ARC Review: The Start of Me and You

Title/Author: The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord

Publication Date/Publisher: March 31, 2015/Bloomsbury

Series: No

Source and Format: I received this book for free from the publisher for taking part in an Open Road Summer promotion. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.

Rating: 4 stars

From Goodreads:

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?

(Written in September 2014, in case I didn’t make it clear enough.)

I feel weird writing this review. I read this book in September 2014, when I still had 25 September 2014 review books to read. The heart wants what the heart wants, and my heart needed some Emery Lord. Since I gave up my review schedule, it’s technically “allowed”, but I will admit to feeling a little guilty and overwhelmed. This is the first time I’ve strayed so far.

I was initially disappointed with The Start of Me and You because I was craving Open Road Summer 2: The Opener, Roadier Summer. Once I got a feel for What the Book Really Was vs. What My Expectations Were, I enjoyed it a lot more. The only thing keeping this from being 5 stars for me is not really a huge thing, but it’s the thing driving Paige through the whole book: the boyfriend’s death. Certified Old Person reporting for duty.

Paige and Aaron had only been together for like two months when he drowned after accidentally falling into a lake. The Start of Me and You takes place during the school year leading up to the second anniversary of his death, and Paige is still letting it be the thing that defines her. She thinks it’s how other people define her, but it doesn’t really seem like it. So my whole (tiny-ish) issue is that Paige straight up says she didn’t even know Aaron that well, and that she’s come to terms with his death and is ready to date, but everything she does is about moving on from his death and becoming someone who is not The-Girlfriend-of-the-Dead-Boy.

Enough about all that. I didn’t find The Start of Me and You to be super swoony, but a good, realistic look at friendship becoming something more. Actually, just friendship in general. Paige makes new and unexpected friends, but her tight foursome remains in tact – even with fighting! I loved the girls together, and I looooved they way they were all brought into the new, larger group.

I flew through this one. After a few chunksters in a row, The Start of Me and You was a breath of fresh, contemporary air. The references to so many of my favorite things (FIREFLYYYY) plus one little sneaky bit are so fun. But it was weird to me that Paige is super into TV and wants to be a writer FOR TV but doesn’t worship at the altar of Joss Whedon. Like…girl. Look at your life, look at your choices.