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Collide
Being bisexual is cool now―unless you’re a boy. Or so it seems to invisible fifteen-year-old Hazard James. But when he falls in with bad apple Jesse Wesley, Hazard is suddenly shoved into the spotlight. Jesse and his friends introduce him to the underworld of teenage house parties, hangovers, the advantages of empty homes, and reputation by association. So what if his old friends don’t get it? So what if some people love to hate him? Screw gossip and high school’s secret rules. There’s just something about walking into a room and having all eyes on him when just last year nobody noticed him at all. For a while Hazard basks in the attention, and before he realizes the depth of the waters he’s wading, he and Jesse strike up a “friends with benefits” routine. It could be something more, but what self-respecting teenage boy would admit it? Not Jesse―and so not Hazard, either. Not until it’s too late. Hazard and Jesse have collided, and Hazard’s life will never be the same.
280 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2012
18 people are currently reading
2781 people want to read
About the author
J.R. Lenk
1 book61 followers***Pseudonym.
J. R. Lenk loves folklore and mythology, horror, crime dramas, and dark, edgy lit. COLLIDE is the first and only publication under this pen name.
J. R. Lenk loves folklore and mythology, horror, crime dramas, and dark, edgy lit. COLLIDE is the first and only publication under this pen name.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
October 25, 2017
Holy angst-balls, batman! This book was a freaking crazy ride. I'm not sure if I loved it or hated it. I don't know what to think.
First of all, this book reminded me so much of Don't Let Me Go. If you were a fan of that, you will probably enjoy this one too.
Is this a romance book? I'm not sure I would call it that. It is more of a coming-of-age story than anything else. For me, the focus was on Hazard and Hazard alone and how he changed over time.
Where to start... Well, I'll say what worked about this book. It felt true to life. I myself wasn't an angsty teen so I couldn't relate to this book on a personal level, but the experiences that Hazard and his friends go through felt very accurate. The characters also were extremely well crafted. They each pop vividly in my mind. I felt like I knew each of them intimately and where they were coming from, love them or hate them. I liked that each character was nuanced. They were all so flawed and messed up but also completely redeemable. There were no "bad guys", only real people.
I think what strikes me the most about this book is that it is hard to read at times. Each relationship is exquisitely dysfunctional. There is jealousy, substance abuse, some violence, and neglect. I'm not talking about only romantic relationships but also the relationships with parents and with friends. There is an element of slut-shaming and using "fag" that I found to be distasteful, but I guess the author was trying to show accurately how 14-18 year old boys act. There is just so. much. angst.
At times, I didn't know whether to slap or hug Hazard. I'm not sure if he is a brat or likes to start drama or what. He is not a perfect person but I was fascinated to read about him.
As for the relationship between Jesse and Hazard, you have to read this book for yourself to witness the full spectrum of co-dependence, denial, beauty, fear, and pain that these boys go through together.
I will say that this book had much more depth than I expected. I was anticipating something more shallow but this was deep and painful and real. The author did something very right to get me so invested in the story.
I wish this book had one or two more rounds with an editor. There was a long series of flashbacks at about 50% that I found to be completely superfluous and would have cut the story down by about 50 pages. I also think some of the sentence structure, especially in the beginning, could have been improved upon.
In the end, I think I really liked it (maybe??) and maybe I even loved it at times. So 4 stars.
*shrugs at mostly non-coherent review*
First of all, this book reminded me so much of Don't Let Me Go. If you were a fan of that, you will probably enjoy this one too.
Is this a romance book? I'm not sure I would call it that. It is more of a coming-of-age story than anything else. For me, the focus was on Hazard and Hazard alone and how he changed over time.
Where to start... Well, I'll say what worked about this book. It felt true to life. I myself wasn't an angsty teen so I couldn't relate to this book on a personal level, but the experiences that Hazard and his friends go through felt very accurate. The characters also were extremely well crafted. They each pop vividly in my mind. I felt like I knew each of them intimately and where they were coming from, love them or hate them. I liked that each character was nuanced. They were all so flawed and messed up but also completely redeemable. There were no "bad guys", only real people.
I think what strikes me the most about this book is that it is hard to read at times. Each relationship is exquisitely dysfunctional. There is jealousy, substance abuse, some violence, and neglect. I'm not talking about only romantic relationships but also the relationships with parents and with friends. There is an element of slut-shaming and using "fag" that I found to be distasteful, but I guess the author was trying to show accurately how 14-18 year old boys act. There is just so. much. angst.
