The Start of Me and You

By Emery Lord

Can you plan happiness?
It's been a year since Paige's first boyfriend died in a swimming accident and it's time she rejoined the real world.
So she makes a plan:
1. Date a boy (long-standing crush Ryan Chase seems like the perfect choice)
2. Attend parties (with best friends by your side: doable)
3. Join a club (simple enough, right?)
4. Travel (might as well dream big)
5. Swim (terrifying. Impossible)
But when she meets Ryan's sweet but so nerdy cousin, Max, he opens up her world and Paige's plans start to change.
Is it too late for a second chance at life?


Brimming with characters so real you feel you could pick up the phone and call them, The Start of Me and You will prove that it's never too late for second chances. Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell, Jennifer Niven and John Green. Chosen by bestselling author Amy Alward as part of the 2017 Zoella Book Club!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Jul 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781408888360

Emery Lord

Emery Lord is the author of Open Road Summer, The Start of Me and You, and When We Collided. She lives in a pink row house in Cincinnati, with a husband, two rescue dogs, and a closet full of impractical shoes. www.emerylord.com Twitter: @emerylord

Reviews for The Start of Me and You

[ginger_reader22 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Paige had only been dating her boyfriend for three months before he died in a freak accident but even if she wanted to move on and let go the people around her won't let her forget that she's the girlfriend of the boy who drowned. When Paige decides to start over and wipe the slate clean she makes a list of the things that will help her. She wants to swim again, join a club, be more social and finally date her highschool crush, Ryan Chase. "The Start of Me and You" is an honest, relatable story about facing your fears, letting go of guilt and admitting your true feelings. Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Book Depository--------------------------------------I have four (FOUR) pages of notes for this book. Usually I only have one, maybe two so bear with me and my rambles. First off I loved Paige, she was thee perfect female protagonist, she wasn't one of those characters you grew to love, it was an instant 'If I knew you in real life we'd be best friends' kind of connection. Speaking of best friends hers were EPIC. I can honest say I have some of the worst luck when it comes to friends, I've learned the hard way that not everyone can be trusted and not everyone has your best interests at heart but oh my god I was INSANELY jealous of Paige and her friends. Tess, Morgan and Kayleigh were always there for her (and each other). They knew just what to say and knew just how to turn a crappy day into an amazing day. I would LOVE to see each of them get their own story (hint hint Emery ;)). I adored Max (I mean who didn't?!) but I also really liked how Ryan didn't turn out to be an awful guy. Usually in a story like this the girl falls for the hot, charming, popular guy and finds out in the end that he's an awful person but even though Ryan wasn't for Paige he was still a good friend and a pretty decent guy. Of course Max automatically became one of my favorite book boyfriends, he was the perfect mix of quirky, nerdy and book smart. Not to mention he was kind to a fault! I loved Paige's relationship with her Grandmother, it was such a breathe of fresh air, usually the main character doesn't have that 'one person' she can talk to and reveal all her secrets to. It's usually all inner dialog or sometimes written in journal entries but having her Grandma brought such a depth to the story and a realness that I really appreciated. The T.V show references were a nice touch (especially the Gilmore Girl's ones) and I wish the book had been twice as long as it was so we could get a peek at what happened next with Paige's screenwriting. Another favorite part of mine was how Max called Paige 'Janie', I won't say why in case you haven't read it but lets just say that it melted my heart and I still can't stop thinking about it! I've only read one of Emery Lord's books but just from this one book I can honestly say that she is a master at tugging at your heart strings and making you care for her characters. I can't wait to read more from her! Until next time, Ginger In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review. My review is my honest opinion.

[mirandar18 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This had all the components of a perfect YA contemporary: family, friendship, romance and finding yourself. Before reading this I had not read any synopsis or reviews but I knew that I enjoyed Open Road Summer, Emery Lord's debut novel, last summer. There were a lot more characters in this contemporary romance than most and they all played key parts. I truly think this story wouldn't have been what it was without the supporting characters. I absolutely devoured this book and found the aspects of love and loss were delivered perfectly.

[amandanan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Love how the author tied in pop culture.

[readingbeader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am a fan of Emery Lord; her second book did not disappoint. She even managed to put in Lilah and Reagan from her first book in here in a way that was sweet and subtle rather than gratuitous.

