***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: The Start of me and You

Title: The Start of Me and You
Author: Emery Lord
Series: n/a
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: March 31, 2015
Source: ARC received from publisher
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & second chances.

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?

After loving Open Road Summer when I read it with April last year, I knew I'd have to read everything else Emery Lord writes. She just writes these amazing stories about real girls, with real friendships and real issues, and they're completely relatable. That said, I'm having a really difficult time deciding which of her books I liked better.

"I used to think rewatching and rereading were embarrassingly boring pastimes. But there is something to be said for how comforting it is to already know what happens. There is no such luxury in real life."

I think the biggest difference for me was that Open Road Summer was full of swoons and country music, whereas The Start of Me and You was more about the main character opening herself up to the experiences she'd shut herself away from after the death of her boyfriend. Paige is kind of a nerdy shut-in, and so it was a lot easier to identify with her character than with Reagan from ORS. It was also easier to see myself in Paige as she pined away for a total hottie while remaining totally oblivious to the fact that his cute, nerdy cousin was into her. And that's why there were fewer swoons, though the swoons we got were very, very nice.

My favorite aspect of both books, though, was definitely the friendships. Paige has this amazing, supportive group of girlfriends who've helped her survive the last year without completely breaking down. Do friends like this really exist in real life? Because I've never had a group of friends that were THIS good to each other. Every time I started to suspect that one of Paige's friends was up to something or was about to show disloyalty to one of the others, the author made it right again, proving I had no reason to doubt these girls and their affection for one another.

"They were normal when I wanted to be normal, and they held me when I wanted to cry. When it all closes in, there are only two kinds of people: best friends and everyone else."

I applaud the author for showing young women that this is what we should expect, from our friendships to our romances. We deserve boys who will listen and respect us and will share their stash of Girl Scout cookies with us. And we deserve friends who are honest and will be there no matter what and who we can trust not to stab us in the back. I adore that the author includes these types of relationships in her books, and I can't wait to read more of them. We need more uplifting stories like this!

GIF it to me straight:

About the author:

I'm Emery, and I write books about flawed girls who are really trying, complicated families, friends who show up even when everything's going down in flames, the boy who Gets You even when you don't expect it, and the summer that changed everything.

Open Road Summer is out now, and The Start of Me & You releases March 31st, 2015.

Find Emory:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads | Pinterest | Tumblr

Labels: beautiful covers, bloomsbury, contemporary, emery lord, favorites, must-read, reviews, The Start of me and You

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selections are...

's Pick:

Title: The Start of Me and You
Author: Emery Lord
Series: n/a
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: March 31st, 2015

Following her pitch-perfect debut Open Road Summer, Emery Lord pens another gorgeous story of best friends, new love, & 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 a year, 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?

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

Jen and I read Open Road Summer around the same time and we reviewed it HERE. In a nutshell, we both loved it and can't wait for her next one. We plan on reading this one together for sure!

's Pick:

Title: The Secrets We Keep
Author: Trisha Leaver
Series: n/a at this time
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Publication Date: April 28, 2015

Seventeen-year-old Ella Lawton spent her entire life living in the shadows of her identical twin sister's popularity, but she never dreamed of having Maddy’s life; never wanted it. In fact, she’s spent the last three years trying to separate herself from the group at school Maddy has chosen, preferring the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook and the company of her best friend, Josh, to the constant battle for attention and popularity that has defined her sister’s life.

When a heated argument and a tragic accident leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by friends and loved ones who believe she is Maddy. She is overwhelmed by their joy when they realize she will live - a joy Ella is sure she would not see if they knew the truth, that it is Ella who survived, not her lovable, popular sister. After what she has done, she cannot bring herself to cause even more heartache and in that moment she makes the gut wrenching decision to assume her sister’s life. Navigating her sister’s popularity and boyfriend are hard enough, but Ella soon realizes that Maddy’s life is full of secrets that have kept her popularity intact while slowly destroying her from the inside out. Caught in a web of lies and with no escape in sight, Ella is faced with two options - confess her deception and risk the hatred and betrayal of those around her, or give up all of her own dreams and continue down the destructive path her sister's life has mapped out for her.

I remember reading a Caroline B. Cooney novel that had a very similar plot back when I was in middle school, and while I liked that one back then, I think The Secrets We Keep sounds even better...and even creepier. :) Also, someone was talking about Point Horror novels from Scholastic the other day, and I was clueless as to what they were referring to...until I just looked up Twins and discovered that I was already familiar with Point Horror. I just didn't know it. :P Oh, well...c'est la vie.

What are you desperately waiting for on this fine Wednesday? Let us know in the comments or share a link to your own WoW post!