At times, I didn't know whether to slap or hug Hazard. I'm not sure if he is a brat or likes to start drama or what. He is not a perfect person but I was fascinated to read about him.
As for the relationship between Jesse and Hazard, you have to read this book for yourself to witness the full spectrum of co-dependence, denial, beauty, fear, and pain that these boys go through together.
I will say that this book had much more depth than I expected. I was anticipating something more shallow but this was deep and painful and real. The author did something very right to get me so invested in the story.
I wish this book had one or two more rounds with an editor. There was a long series of flashbacks at about 50% that I found to be completely superfluous and would have cut the story down by about 50 pages. I also think some of the sentence structure, especially in the beginning, could have been improved upon.
In the end, I think I really liked it (maybe??) and maybe I even loved it at times. So 4 stars.
*shrugs at mostly non-coherent review*
July 31, 2021
A full NINE YEARS AFTER READING and I still remember & think about this very touching YA novel from time to time, so it deserves a status bump.
It's so full of genuine feels and the book is full of song titles & band names, so I strongly suggest YouTubing the songs as they're mentioned, as they take the reading experience to a whole other level.
4.5 well-deserved stars, rounding up.
September 19, 2012
Ok. I don't know where to begin. Being a middle aged heterosexual woman, one would not think that this book would resonate with me. One couldn't be more wrong. The story is about a 14 year old misfit and a 16 year old "cool" misfit. That is a very simplistic description.
I WAS Hazard. I know, the straight, woman thing. But I was a misfit. Like Hazard, I didn't really fit in any one group in school. I often felt completely alone and lonely and unloved and unlovable and jealous that my one friend liked someone else more than me and willing to do anything at all no matter how self-destructive to gain the closeness I craved with SOMEONE. I think that is what made me so uncomfortable at times, but so deeply moved more often. I have a 14 year old son. I didn't identify this book as his story, but as mine at that age and at this age.
J.R. Lenk crafted characters with so many layers, you'd need a jackhammer to get to the delicious tootsie roll center. Hazard's eventual revelation about his mother was astounding and required insight rarely attained at such a young age. I had a similar revelation about my mom very recently. The way his and Jesse's parents treated them made me squirm. Then I realized how much I am like Hazard's mom and how much most parents in this time in history are just like either Hazard's or Jesse's parents. The depictions could not have been more accurate.
I loved this book. I want more. I want a sequel. I want anything else penned by this author.
All that digusting fawning said, Collide is not for everyone. There was sex. There was sex between boys, yes boys not men. It was delicately handled and not graphic in nature, but still, it was there. I felt that it added to the story, but didn't take over the story. It clearly illustrated that physical closeness was the only way that Hazard and Jesse knew of to find the acceptance they needed.
The bottom line is that Collide is about the misfit in all of us. Even the cool, rich kids and their parents have at least a little bit of that desperation inside them to fit in and truly connect to another human being. It's time for a new tat. "We All Collide".
I WAS Hazard. I know, the straight, woman thing. But I was a misfit. Like Hazard, I didn't really fit in any one group in school. I often felt completely alone and lonely and unloved and unlovable and jealous that my one friend liked someone else more than me and willing to do anything at all no matter how self-destructive to gain the closeness I craved with SOMEONE. I think that is what made me so uncomfortable at times, but so deeply moved more often. I have a 14 year old son. I didn't identify this book as his story, but as mine at that age and at this age.
J.R. Lenk crafted characters with so many layers, you'd need a jackhammer to get to the delicious tootsie roll center. Hazard's eventual revelation about his mother was astounding and required insight rarely attained at such a young age. I had a similar revelation about my mom very recently. The way his and Jesse's parents treated them made me squirm. Then I realized how much I am like Hazard's mom and how much most parents in this time in history are just like either Hazard's or Jesse's parents. The depictions could not have been more accurate.
I loved this book. I want more. I want a sequel. I want anything else penned by this author.
All that digusting fawning said, Collide is not for everyone. There was sex. There was sex between boys, yes boys not men. It was delicately handled and not graphic in nature, but still, it was there. I felt that it added to the story, but didn't take over the story. It clearly illustrated that physical closeness was the only way that Hazard and Jesse knew of to find the acceptance they needed.