I'd label this one as realistic/contemporary as much as romance. So much of the book is dealing with acceptance of grief, coming of age, and comfort of true friendships.

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Super cute YA contemporary about friendship, grief and love. Beautiful friendships and the theme of growing up and finding out who you are made this a win for me.

[M A Morales · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great YA book. The friendships were especially endearing and the primary romance was super cute!!

[a_reader_of_fictions · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

For more reviews, gifs, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.Emery Lord debuted incredibly strongly with Open Road Summer. Her debut proved her talent in writing character, friendship, and romance. I loved it so much that Bloomsbury actually put my blurb on the back of the ARC. (Shameless bragging I know, but it’s never happened before and I’m excited!) The Start of Me and You has all of those same qualities in spades. In fact, I think The Start of Me and You actually manages to improve upon Open Road Summer, with its heartfelt look at family, its beautiful character arcs, and its message of embracing life. Emery Lord has done it again.Paige Elizabeth Hancock is tired of That Look. She’s tired of being defined as the girl whose boyfriend drowned. Even though it’s been two years, everyone knows about Aaron, so she’s seen as a grieving widow, even though they’d only been together for a couple of months. Going into her junior year, Paige wants to finally finish grieving and get a fresh start. With this in mind, like any good planner, Paige makes a list of goals: 1) go to a party 2) join a group 3) date 4) travel & 5) swim.The Start of Me and You is a romance at its heart, but there’s a lot of other things going on here. For all that the ship is central, there’s very little actual romance in it. Though it feels fluffy, The Start of Me and You gets pretty sad sometimes too. Emery Lord excels at really building lives for her characters. It’s not just about Paige’s love life, but also about all of her family relationships, her friendships, and her feelings about Aaron. That’s a lot to handle in one relatively short novel, but Lord gets it done like a boss.Paige starts off on the list like the goal-oriented girl she is, expecting to be a better her by the time she hit the end of it. She finds, as all of us do, that life isn’t that simple. What she thinks she wants isn’t necessarily going to be what she needs, and she can’t rush to acceptance. It’s a process. Life is a process. We’re all of us constantly growing, changing, and learning from our inevitable and plentiful mistakes; at least, we’re learning if we’re wise enough to pay attention. What I love so very much about The Start of Me and You is that in pretty much every character we get to know at all, this is so evident. Heck, we even get a small window into Ryan’s ex-girlfriend who makes a brief appearance. These characters are so dynamic, and the arcs are powerful.Years before the book began, Paige’s parents got together. It was a painful time, but Paige was glad that they got divorced, because they were so much healthier and happier apart. More to the points, they were better parents apart. At the beginning of the novel, they drop the bombshell that they’re dating. Each other. It’s supposed to be the dream of every kid whose parents are divorced right?For Paige, it’s not. Paige doesn’t take the news well, and, as much as she is really built to, rebels. She’s very much not supportive. This leads to fights with her younger sister, who takes a more Hayley Mills or Lindsay Lohan approach to parental reunion. The Hancocks are a very loving and believable family, but they have their issues to resolve. When the novel closes, things aren’t perfect, but they never can be; they are, however, hopeful.Even more than those family relationships, I adored Paige’s with her grandmother. Paige tells her Grammy everything. Though Grammy’s memory is going, Paige will tell her over and over, because that’s how much she loves her and respects her advice. Her Grammy is a real hero for her. Their relationship is so sweet and a little bit sad. Also, Grammy is such a shipper, which I love her for forever.The friendships too are a thing of a beauty. Paige has three close friends: Tessa, Kayleigh, and Morgan. Tessa and Paige are besties, as are Kayleigh and Morgan, but the group as a whole is very solid. That doesn’t mean that jealousies and fights don’t crop up, because of course they do, but they always get dealt with. Bottom line: they’re always there to support one another. The way the heroine in Open Road Summer reacted to female characters who weren’t her best friend was the biggest issue that I and many others had with Lord’s debut, and nothing remotely similar is present in The Start of Me and You.In junior year, those four add two new friends: Ryan Chase and his cousin Max Watson. Ryan was Paige’s goal boy for that third goal, dating. Max, who’s also his best friend, quickly becomes one of Paige’s best friends. They bond over literature, grammar, and pop culture. Obviously, I had some amount of feels about this. No, for real, Max is one of my favorite book boys ever. He’s so smart and adorable and nerdy banter like WHOA. While I would have liked a few more chapters of happy coupleness at the end, this book still has one of the hottest non-kiss scenes ever in a book. For the record though, there will actually be kissing, but prepare to do a lot of shouting at the book first.My reservations regarding The Start of Me and You are so trivial that some of you will probably laugh at my nitpicking, but I can’t leave them unsaid. Paige is a “Grammar Girl,” though she’s embarrassed by the designation. Yet, this happens: “me and Aaron” (48). It’s in the title too. While the internet is of two minds about whether putting yourself first is grammatically incorrect or just impolite, I really don’t think it’s something a grammar nerd would do. Paige also claims to be a pop culture aficionado, but she didn’t know there was more than one Indiana Jones movie. She’d also never heard of Firefly and didn’t bother to look it up. Small, yes, but they made me question Paige a bit.Let’s be real, guys. I’ll be reading absolutely anything this woman writes; I don’t care what it is. Any author who can bring the swoon like this is an author I will keep reading.

