We are seventeen & shattered
& still dancing.
Seventeen year-old Jonah Daniels has lived in Verona Cove, California, his whole life, and only one thing has ever changed: his father used to be alive, and now he is not. With a mother lost in a deep bout of depression, Jonah and his five siblings struggle to keep up their home and the restaurant their dad left behind.
But at the start of summer, a second change rolls in: Vivi Alexander, the new girl in town.
Vivi is in love with life. Charming and unfiltered, she refuses to be held down by the medicine she's told should make her feel better. After meeting Jonah, she slides into the Daniels' household seamlessly, winning over each sibling with her imagination and gameness. But it's not long before Vivi's zest for life begins to falter. Soon her adventurousness becomes all-out danger-seeking.
Through each high and low, Vivi and Jonah's love is put to the test . . . but what happens when love simply isn't enough?
TW topics: medication, parental death (cardiac), bipolar disorder (depression and mania), suicide
Note: the story does not end with the death of any mentally ill character
If you're on this page because you enjoyed WHEN WE COLLIDED, Emery would love to recommend LITTLE & LION by Brandy Colbert, a contemporary YA that explores bipolar disorder, siblingship, and much, much more.