The bottom line is that Collide is about the misfit in all of us. Even the cool, rich kids and their parents have at least a little bit of that desperation inside them to fit in and truly connect to another human being. It's time for a new tat. "We All Collide".
June 28, 2023
✰ 4.25 stars ✰
“We all collide. It made him think of Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It was like, when you collided with someone, they would not be in the same position as they used to be. Everyone equally affected one another.”
If I could accurately describe what Collide was about - I would simply use the lyrics from the song 'Collide', that was playing in my head, as I read this. I don't even know how to properly express what this was - but, this pretty much sums it up.
'When we collide we lose ourselves.
When we collide we break in two,
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
It's a hard mistake.
When we collide,
We break.'
At the heart of it, J.R Lenk's one and only book is the story of Hazard's life from his freshman year in high school till his high school graduation. From the time he was fourteen, till his eighteenth birthday, Hazard's troubled life has been an utter chaotic whirlwind - and I am ashamed to admit at how easily I was drawn into it. Hazard made some very questionable actions and some severely messed up way of thinking that I didn't find at all acceptable - and yet, I could not stop reading.
There was SO MUCH ANGST - uff, so much high school drama - so much intense pining and jealousy - teenage antics that made me shake my head at the alarming manner at which Hazard was behaving and reacting and his way of thinking, but somehow, it still made sense. For what Hazard was feeling emotionally and mentally - for how troubled he was as he tried to understand and explain these newfound emotions he was feeling - how he tried to drown his pain and avoid his actions through a destructive course of loving someone he was struggling to accept as his own - if this was the way that he chose to express himself, all I could do was brace myself for the collision course that was most certainly inevitable from the beginning.
“It was just a party, it was just a kiss, it was just Jesse, and Jesse was revenge for Emery having Russell. One of Jesse’s favorite songs was stuck in Hazard’s head. Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to.”
Hazard and Jesse's first meeting - it was oh so typical - to a not so typical relationship - that electric moment in the cafeteria - that strange acknowledgment that the handsome rich older guy glances your way - making you feel special and noticed - who hasn't seen this situation play out so many times? 😞 But, what made it harder for Hazard to accept was that he was a guy - and a guy couldn't be attracted to other guys - despite, this fierce jealousy he felt for his childhood best friend spending more time with his other best friend. And so begins the descent into that feeling of 'first love'. 💘💘
“Jesse looked a little hurt that Hazard wouldn’t answer, but how was he supposed to tell Jesse that he’d cried because he realized after all this time, the really fucked up part was that he liked Jesse that way, and there was no way that could work out? He was a man, dammit.”
Fueled by the feeling of being wanted and singled out as being special - driven by the thrill of drinking and experimenting at a young age - giving in to desire of kissing the forbidden fruit - seeking to hurt the best friend that you secretly loved - these feelings as tormented and fucked up as they are - this was wild and chaotic - to an insane amount! 😅 And yet, there was still a level of friendship and feeling developing between the two of them - some small part that no matter that they hid it from others, they wanted to spend time with each other - even if they weren't going to admit it.
Hazard and Jesse's relationship was anything, but healthy - but he wanted him - he wanted that feeling of being noticed, being special in Jesse's eyes - a normal boy being seen with a beautiful popular boy - despite the people he hurt along the way - despite the hurt he did to himself - like seriously, some of Hazard's actions were hazardous even to his own personal well-being.
“But Jesse made him crazy in such great ways, and nobody had to know because It was their secret and they were friends with benefits.”
And yet, still I kept reading - utterly and totally involved with this teenage drama. It was not perfect writing - Hazard was not a perfect boy - but he felt so real - his thoughts were so genuine, so utterly convincing in how I could just empathize with him on almost everything. His feelings of dismissal - his wild party ways - the steady abuse of drugs - the high of having sex and experiencing intimacy he never thought possible - at that tender young age, Jesse introduced him to everything that he did not know about, but still kept him at arm's length, being 'friends with benefits' - but somehow, along the way, the feelings changed for Hazard - and when they broke up - it was volatile, it was explosive, and it was so hurtful - they were just so mean to each other - that even I could feel that sting of pain with each vicious remark - that I could feel the intent of hurting and still being in love. Isn't that something?? 💔💔
“His vision doubled, then trebled with tears. What was the sudden crime? They were friends with benefits, so why did it hurt so bad? Because maybe, possibly, it was something curious like betrayal? Was it because Felix was not a stranger, Felix was one of Jesse’s best friends, just like Emery was to Hazard?