[brandileigh2003 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read this because I enjoyed emerys first book. Also books that deal with the aftermath of grief ate speaking to me as is the promise of a sweet and nerdy love interest. I adored that friendship and family were featured asking with the introspective healing and handling fears and the way grief changes the main character throughout. I grew up very xml lose with my grandma and really related with her wanting to share her secrets and get advice. Her grandma like mine is dealing with memory loss and it is hard to see someone you love dealing with those types of health issues and the fear that you might have to watch them forget who you are. I liked that she was organized and goal oriented. Her list has things that she believes will stretch her and hopefully guide her back to some sense of normalcy and happiness after tragedy.I liked Paige`s character and I connected with her pretty well. She has several things going on that makes her story have an emotional impact. She is recovering from the accidental drowning of her boyfriend. Its left a pretty big impact on her. She hasn't nightmares about drowning and she doesn't do anything near standing water now. There's also her parents who were divorced and she was actually kind of relieved because of their fighting... she just saw that they made each other miserable. But now they're dating again and she is afraid that it will happen again. I like how friendship was a big theme in this book. however having three best friends was kind of overwhelming for me at times. The girls all have different personalities, different ways that they met Paige and different families difficulties of their own. So not really sure why I had such a hard time remembering which was which unless it's just the case of being handed too many characters all at once. The romance was pretty sweet. I like that she had a crush on Ryan even before he was popular. I even like her reasoning behind it because she had seen him with his sister who had cancer and he was dancing shamelessly in the middle of the grocery store just to make her laugh. Ever since then she has harbored the crush on him. But in the process of trying out new things in order to help her have a better year and also wanting to get closer to Ryan she starts falling for his very nerdy but also very sweet cousin Max. I love her friendship with Max and even though it started out as a reason just to get closer to Ryan, they developed a deeper bond and a trust that I really loved. It was the best kind of slow burning romance I adore and every time that there is nerdy love, of course, I have to be all over it. My husband's one of the more nerdy type so Max reminds me a lot of him. I love how he listens without judgement and how he made her feel so comfortable and that he opened up to her as well. There's a pretty big fight between them and I was really anxious about if things will be able to be patched up between them and it was hard to see how much careless words can really damage another person. I think it made the story super realistic, especially when we find out why Max was having more distance between them after and Paige was trying to be grown up about it. I really connected with Paige as she continued her closeness with her grandma. Her grandma has Alzheimer's and she also had a stroke and it sounds just so much like my grandma who I lost a few years ago that it just made my heart ache. I love how Paige trusted her and talked to her about everything and it just really makes me miss the days that I had with my grandma and the time that we had and how I felt that she understood me better than so many other people. I really liked how much Paige's character grew throughout the story. She learned so much about herself and how to move on after the tragedies of life. She learned to let new people in and she also kept supporting the friends that she had had for years. She realized how much in friendship and with family you're supposed to depend on one another and share each others problem. With that, the punch card is never full because you bear their burdens as well. I think that the loss of her boyfriend Aaron will always shape some of the ways that she looks at life but I like how she realized that it didn't have to define her and that she could move on from her fears a little bit at a time. Also that she can keep his memory alive with others who also misses him. I really like tells the story ended-- how things were wrapped up but also that we had room in our own imaginations to make more of a future and relationship with the characters that we had met. I definitely wouldn't mind another book about Paige and Max although I doubt that there will be one. But maybe they'll be a companion novel about one of her friends and will get a peek into what becomes of them after their summers and finally admitting things to themselves and each other.Bottom Line: Emotional story that focuses on friendship, family, love and loss.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

