A review by jwinchell
When We Collided by Emery Lord

4.0

Add this romance to the growing pile of transformative YA that pulls back the curtain on mental illness. A bit contrived at times for me, I still loved the alternating perspectives--Vivi and Jonah--and the many layers of grief, loss, and mental pain across many interconnecting stories. Most compelling for me was Jonah and his well-developed, quirky family, his mother's abysmal depression, and his deep sense of responsibility as well as tempered self-deprecation; Jonah was a very compelling character for me. Less successful was vivacious Vivi: even though her highs were so high and Lord's writing pulls her up up up with growing mania, I found myself comparing it to Ellen Forney's memoir (Marbles, Mania...)--which is not fair, I know--but the believability of Vivi's highs felt less authentic in comparison and her on-page lows were almost completely missing. Drug & doing-it references and swearing mean, for me, that this is best for 8th grade & up.