Was it because just because nobody had the guts to put certain feelings into words, it didn’t mean that those certain feelings weren’t there and weren’t true?”
The characters were far from perfect - everyone had their flaws - yet they were showing such a real almost tangible depiction of high school life. Everything they did, how they behaved, how they changed as time went by, how they interacted with one another, how they experienced the highs and lows of first love, how they acted out of jealous rage, how they drowned their sorrows and antics in partying and drugs - I believed it. 🥺🥺 There was something heady in the atmosphere of Hazard's high school years - something almost intoxicating and compelling - something that drew me in so much so that I know this book was not perfect. But it's still something I'm thinking about now.
“What was the word for this, this weird heat in his chest, something like hope and sadness at the same time? It squeezed onto his heart and ached in his throat.”
I also liked how music played such an important part of the story - how the songs mentioned was prevalent and significant to each moment in Hazard's tumultuous relationships. All the little nods to the early 2000s felt like I could taste that time - the memory of being transported to my early high school years. Yes, I'm a girl, but those innate feelings of jealousy - the bouts of first love that you would feel in your soul - the Converses (yes, I was very much a Converse girl *don't judge me*😅) - this was Hazard's actions - if not, chaotic, questionable, often times very much irrational and not all likeable - and still, it just felt so REAL.
The writing - sadly, it did need some work - there were a few chapters of just telling that made it a bit jarring at times to appreciate the story telling, but the fact that I pulled an all-nighter - staying awake - way past my usual bedtime to read it - must mean something, right?? That I wanted to know if Hazard's future was with Emery or Jesse - that Hazard would get the closure he needed from either of them. I generally don't like to skip ahead till the end to see how something turns out (even if I read spoilers, I still want to read the process to the end) - and I just had to know what was the fate of Hazard's life and the results to the often-times hasty and poor choices he made. 😔
“Maybe you weren’t the collision, Haz.” Jesse shrugged, blowing a stream of velvety gray. “Maybe you were the unbalanced force to act on everyone, and not in a bad way.” Jesse thought deeply about it all for a second, then looked at Hazard gravely.
“What do you think we are, Hazard?” Jesse asked then, quietly. “Are we moving forward, or are we standing still?”
“We all collide. It made him think of Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It was like, when you collided with someone, they would not be in the same position as they used to be. Everyone equally affected one another.”
If I could accurately describe what Collide was about - I would simply use the lyrics from the song 'Collide', that was playing in my head, as I read this. I don't even know how to properly express what this was - but, this pretty much sums it up.
'When we collide we lose ourselves.
When we collide we break in two,
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
It's a hard mistake.
When we collide,
We break.'
At the heart of it, J.R Lenk's one and only book is the story of Hazard's life from his freshman year in high school till his high school graduation. From the time he was fourteen, till his eighteenth birthday, Hazard's troubled life has been an utter chaotic whirlwind - and I am ashamed to admit at how easily I was drawn into it. Hazard made some very questionable actions and some severely messed up way of thinking that I didn't find at all acceptable - and yet, I could not stop reading.
There was SO MUCH ANGST - uff, so much high school drama - so much intense pining and jealousy - teenage antics that made me shake my head at the alarming manner at which Hazard was behaving and reacting and his way of thinking, but somehow, it still made sense. For what Hazard was feeling emotionally and mentally - for how troubled he was as he tried to understand and explain these newfound emotions he was feeling - how he tried to drown his pain and avoid his actions through a destructive course of loving someone he was struggling to accept as his own - if this was the way that he chose to express himself, all I could do was brace myself for the collision course that was most certainly inevitable from the beginning.
“It was just a party, it was just a kiss, it was just Jesse, and Jesse was revenge for Emery having Russell. One of Jesse’s favorite songs was stuck in Hazard’s head. Go on, take everything, take everything, I want you to.”
Hazard and Jesse's first meeting - it was oh so typical - to a not so typical relationship - that electric moment in the cafeteria - that strange acknowledgment that the handsome rich older guy glances your way - making you feel special and noticed - who hasn't seen this situation play out so many times? 😞 But, what made it harder for Hazard to accept was that he was a guy - and a guy couldn't be attracted to other guys - despite, this fierce jealousy he felt for his childhood best friend spending more time with his other best friend. And so begins the descent into that feeling of 'first love'. 💘💘
“Jesse looked a little hurt that Hazard wouldn’t answer, but how was he supposed to tell Jesse that he’d cried because he realized after all this time, the really fucked up part was that he liked Jesse that way, and there was no way that could work out? He was a man, dammit.”