his YA story differs from most in that, although the protagonist and narrator, Paige Hancock, is 16 and a junior in high school, she is pretty naïve about boys, still attached to her “Grammy,” and pretty much of a “goody goody.” She had a boyfriend for two months a year before, but he died in a freak swimming accident, and ever since then, she has been known in high school as “Paige Hancock, The Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned.” She has avoided most school activities because she can’t stand getting “That Look” of pity. She used to swim a lot herself, but is now afraid, and has recurrent nightmares of drowning. And she feels guilty when she enjoys herself at anything.Knowing that she has to get over this, and inspired by advice from her grandmother, Paige makes a list of goals for the year, and sets out to accomplish them:Parties/Social EventsNew GroupDate (Ryan Chase)TravelSwimShe calls the list “How to Begin Again.”As part of the plan, she joins the “QuizBowl” team, because she knows a lot of trivia about popular culture. The captain of the team happens to be Max Watson, the cousin of Ryan Chase, Paige’s “ultimate, since-middle-school pipe dream of a crush.”Predictably enough, as Paige and her BFFs begin to hang around with Max and his BFFs (which include Ryan), Paige finds that Max is more her type than Ryan:"Ryan Chase was my eight-grade collage, aspirational and wide-eyed. But Max was the first bite of grilled cheese on a snowy day, the easy fit of my favorite jeans, that one old song that made it onto every playlist. . . . Not glamorous or idealized or complicated. Just me."But Paige runs into a couple of significant barriers: one is that she is afraid to get close to anyone ever again, because of the fear of loss. The second is that Max happened to see her planner, and concluded she just hung out with him to get to know Ryan. Hurt, he withdraws from her life.Evaluation: In spite of there being no surprises in the story arc, this is a sweet coming-of-age book that focuses on the importance of family and friendship in a way many YA books do not. I also liked the way that although Ryan may be cute and a sports star, he’s a nice guy. Nevertheless, Paige prefers “nerdy” Max, who may not be as good looking, but he’s pretty amazing as a person.

