The Start of Me and You
by Emery Lord
Published on March 31st, 2015
by Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Genres: Contemporary, Family, Friendship, Young Adult
Format: ARC
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Also by this author: Open Road Summer, Open Road Summer, When We Collided, The Names They Gave Us
Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.
Brimming with heartfelt relationships and authentic high-school dynamics The Start of Me and You proves that it’s never too late for second chances.
It’s been a year since it happened—when Paige Hancock’s first boyfriend died in an accident. After shutting out the world for two years, Paige is finally ready for a second chance at high school . . . and she has a plan. First: Get her old crush, Ryan Chase, to date her—the perfect way to convince everyone she’s back to normal. Next: Join a club—simple, it’s high school after all. But when Ryan’s sweet, nerdy cousin, Max, moves to town and recruits Paige for the Quiz Bowl team (of all things!) her perfect plan is thrown for a serious loop. Will Paige be able to face her fears and finally open herself up to the life she was meant to live?
Words… What are they? I read this at the beginning of February and I’ve been putting off reviewing it because… because I HAVE THOUGHTS. A whole bunch of discombobulated thoughts and today is the day that I type them out.
Here’s to hoping it turns out good.
I’m sure that you’ve heard me gush about Emery’s first novel, Open Road Summer, since I first starting reviewing on this site. The day that I finished ORS (the day that it came out), I immediately needed more from this wonderful author and man, she really delivered. I’ll be honest, I was apprehensive because I don’t read “sad” books but I made the exception for Morgan Matson so I decided to make another exception for Emery Lord. Boy, am I glad that I did.
Emery did a wonderful job of letting us see the pieces of Paige at the beginning and as the book progressed, we got to see how her family and friends slowly gives her the courage to piece herself back together. I loved that it was never about Max piecing together Paige; it was about Paige piecing together Paige. It was difficult losing her boyfriend but it was even more difficult being labeled as “the girl who lost her boyfriend”. Paige is an interesting character and I don’t think I’ve ever read someone quite like her.
I’m gonna go ahead and say that I didn’t love it more than ORS. I didn’t love Max Watson more than Matt Finch, I didn’t love Paige more than Reagan, I didn’t love her friends more than Dee, but I DID love these characteristics in general, just not comparatively.
I’m gonna be vague as to not spoil anything but this book had a bigger scope than just a high school crush which stunned me. I don’t believe in soul mates (I’m not anti-love or anything) but how beautifully this book was written reminded me that I do believe in love (not that I often forget this, it was just a nice reminder). I do believe in finding one person to be with for the rest of one’s life through the good and the bad. It was a very sobering ending for me.
Moving on. Maybe it’s because I’ve always seen myself as a nerd but why do nerds get so much hate? Max is hot and intelligent, DARN. WHERE’S THE BAD? Come on, Paige. Max isn’t the only nerd….
Emery writes great friendship stories and that is evident in this book. I gonna be honest and say that I wasn’t completely sold on these friends… Maybe it’s because there are so many of them?
The writing was amazing, naturally.
Probably my favorite thing about this book is the title. I love how it’s The Start of ME. It’s a book about Paige starting over her life after having essentially shutting it down due to her boyfriend dying. I love how the “and You” is in different font because it’s about Paige but Max helps her find her way and then they find themselves. Together.
About Emery Lord
Emery Lord is a 20-something Midwestern girl who writes stories about high school and best friends and weird families and the crushes that make you feel combustibly alive and also more awkward than you thought was possible. If you’re not sure how to pronounce Emery, try slurring the name “Emily,” and that will get you really close.
She lives in Cincinnati in a 100 year-old pink row house with her BFF/husband, a closet full of dresses, and lots of books. If karaoke-ing in grocery store aisles or guzzling coffee while impulse shopping were illegal, Emery would be writing her overemotional YA books from jail. Also, she makes up words sometimes. Like combustibly.
OPEN ROAD SUMMER, her first YA novel, is out now with Bloomsbury. Her second, The Start of Me & You, will be released March 31, 2015.
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Twitter: Alyssa Susanna
Loved this one, Valeranne! I never read Lord’s debut novel, but I really enjoyed this one. I also liked how much the author focused on Paige, and not the romance primarily. Overall, it was a lovely novel!
Excellent review 🙂
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
Ah this sounds amazing, I’ve been reading alot of great reviews for this book and I can’t wait to read it myself 🙂 I’ve never read any of Emery Lord’s other books, but I’ll check this one out. Thanks so much for the review!
Twitter: Liza
Val, I knew you’ll love it!!! I can’t wait to read it since I loved Open Road Summer (thank you btw!) I love books about friendship and I do believe in finding “the one”, because I did 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
It sucks so much that I don’t have a copy of this. 🙁 But it’s out soon so hopefully I an read it then!
this book sound interesting, really interesting, I will add it to my TBR, I usually don’t really read book about losing someone dear or anything like that but I feel this one is really good 🙂 Lovely Review