Fueled by the feeling of being wanted and singled out as being special - driven by the thrill of drinking and experimenting at a young age - giving in to desire of kissing the forbidden fruit - seeking to hurt the best friend that you secretly loved - these feelings as tormented and fucked up as they are - this was wild and chaotic - to an insane amount! 😅 And yet, there was still a level of friendship and feeling developing between the two of them - some small part that no matter that they hid it from others, they wanted to spend time with each other - even if they weren't going to admit it.
Hazard and Jesse's relationship was anything, but healthy - but he wanted him - he wanted that feeling of being noticed, being special in Jesse's eyes - a normal boy being seen with a beautiful popular boy - despite the people he hurt along the way - despite the hurt he did to himself - like seriously, some of Hazard's actions were hazardous even to his own personal well-being.
“But Jesse made him crazy in such great ways, and nobody had to know because It was their secret and they were friends with benefits.”
And yet, still I kept reading - utterly and totally involved with this teenage drama. It was not perfect writing - Hazard was not a perfect boy - but he felt so real - his thoughts were so genuine, so utterly convincing in how I could just empathize with him on almost everything. His feelings of dismissal - his wild party ways - the steady abuse of drugs - the high of having sex and experiencing intimacy he never thought possible - at that tender young age, Jesse introduced him to everything that he did not know about, but still kept him at arm's length, being 'friends with benefits' - but somehow, along the way, the feelings changed for Hazard - and when they broke up - it was volatile, it was explosive, and it was so hurtful - they were just so mean to each other - that even I could feel that sting of pain with each vicious remark - that I could feel the intent of hurting and still being in love. Isn't that something?? 💔💔
“His vision doubled, then trebled with tears. What was the sudden crime? They were friends with benefits, so why did it hurt so bad? Because maybe, possibly, it was something curious like betrayal? Was it because Felix was not a stranger, Felix was one of Jesse’s best friends, just like Emery was to Hazard?
Was it because just because nobody had the guts to put certain feelings into words, it didn’t mean that those certain feelings weren’t there and weren’t true?”
The characters were far from perfect - everyone had their flaws - yet they were showing such a real almost tangible depiction of high school life. Everything they did, how they behaved, how they changed as time went by, how they interacted with one another, how they experienced the highs and lows of first love, how they acted out of jealous rage, how they drowned their sorrows and antics in partying and drugs - I believed it. 🥺🥺 There was something heady in the atmosphere of Hazard's high school years - something almost intoxicating and compelling - something that drew me in so much so that I know this book was not perfect. But it's still something I'm thinking about now.
“What was the word for this, this weird heat in his chest, something like hope and sadness at the same time? It squeezed onto his heart and ached in his throat.”
I also liked how music played such an important part of the story - how the songs mentioned was prevalent and significant to each moment in Hazard's tumultuous relationships. All the little nods to the early 2000s felt like I could taste that time - the memory of being transported to my early high school years. Yes, I'm a girl, but those innate feelings of jealousy - the bouts of first love that you would feel in your soul - the Converses (yes, I was very much a Converse girl *don't judge me*😅) - this was Hazard's actions - if not, chaotic, questionable, often times very much irrational and not all likeable - and still, it just felt so REAL.
The writing - sadly, it did need some work - there were a few chapters of just telling that made it a bit jarring at times to appreciate the story telling, but the fact that I pulled an all-nighter - staying awake - way past my usual bedtime to read it - must mean something, right?? That I wanted to know if Hazard's future was with Emery or Jesse - that Hazard would get the closure he needed from either of them. I generally don't like to skip ahead till the end to see how something turns out (even if I read spoilers, I still want to read the process to the end) - and I just had to know what was the fate of Hazard's life and the results to the often-times hasty and poor choices he made. 😔
“Maybe you weren’t the collision, Haz.” Jesse shrugged, blowing a stream of velvety gray. “Maybe you were the unbalanced force to act on everyone, and not in a bad way.” Jesse thought deeply about it all for a second, then looked at Hazard gravely.
