When We Collided

By Emery Lord

4/5

Firstly, this book is incredibly poetic so if you don’t like flowery image and long description this isn’t the book for you. I didn’t know what to expect going into this book but I had seen a lot of positive comments on Bookstagram (the Instagram book community).  I didn’t actually realise that it was a book about mental health. I haven’t read very many books about mental health, I could probably count them all on one hand in fact. I wasn’t engrossed in this book from the first few chapters which is usually something I like to be; I actually thought I was going to end up putting it down and reading something else because I really disliked the character of Vivi. However, as I learnt more about what she was going through, I realised how easy it is to judge someone when you don’t know the full story and by the end of the novel, I sympathised with Vivi and felt as though we ended as firm friends. The character of Jonah, on the other hand, I loved from the beginning to the end. I thought he was incredibly strong and brave and I especially liked seeing him in the family dynamic with his five other siblings. I also haven’t read many books where there has been a strong family environment and so this was another thing that made me really enjoy this book. I thought all characters went through a lot of development which is good to see in a YA novel.

I did give this book a 4/5 purely because of how long it took me to get into it.

I am not usually one to read the Author’s Note at the end of a novel but I found myself continuing to read it when I reached the end of the book and the words of Emery Lord really stuck with me. She says; “I worry that we’re not talking about mental health enough. And if we’re not talking about it enough, how can we possibly shine enough light into places that can feel very dark and very lonely?” Following these words, I am going to make it my mission to read more books on issues surrounding mental health as I do believe it is really important to beat the stigma and to give people, who suffer bravely everyday with all kinds of mental health issues, a voice.