Book Review → The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Young Adult Fiction // Categories: Contemporary, Romance

Publication Date: March 31, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens (Macmillan)

Format: eARC • 384 pages

Rating: 5 stars

Other books by Lord: Open Road Summer

Everyone who has read The Start of Me and You will tell you that Emery Lord can craft an amazing group of friends. This story is mainly about Paige and how she comes to terms with losing her boyfriend, but we also get to see how important friendship is. I feel like this isn't highlighted much in YA—characters seem to deal with a lot of things by themselves—so THANK YOU TO EMERY LORD for emphasizing this! Paige and her best friends (Tessa, Morgan, and Kayleigh) are loving and supportive, even in times of disagreement. It's a rare thing, to have a group of gals you can honestly trust and share the ugly bits of your life with.

"Together, we made four walls, holding each other up even as the world around us shifted."

Every single character Paige interacts with is important in this story. Her parents, her sister, even her grandma. I have a big soft spot for old people, so the "Paige visits her grandma" parts were so precious to me. And guys, MAX WATSON. Nerdy Max Watson. I don't think anyone understands how much I enjoy a good nerdy guy. He's quirky, sweet, A GENTLEMAN—something that Paige takes a while to notice. But I love that it's not entirely about the romance. Along with friendship, it's about family and dealing with pain.

Is it predictable? Yes, but here's the thing, taken straight from page 124: "In books, sometimes the foreshadowing is so obvious that you know what’s going to happen. But knowing what happens isn’t the same as knowing how it happens. Getting there is the best part."

I've read a ton of YA contemporary romance but this is one of my favorites. Please buy yourself a copy (or borrow it from the library!) because YOU NEED THIS. If you are looking for a contemporary with a cute romance, something fun but also meaningful and realistic, or a good representation of friends who stick together through tough times, this book is for you :)