“What do you think we are, Hazard?” Jesse asked then, quietly. “Are we moving forward, or are we standing still?”
January 30, 2022
“We all collide” 4.5 ⭐️
This was like if the 90s/early 2000s was a teenager and they wrote a book.
-coming of age story of a boy finding love (follow MC Hazard from ages 14-18) so don’t go looking for some exciting plot line
-Bi-awakening
-“good” boy(younger)/“bad” boy(older)
-lots of music references
-HS parties
-teenage ANGST and rebellion
-young love angst
-grunge vibes
-very descriptive to really set the feel, sounds, smells of the scene (maybe overly so to some but I liked it in this book and I felt like it added to the story instead of dragging it)
-HFN? 😐
and because I’m a music nerd, here’s some of the bands referenced:
Nirvana
Green Day
Breaking Benjamin
Fall Out Boy
Panic at the Disco
Brand New
Hole
Garbage
NIN
Incubus
Three Days Grace
I kept going back and forth deciding if I wanted to rate it 4 or 5 ⭐️ but because the ending left me feeling a little discontent I’m giving it 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up on account of I am in love with these characters so much.
*Buddy read with Gloria!
This was like if the 90s/early 2000s was a teenager and they wrote a book.
-coming of age story of a boy finding love (follow MC Hazard from ages 14-18) so don’t go looking for some exciting plot line
-Bi-awakening
-“good” boy(younger)/“bad” boy(older)
-lots of music references
-HS parties
-teenage ANGST and rebellion
-young love angst
-grunge vibes
-very descriptive to really set the feel, sounds, smells of the scene (maybe overly so to some but I liked it in this book and I felt like it added to the story instead of dragging it)
-HFN? 😐
and because I’m a music nerd, here’s some of the bands referenced:
Nirvana
Green Day
Breaking Benjamin
Fall Out Boy
Panic at the Disco
Brand New
Hole
Garbage
NIN
Incubus
Three Days Grace
I kept going back and forth deciding if I wanted to rate it 4 or 5 ⭐️ but because the ending left me feeling a little discontent I’m giving it 4.5 ⭐️ rounded up on account of I am in love with these characters so much.
*Buddy read with Gloria!
May 6, 2017
I don't know where to begin with this review - excuse my ramblings, memories and scattered thoughts, this is a book I cannot get out of my head. Although it is a story centered around high school kids, for me there was much more involved in this. I am a mom of kids the same age as the two M/C's, yet this clearly brought back so many HS emotions. I lived so much of all these kids lives, the non-existent parents, raising myself, both M/C's being only children with no parent care/supervision in the book (as I was) that was really never touched upon , the extent of their lack of supporting home life IMO contributed to both characters need for dependancy. This showed how they made bad decisions and the consequences of their actions - mostly when drinking too much. Reading this book about growing up, coming to terms with your feelings, being confused, the pressures of HS - this was a really bittersweet, difficult story.
The relationship -
The relationship -
January 30, 2022
5/5 stars!!
Buddy read this with my bookish bestie Ivy 🥰🥰
Tbh I felt disappointed at the end (it felt like an HFN rather than an HEA) but the grunge vibes, and the loveable characters kept me hooked throughout. My kind of book honestly 🥲
Buddy read this with my bookish bestie Ivy 🥰🥰
Tbh I felt disappointed at the end (it felt like an HFN rather than an HEA) but the grunge vibes, and the loveable characters kept me hooked throughout. My kind of book honestly 🥲
January 25, 2013
Normally I hate it when people tell me a movie or book is “the best” they’ve ever seen or read, because my expectations raise so high that I’m invariably disappointed. Having said that, I have to confess, in all honesty, that “Collide” is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I’ve read A LOT of books. In fact, I read it twice. This book is simply amazing!
It’s an achingly poignant and bittersweet account of two painfully lonely teenagers from different backgrounds who, against their will and desire, fall desperately in love with one another.
For anyone who’s ever felt the ache of abject loneliness, that palpable, overwhelming feeling that you don’t fit into any group and never will fit in, you can absolutely relate to Hazard Oscar James, the main character. He’s a lost, confused adolescent, feeling unloved by his self-absorbed and careless parents, who feels even his best friend since second grade is pulling away from him when they enter high school.
