The Start of Me and You – Emery Lord

Release date: 31 March 2015
Rating: ★★★★★★★★★ – 9/10
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The Start of Me and You blurb:

Can you plan happiness?

It’s been a year since Paige’s first boyfriend died in a swimming accident and it’s time she rejoined the real world.

So she makes a plan:

1. Date a boy (long-standing crush Ryan Chase seems like the perfect choice)
2. Attend parties (with best friends by your side: doable)
3. Join a club (simple enough, right?)
4. Travel (might as well dream big)
5. Swim (terrifying. Impossible)

But when she meets Ryan’s sweet (but so nerdy) cousin, Max, he opens up her world and Paige’s plans start to change…

You know those contemporary books that give you feels, and then make you cry because they punch you right in them feels they just gave you? Well, if you like those, feel free to add this one to your list. I’ve vetted it for you.
YOU’RE WELCOME.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump from Illuminae. I picked up Gemina straight away, read 60 pages, then didn’t read anything for 2 weeks. I know, right? So, I thought I’d reread something nice to restart my love again, so I reread Carry On (in just over 24 hours). Jeez I love that book. I still couldn’t make myself pick up Gemina again (which is so weird because I LOVED Illuminae), so I changed genres. It’s been a while since I read a contemporary. I remember why now… they make me cry so much!

The Start of Me and You tells the story of 16 year old Paige, who is just starting her Junior year at high school, and is trying not to be the recipient of a particular look from everyone in town. Paige is going to move on with her life and that means she’s going to date Ryan Chase, who she’s had the biggest crush on since forever. Until other things happen. Things like Ryan’s cousin, Max. Cue romantic interludes, except it’s not as easy as that – it never is! (Just quietly, I wish I had a Max at high school, but just as a friend. My fave scene is when they’re sitting at the bookstore coffee shop with a pile of books between them. Bliss!)

Paige is a complex character. Like most 16 year old girls she’s got a LOT going on in her head. And I like her all the more for it. But so do her group of friends, which is exactly how high school felt to everyone there! Because everything that happens when you’re in high school is a big deal! But the fact that they deal with most stuff together is a true testament to their friendship. Paige also has some pretty heavy family stuff happen in the course of this book, and it’s interesting to see how the dynamic of her family shifts while this is going on.

But seriously, this book is just as sweet (and made me cry just as much) as The Upside of Unrequited. So if you like Becky Albertalli, you’ll probably love Emery Lord. I’m now running off to find/buy her other two books… See ya!