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Sep 08, 2016samcmar rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
When We Collided ripped me apart as I was reading it. Perhaps it's my current circumstances, perhaps it's the fact that a lot of this novel mirrored too much of my own life... it just destroyed me. That makes for a fantastic reading experience, admittedly. This is one of those books where I connected on so many different levels and and it made for such a layered experience. I loved the relationship between Vivi and Jonah. In fact, it was my favourite part of the novel. It wasn't love at first sight, the romance between both characters felt so organic, as everything builds to a messy climax. Jonah in particular was the one I could really relate to, and stories about caregivers often get ignored. Often these stories tend to miss the burnout, the aggression, the frustration of feeling like you don't matter compared to the person you're caring for. I understood Jonah's trials and tribulations, in fact, whenever he vented his emotions I found myself nodding along with him. I loved Jonah's siblings as well, especially Leah, who I feel captured a lot of the books emotion in terms of how younger children deal with hyper-sensitive situations. I also loved Vivi. I saw a lot of myself in her as well -- emotionally invested in others, but struggles to take care of herself. Loves others unconditionally, but cannot seem to find the same love in herself. She's a beautiful character packed with so much intensity and emotion. I loved her need to remind the world who she once was, where she is now, and who she wishes to become. I loved her constant need to surprise others, and find the beauty in everything. She's so well developed, though to be fair, I think every character in this book is fantastically portrayed. This book is messy, it's emotional, it's loving, it's rough, it's kind, it's... everything one would expect from a story about people colliding and trying to find focus in there lives in situations where it's not possible. Lord does this amazing job of reminding readers about how these kinds of struggles are so real and should not be ignored. She also reminds us that beautiful things can often come in the messiest packages.