Book: The Start Of Me And You by Emery Lord

Published March 2015 by Bloomsbury|376 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: The Start Of Me And You #1

Genre: YA Contemporary

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? 

Emery Lord is becoming one of those who I absolutely love.  I wish she had more books I could read, because her books always leave me feeling like a sobbing mess curled up in bed.  I remember when I used to feel this way about books all the time (as in, the first few years of the blog), and I wish I felt more like this with the books I read.

So, this one, I wasn’t sure about initially, and I really liked Paige.  At first, I was irritated with the label of having a dead boyfriend, and people seeing her differently.  For a guy she was only dating for a couple of months when it happened, it seemed to be this big huge thing that happened in her life, and I didn’t quite get it.  I wish we had seen more of her time with him, because I has having a hard time caring.

I’m glad she had quiz bowl, and that she was determined to have a plan to get everything back to normal.  I’m glad I stuck with it, because by the end, I ended up loving it.

One of the things that really struck me was her relationship with her grandma.  For some reason, it made me think of my grandma, and how much I really miss her.  That sobbing mess I was by the end of the book?  It’s totally because of everything that happened with her grandma.  I don’t know why, but Lord’s books just wreck me, and while I wasn’t sure about it at first, I’m glad I stuck with it.  She won me over, and I don’t know why I doubted that I would end up loving it.

I also loved her friends, and there was something really cool about their friendship.  Lord does friendships and feels and love so well, and this book was no exception.  All of the girls are so different, but I’m glad Paige had great friends and I liked how they were there for each other.  They are all very lucky to have each other.

5 stars.  I loved The Start Of Me And You, and I can’t wait to read the next book.  If you want a sweet, cute contemporary with cool friendships, this is the book to read.