The Start of Me and You

Paige had spent the past year in hiding. Hiding from being "the Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned". Though, she did mourn the loss of him, she mourned not really getting to know him even more. She felt the outpouring of compassion and the looks of pity were unearned. However, after a year, she was ready to begin again. She had a plan, but, as she found, sometimes the best things are not part of the original plan.Paige's situation was so complicated, and Lord did an incredible job helping me understand all the mixed up emotions she was dealing with. It was easy to understand Paige's motivations, desires, and ambivalence, which also made it easy to root for her. Watching Paige expand her social circle, join a team, and embark on new experiences was so gratifying for me. Slowly, but surely, Paige reclaimed her place in the world, and I was proud of her.Lord gifted Paige with an interesting and wonderful family. She had an incredible grandmother, who she was slowly losing to Alzheimer's. My love and adoration for her grandmother ran deep, and I was happy she was part of Paige's story. I also found her family dynamic very interesting. Her divorced parents sort of dropped on bombshell on her, but their honesty when discussing the situation was something that definitely propelled Paige in the right direction.This was a will-they-ever type of romance, but well worth it. I adored watching these two dance around each other, and though I kept wanting to physically push them together, I was happy enough to see them develop a strong friendship, which they eventually recognized was more, and you know I am chomping at the bit to continue their story in the sequel.Overall: As if I didn't already adore Emery Lord, this book solidified why she is one of my contemporary queens. The characters, the family focus, the adorable romance, the fierce friendships, and all the feels were everything I wanted and needed and couldn't get enough of.

In 2015, I read and LOVED Open Road Summer so I knew I needed The Start of Me and You in my life. But I ended up waiting until the end of 2016 to read it. I wish I would have read it sooner because I ABSOLUTELY LOVED reading The Start of Me and You!!!! Seriously, I loved everything about this book. Emery Lord is an awesome writer and I think she writes some of the most amazing friendships! This is definitely going to be a book I will be rereading again and again.I could not put this story down, I was so enchanted by the writing and the characters. I read it in one day. The story is very entertaining. I found this story to be funny as well. The Start of Me and You is well written and it is very easy to get completely wrapped up in reading it!My favorite things about this book are the relationships. They are the best!The friendship in this book is spectacular and so realistic. I love how close these girls are to each other. And how wonderful they are together. It is the friendship that warms your heart and makes you wish you were apart of this group of friends.I really enjoyed how much Paige's family is a part of this story. It is so wonderful to see such a balance between friendship, family, romance, and personal growth!The romance in this story is just SO CUTE! Seriously, it is simply adorable. I love the interactions so much! One of the cutest romances ever.The Start of Me and You is easily one of my favorite reads. It is an heartwarming story that deals with loss, grief, moving on, living, and love. This story has wonderful relationships that make my heart happy. This story made me laugh, smile, cheer, and cry. It is moving, hopeful, and very entertaining. I couldn't put it down. Emery Lord has easily become one of my favorite writers and a must-buy author for me. I can't wait to read everything else she writes! I highly recommend reading The Start of Me and You!