[darkfaerietales_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Heartfelt story that will make you cry, laugh, and smile all at the same time! Lord really knows how to captive an audience with her writing and she has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary authors!Opening Sentence: Of all the places to have something memorable happen to you Oakhurst, Indiana, had to be one of the worst.The Review:A year ago Paige Hannock’s first and only boyfriend died in a tragic accident. Instead of being a happy go lucky young girl in high school she became the girl that her boyfriend died. It took a big toll on her social life, but Paige feels it is finally time to move on. She is getting ready to start her junior year and she has a bucket list she hopes to accomplish by the end of the year. First, she decided it is time to date again and she has picked the perfect boy, Ryan Chase. She has had a crush on him forever and he just recently became single so it is totally meant to be!Next, she wants to join a club of some sort to try and put herself out there. Unexpectedly the opportunity to join the school’s Quiz Bowl team presents itself and Paige decides to join. The team captain is a cute nerdy boy named Max and he just happens to be Ryan’s cousin and best friend. Paige figures that not only will she fulfill her goal of joining a club she will also have an opportunity to get to know Ryan better by befriending Max. But life doesn’t always go as planned and Paige will have to learn that if she doesn’t open her eyes amazing opportunities will pass by without her noticing!Paige is a very sweet naïve girl that had a lot of growing up to do. In many ways this was a coming of age story for her and I really enjoyed watching her character develop throughout the pages. I think many people in life have a defining moment (or many defining moments) and Paige’s moment was when her boyfriend drowned. He was her first and only boyfriend and this tragedy has really shaped her life. Not only do people look at her different but she always has crazy nightmares about drowning. She actually only dated him for about two months, so she really didn’t even know him all that well and that made things even harder for her. She missed what they could have become but in all reality she didn’t really miss him as much as she feels she should. Her situation was so difficult, it was hard not to feel sympathy towards her, but at the same time I admired how much she has overcome. Watching her try to move on with her life was interesting and at times very entertaining. But it was also very inspirational to see her grow and change as a person. She was a wonderful character and I am glad I got to read her story.Max is seriously the cutest dorky boy I have ever read about! He is a super smart guy that has great confidence in who he is. I love that he doesn’t really care what others think of him, but that doesn’t mean that he isn’t affected by others. He has come to accept that he is who he is and that’s not going to change. I loved that he is so understanding and listens when others are talking. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind and he is a person you can rely on to always be there for you. As you can tell he has a huge list of amazing qualities, but he is also far from perfect. His relationship with Paige is so freaking adorable and I seriously loved reading every minute of their story! I think Max was the perfect book boyfriend and I loved his character.The Start of Me and You is a beautiful story that will make you cry, and feel totally giddy at the same time. Personally, I love a good chick flick and this is one of those stories that pretty much had me from hello. I instantly liked the characters and the romance was seriously perfect. I will admit that there were a few moments that dragged a little, but for the most part the pacing was spot on! I was surprised by how much emotion I felt while reading this book. For the most part it was a fun and light read, but there were a few moments that actually brought tears to my eyes. I wouldn’t say that this had the most original plotline, but Lord brings her own unique spin to the story that makes it feel fresh and new. Her writing is so magnetic and she manages to captive you in a way that very few authors can. She has only written two novels so far, but I can tell you that I will gladly read anything she writes. She has quickly become one of my favorite authors in the YA contemporary field. If you have not read her books I would highly recommend both of them, they really are exceptional reads!Notable Scene:We arrived in time to claim the perfect seats: far enough away from the teacher that we could pass notes, but not so far that it looked like we tried to sit far away. Ms. Pepper stood out in a sophisticated dress, with dark hair falling to her shoulders. Rectangular glasses perched smartly on her nose, like a superhero’s cerebral alter ego.But Ms. Pepper lost my attention as Ryan Chase sauntered in the door, so cute that it felt like slow motion. He passed by me, his red T-shirt drawing my eye to the V-shape of his back, from broad shoulders to slim waist.He sat down next to a tall, dark-haired guy who looked familiar. It took me a moment to place him: Max Watson, Ryan’s cousin. So he was back. He went to Oakhurst public with the rest of us until middle school, when he transferred to the Coventry School. I always figured he switched to private school because he got bullied. He was ganglier then, with the same dark-rimmed glasses and a hand that shot up to answer every question in class. Ryan leaned in to whisper something to Max, who laughed in response.FTC Advisory: Bloomsbury Children provided me with a copy of The Start of Me and You. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

[edgoldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If we’re truthful, we all have our guilty reading pleasures. StartOfMeAndYouThose of you who follow this blog know that I like YA chick lit, like those books written by Sarah Dessen. But I’ve also mentioned two newcomers to my chick lit reading list: Morgan Matson and Emery Lord. The Start of Me and You is Emery Lord’s latest book.I like the beginning of The Start of Me and You. “…Our town (Oakhurst, Indiana) was too big for people to know everything about you, but just small enough for them to clench down on one defining moment like teeth clamped on a prey. Won the spelling bee in fourth grade? You are Dictionary Girl forever….” Paige Hancock was the Girl Whose Boyfriend Drowned. It might have been a year ago, but she still gets That Look. She’s still afraid to go swimming. She still gets nightmares that she’s drowning.The beginning of her junior year, she decided she needed to change and make a five point plan.Parties/Social EventsNew GroupDate (Ryan Chase)TravelSwim.To that end, she joins the Quizbowl team, in part because nerdy Max Watson, its captain, is cousins with Ryan Chase, a guys she’s crushing on. What better way to meet Ryan.OpenRoadSummerOf course, I’m not giving anything away by saying that The Start of Me and You is about Paige realizing it’s the nerdy guy she likes. But as is said in the book, it’s the journey, not the end that’s the fun part. Lord has given Paige a great group of girlfriends, Morgan, Kaleigh and Tessa, who are always there for each other. She’s provided a wise grandmother and an annoying little sister. And of course, she’s provided some family drama and some boyfriend drama. All the right ingredients. I like her easy going writing style and the story line, which is quite different from her previous book Open Road Summer, which is also chick lit.If you’re looking for some fun reading, give Emery Lord a try.P.S. She does the old Sarah Dessenesque mention of characters from her previous book in the current one, but only once that I could see.