within the first couple of pages I was getting major John Green vibes which would've been fantastic for a lot of people, I don't actually like the stories that John Green writes and unfortunately I didn't enjoy When We Collided by Emery Lord either. 

When We Collided is told from two different perspectives Vivi and Jonah. Vivi has a few of her own personal demons and Jonah is experiencing an extremely hard time thanks to his family traumas. When the pair meet at an art class, the attraction between the pair is undeniable. Is love possible when both people have their own personal issues to address?

I read this book when I was ill. I physically struggled to move from bed so I basically spent the entire time I was awake reading this book. However, I feel like if I'd read this book on a normal day I would've found it an effort to read and perhaps I may not have even reached the end of the book.

I hated Vivi. I hate writing reviews about people with illnesses as I genuinely feel like I'm a bad person but Vivi is genuinely a horrible person. I am no stranger to mental issues, but not one person I know who struggles acts like Vivi. I found her just plain irritating, I can't even being to start to explain how much I disliked reading her. I admire Jonah for stepping up to help look after his family but he lets Vivi walk all over him. I simply just did not gel with either of the characters and frankly I didn't care about what happened to the pair.

I already know that some people will absolutely love this book. But for me, within a first couple of pages I knew I wasn't going to like it, a shame as the cover is so wonderful. Massive credit to the author for writing a young adult book focussing on mental issues but unfortunately it just wasn't for me.

Synopsis - 

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 is not. With a mother lost in a deep bout of depression, Jonah and his five siblings struggle to keep up their home and the restaurant their dad left behind. But at the start of summer, a second change rolls in: Vivi Alexander, the new girl in town. 

Vivi is in love with life. Charming and unfiltered, she refuses to be held down by the medicine she's told should make her feel better. After meeting Jonah, she slides into the Daniels' household seamlessly, winning over each sibling with her imagination and gameness. But it's not long before Vivi's zest for life begins to falter. Soon her adventurousness becomes all-out danger-seeking. 

Through each high and low, Vivi and Jonah's love is put to the test . . . but what happens when love simply isn't enough?