Friends, I’ve got a backlog of books to review right now—been slacking in favor of reading in my spare time—but I think getting back on the reviewing wagon with THE START OF ME AND YOU by Emery Lord is as good a place to start as any. Because, HELLO ADORABLE. I loved this book. Paige and Max are the super cutest, even in the face of Paige’s hesitancy and (misguided) determination to snag Max’s cousin, Ryan, instead. Emery Lord really knows how craft not only wonderful, touching romantic relationships, but also endearing characters and AMAZING friendships. There’s so much to love about THE START OF ME AND YOU.Paige Hancock’s life has basically been on pause for the past two years since her boyfriend died in a drowning accident. She’s been on autopilot, but like the sort of bad kind where you’re driving and all of a sudden you’re home and you don’t remember getting there. Her best friends have been there for her—of course—but she’s finally decided to get back into the swing of high school life, and in order to do that, she falls back on the thing that comforts her—making lists. On top of Paige’s list? Getting together with her old crush, Ryan. Despite Paige’s efforts, it’s Ryan’s cousin, Max, who Paige finds herself growing closer to. All thanks to Quiz Bowl, and Paige’s awesome, supportive besties. (Because awesome, supportive besties are ALWAYS to be thanked.)I’m a big fan of Emery Lord right now, guys. I’ve loved both of her books because they both had vibrant characters, dealt thoughtfully with varied and sometimes difficult feelings, and had great humor. THE START OF ME AND YOU mirrors OPEN ROAD SUMMER in this, but it was a little different in that—to me at least—the romance between Paige and Max took a little bit of a backseat to Paige herself: working through her feelings about the death of her boyfriend, trying to achieve her dream of becoming a screenwriter, nurturing her relationships with her best friends, and trying to shake off her own funk. HOWEVER. I LOVED Paige and Max, and the way that they become such great friends and the way Max lets Paige move at her own pace. THE CHATS. I CAN’T. Their foundation is SUPER STRONG, and full of warm fuzzies.As I mentioned earlier, though, Max isn’t the initial target of Paige’s affections. Ryan, Max’s cousin, is a doll, you guys. One of my favorite, FAVORITE things about THE START OF ME AND YOU is that there is no “good guy” or “bad guy.” There are only two “good guys.” Even though Paige and Ryan are really destined to just be friends, he doesn’t string her along, treat her badly, manipulate her feelings, or take advantage of her grief. He’s kind of adorably clueless, to be honest with you, and he’s such a sweet friend. The total absence of the "bad guy" character in THE START OF ME AND YOU makes me indescribably happy. I loved Ryan, but I also loved that it’s clear always that he doesn’t have the same butterfly feelings for Paige that she’s hoping he does. TWO HANDS FULL OF THUMBS UP, EMERY LORD.I know I keep talking about how all the characters in THE START OF ME AND YOU are such great friends, and it’s true. The friendships in this book are paramount. To me, it was the highlight of THE START OF YOU AND ME. Paige’s long-time, deep, humor-filled relationships with her bffs were so excellent. They made me laugh and feel all the love. But it wasn’t just the friendships with her girls that made me so happy—it was all of the friendships between everyone. Paige and Max had a wonderful friendship full of long talks and the sharing of secrets. Paige and Ryan were supportive and caring of one another. Ryan and Max were very close. Even Paige’s best friends and Ryan and Max all got along so well. They became this awesome clan of people.If I had to point out one thing that suffered in THE START OF ME AND YOU, it would probably be Paige’s dreams of becoming a screenwriter. Not that this dream is far-fetched or anything. Rather that I wished we could’ve gotten a little more out of it, especially because it was very closely connected with Paige’s grandma and their relationship. I loved seeing that.I can't tell you guys enough how much I loved THE START OF ME AND YOU. Emery Lord just gets it right all the time. The characters, the feelings, everything. I can't wait to get my hands on whatever she has coming up next.

I didn't really expect to like this book as much as I did but somehow it happened. The themes in The Start of Me and You were very well explored in different ways, the standout ones being grief and love which are two emotions which are often very closely linked. The way in which Emery Lord conveyed the feelings of the main characters in the context of these two feelings brought me to tears quite often, particularly towards the end. A book that makes me cry for this reason is always a good book in my opinion.The characters were also developed to a great degree, especially Paige and Max, but the others in their group of friends were also explored in a similar way but in a more subtle manner. I loved Max from the start because I could relate quite a bit to him, although I'm not brave enough to be in a competition like Quizbowl because I'd probably melt from embarrassment on the spot. Surprisingly, I really liked the parental figures in this, namely Paige's parents whose story was a nice addition despite it happening in the background for much of the plot. Paige's grandmother was also very endearing and though she was a relatively minor character she represented much of the themes being explored. My edition also has an extra chapter which was a much appreciated added bonus because in the main novel I would have liked the ending to be a bit less rushed.All in all, I loved this book and the literary references within it made me adored it that much more. I wouldn't, however, say that it is a strictly fluffy read because as I said some strong emotions were explored and I cried a few times!

This book was heartbreaking and amazingly exiting at the same time I loved it and will probably read it again.

Amazing book!! Totally tugs on your emotion strings!! Great emotive language! I would totally recommend! I got this from the zoella book club

This was a truly uplifting and heartwarming book. I devoured it in one day. The tale addressed a variety of topics and emotions. It was the perfect balance of sadness and love. I found the end to be rather predictable but in this case I didn't mind...!

This book is one of my favourites that I've read this year. It's written in such a way that it makes you feel like you're actually there. Plus, it expanded my vocabulary with new words!