Merritt Adams was used to taking care of herself. With her mother’s selfish abandonment, and her father’s shocking suicide, she is convinced that nobody will ever stick around for long. However, after she is mysteriously rescued from a fiery crash, Merritt needs to learn how to accept help, and love – even when it comes from an unexpected source. Trying to create a new life for herself will be … difficult, and so will resisting the charms of someone she swore she would never show interest in.
In addition to the buzz surrounding Merritt’s tragic headlines, everyone is talking about the charismatic Chase Brooks’ return home after spending two years in California aspiring to become a rock star. What people don’t know is the real reason why he had to leave his dreams behind. Saddened by his return, Chase is even more saddened to see how broken and alone his childhood classmate, Merritt, is.
Two sad souls could be good for each other, couldn’t they? Merritt isn’t so sure… and after she finds out who pulled her from the mangled car that night, her life will be changed forever.
Topics include: love, family, depression, loss, grief, anxiety, tragedy, car accident, surgery, muscle car, auto body shop, and overcoming struggle.
more
Wow. Just wow. This book has left me speechless. I seriously can’t believe this is Kristen’s debut novel! It is insanely good. The writing, the characters, the emotions.. it’s phenomenal!
Merritt Adams has been doing things on her own since her mother left her and her father, her father fell into a deep depression and didn’t do things for himself, much less for Merritt so she learned to fend for herself and provide for him. She is used to being on her own. After her mother selfishly just up and left, and then her father’s depression which ends up leading to his suicide, Merritt truly is alone and starts to fall into a depression of her own. She has a hard time after her father’s death and doesn’t take it very well, she ends up being in a deadly crash but she miraculously survives and she isn’t sure who to thank for the rescue. She isn’t sure she really wants to know who helped her, but she has to try to learn to accept help and love, accept the fact that there are people who care about her and truly want to be in her life as a permanent fixture, not just abandon her like her mother and father both did.
This book really hit me. I was laughing at parts and crying like a baby at others. Just pitiful, puffy eyes and snotty nose crying!! This book is so raw and really it makes you feel like you are part of the character’s journey. You are there in the story feeling the heartbreak and loss. It’s so captivating I couldn’t put it down. I stayed up until 4am reading this book and bawling my eyes out! Then once I finished I just lay there completely stunned! The ending completely threw me for a loop! (NO spoilers here ;)) just know that holy whoa this book is worth reading! I can not wait to read the sequel. This book deserves WAAYY more than 5 stars! It is by far one of the best books I have ever read!
This is an outstanding debut novel. The author has crafted a story that is engaging, thought provoking, passionate, and full of friendship and love. The characters are complex, believable, and easy to connect with. There are a few unexpected things and a cliffhanger . The author has certainly left ,e wanting more and I look forward to reading what happens next.
Get ready to break out the tissues when you’re reading this one!
Merritt Adams is at a point in her life where nothing seems to be going right for her. She’s as cynical as they come after having her mother walk out on her and her father, then watching her father spiral out of control into a man she barely knew. On the night of his funeral decisions Merritt makes change her life and make her start to realize she has to change her life around and break down the walls she has built around her heart to truly start living again.
Chase Brooks grew up in the same small town as Merritt Adams and has always watched her from afar. After high school he went off to California to be the next big rockstar, but now he back and has his own troubles he’s going through.
Merritt and Chase are two lost and broken souls that come together to realize that just maybe they are what the other needs to repair and live a full life unbroken. Trust me, you will need the tissues when you read this book because it had me tearing up plenty.
It 4:30 in the morning and I just finished Collision. And oh my heart! So forgive me if my emotions are all over. It’s all fresh to me. Kristen Granata has won me over! Completely and totally!! Merritt is a character that some won’t click with instantly. I, thankfully, instantly clicked because we have similar personalities. Merritt has been through a lot in her life. Her mother walked away, her father’s grief and eventual death, and almost losing her own life. Being totally alone at the most pivotal time in a young adults life. I think you’d be a little snarky too.
Merritt’s relationship with her best friends is refreshing, honest and most importantly realistic. Brody and Shelly are great together, evenly balancing out each other and Merritt. Thankfully leaving at least one sane voice out of the three. Yet it is Merritt’s relationship with Chase Brooks and his family that provides Merritt with the growth she needed and the sense of family she longed for.
Granata does a flawless job of weaving her characters into your heart. Slowly and methodically making sure that you had to turn the page to calm your nerves after the newest twist and conflict.
For Collision being her first book I am beyond impressed and I can’t wait to read the sequel (thank heavens Avoidance is already released).
Fair warning Kleenex is needed for reading this book.
I found this book to be hauntingly sad but very realistic as we all have had trauma in our lives that can break us for a time. I loved the main characters and found myself rooting for them. I hope I can see more of these characters.
I found this very relatable life!
So often life happens to us not in any reasonable way. We are left struggling to put broken self together. Move on to next day. It can make us jaded. Lower our expectations of options and hope. It’s important that we remember to reach out to others. Keep holding on long enough to help them stay afloat.
This is my first story by Kristen Granata and it was a good young adult read. The topics these young adults encountered were different and I found it enjoyable as I turned the page on my kindle. I think this story had a lot of passion (nonsexual) and heart. There were things that each of the characters has to overcome and this cliffhanger ending will leave you wondering which way their journey will take them.
Merritt is in her early twenties. She has a past that has caused a lot of dark in her life. My heart hurt for her. When the world comes crashing down, her life changes in the blink of an eye. She must decide how she wants to pick up the pieces and rebuild. Merritt’s personality isn’t a bubbly one. I actually liked the fact that the main female wasn’t hearts, flowers, and rose-colored glasses. She is jaded, angry, and closed off. Let’s face it though, there are a lot of people like that. I would say she is a hard character to like. I liked that I didn’t immediately love her. She had to grow on me. Once she lets you in though, it’s magical to see her open up. They say opposites attract and Chase is definitely the yin to her yang. Over the story you really see Merritt grow into a young adult and some of the immaturity fade. By the end of the story, I was her biggest cheerleader for moving forward in life to find her happy.
Chase is your typical all American hometown boy. Yet at the same time, he wasn’t. He had a secret he kept from Merritt. You watch him go through the story being the strength and eventually needing someone to be strong for him. His world falls apart and the only shining light is Merritt. I will say the secret surprised me. I predicted one thing but was wrong. I did, however, predict the surprise he gave her.
Shelly & Brody are secondary characters that play an important role in Merritt’s life. They are her family. I really liked the dynamics they all had. I think there addition to the story was perfect. Chase’s family was wonderful. you could feel the love they had to seep through the pages. I would love to have a story on Tanner. Khloe stole the show though. That little girl was so sweet and I think she melted Merritt’s heart a good bit in this story. I also felt like she showed Merritt the meaning of unconditional love.
Overall, I enjoyed this story and think for a young adult, coming of age tale, the personalities and actions of the characters fit. There was some predictability for me but I didn’t feel it took away from the story.
This was Kristen’s first novel and I only see great things to come. I feel this story was a good beginning. I do know she is working on the sequel and I’m excited to read it. This story is a cliffhanger. They are not for everyone, so I want to let my followers know that it was one. That said, with the conclusion coming soon, you won’t completely be left hanging. I never like to compare authors to other authors when reviewing. Honestly, I’m stuck on the fence with this one. I am giving it a 4.5 pointe shoe rating. It wasn’t quite an OMG I’d read again and a gazillion times over story. But, I would buy book two. I cared that much to want to know what happens to Merritt. The story flowed and there was a cliffhanger but she did provide a content for now moment.