Vivi spends the summer in the California beach town of Verona Cove. She's only been here a week and she's loving it all. And when one day she goes to work and sees a cute boy sitting outside where she works, well, that's about to get even more perfect. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Jonah has always lived in Verona Cove, just like his parents. Everyone knows him, his parents and his brothers and sisters. And his father's restaurant. And that his father died of a heart attack six months ago, changing everything. Vivi knows none of this; she doesn't look at him with pity. And Jonah doesn't know Vivi's secrets, and she's happy about that, so she won't push him with questions. Jonah and Vivi meet; and the collision shakes them both, releasing secrets. Before I get excited, it's not perfect. Vivi, who spends much of the book developing or in a manic phase of her bipolar disorder, is as dazzling to the reader as she is to Jonah. And that means the dual narrative structure suffers a bit because so much of your attention is focused on it at the expense of Jonah's sections. Emery Lord said she wanted to write a love story in which mental health issues played a role but were not the focus. I think she's come as close as possible to achieving that, but I also think that for most readers the takeaway will be about poor mental health and how it affects romantic relationships that all teenagers are looking for. This may not be what Lord really intended, but I think it's a positive, not a negative: an enlightenment and a conversation starter at the very least. But there is so much to enjoy. Vivi being Vivi, she embarked on a romance before Jonah had even managed to register much more than the fact that she's beautiful. There's no build-up of attraction - it's a tornado of first love and it's a beautiful, engaging whirlwind to read as Vivi draws Jonah out of his inner life and into the impulsive, colorful world in which she reside. Seen through the eyes of a boy and a girl, Lord perfectly captures the overwhelming nature of first love. And it's not a merciless party. Lord does not shy away from Vivi's self-centeredness and the negative impact of her erratic behavior on herself and those around her. She also remembers that keeping family problems a secret, as Jonah does, can prolong the problem and delay recovery. At the heart of When We Collided is a compassionate story. Bipolar disorder and depression are integral to the path this story takes, but they don't entirely define it. Nor should they. They complement and complete each other; and they help each other; and they fall in love. One of the things I really liked about Jonah, or rather Jonah and Vivi, is that their opposition sometimes causes friction. At best it was "oh, I like his openness, I like his reserve, but other times, frankly, they were annoyed or frustrated with each other." And sometimes Jonas needed to break out of his premature adult status; and sometimes Vivi had to be reminded that rip tides exist. But other times, it's just their personality. Neither is wrong, both are true to themselves. Often I thought these two wouldn't stay together. And they shouldn't do it. Keep in mind: this is just a sample...