Jesse Logan Wesley, rich, spoiled, ignored by equally careless parents, callous and hard and just as lonely as Hazard, surrounds himself with parties and booze and frivolous pursuits to mask the emptiness in his life, and in his heart.
The lives of both boys change when 11th grade Jesse smirkingly collides with Hazard one day in the school cafeteria, inviting the younger freshman to party with him and his friends. Like two magnets, they attract and repel one another in equal measure. Thus begins four years of fights and collisions and reconciliations, and the despairing realization of two boys who, terrified to admit they might be gay, fall painfully in love and mutual need, and over the course of many bittersweet moments of joy, agony and grief, finally come to understand that they simply cannot live without each other.
If two boys in love offends you, you’ll likely not enjoy this book, especially since there are brief, but artfully rendered, sex scenes between the two. For myself, other than the aching loneliness within Hazard’s confused heart, I have no personal experience with anything that happens in this book, including the wild high school partying (like Hazard, I never fit in with any group, but unlike Hazard never met a Jesse Logan Wesley to indoctrinate me into the shallow masking of pain through partying). And, just so you know, the book does not appear to condone drunken binges and wild partying for high school kids – if anything, it makes that lifestyle seem sad and empty and pathetic.
However, this story still touched me deeply to the heart and made me ache for Hazard, and even feel sorry for the hard-edged, often cruel and temperamental Jesse. These characters live and breathe with painful, gut-wrenching reality and you cannot but hope for their eventual redemption.
The fact that “Collide” was written when the author was just seventeen years old makes the accomplishment even more astounding, as the writing is mature and thoughtful, sometimes bordering on the profound. My complaints are so minimal that I hesitate to mention them, but here they are: there are so many party scenes and so many characters flitting in and out of those parties that sometimes I found it hard to keep track of them. A character would resurface later in the story and I couldn’t recall just how Hazard had met him or her, or even if he or she was supposed to be important. Also, there is (in my humble opinion) an intrusive and unnecessary, and very long, flashback chapter right in the middle of the book that jarringly pulled me out of the narrative and didn’t really provide any necessary information that couldn’t have been worked in throughout the story in more subtle ways.
Having said all this, do yourself an enormous favor: read “Collide.” Get to know Hazard Oscar James and Jesse Logan Wesley. You won’t be sorry you did. And if you feel too squeamish to read about “gay” boys, then you’ll sadly miss out on two of the most desperately touching and memorable characters of this or any year. And that will be your loss.
It’s an achingly poignant and bittersweet account of two painfully lonely teenagers from different backgrounds who, against their will and desire, fall desperately in love with one another.
For anyone who’s ever felt the ache of abject loneliness, that palpable, overwhelming feeling that you don’t fit into any group and never will fit in, you can absolutely relate to Hazard Oscar James, the main character. He’s a lost, confused adolescent, feeling unloved by his self-absorbed and careless parents, who feels even his best friend since second grade is pulling away from him when they enter high school.
Jesse Logan Wesley, rich, spoiled, ignored by equally careless parents, callous and hard and just as lonely as Hazard, surrounds himself with parties and booze and frivolous pursuits to mask the emptiness in his life, and in his heart.
The lives of both boys change when 11th grade Jesse smirkingly collides with Hazard one day in the school cafeteria, inviting the younger freshman to party with him and his friends. Like two magnets, they attract and repel one another in equal measure. Thus begins four years of fights and collisions and reconciliations, and the despairing realization of two boys who, terrified to admit they might be gay, fall painfully in love and mutual need, and over the course of many bittersweet moments of joy, agony and grief, finally come to understand that they simply cannot live without each other.
If two boys in love offends you, you’ll likely not enjoy this book, especially since there are brief, but artfully rendered, sex scenes between the two. For myself, other than the aching loneliness within Hazard’s confused heart, I have no personal experience with anything that happens in this book, including the wild high school partying (like Hazard, I never fit in with any group, but unlike Hazard never met a Jesse Logan Wesley to indoctrinate me into the shallow masking of pain through partying). And, just so you know, the book does not appear to condone drunken binges and wild partying for high school kids – if anything, it makes that lifestyle seem sad and empty and pathetic.
However, this story still touched me deeply to the heart and made me ache for Hazard, and even feel sorry for the hard-edged, often cruel and temperamental Jesse. These characters live and breathe with painful, gut-wrenching reality and you cannot but hope for their eventual redemption.
The fact that “Collide” was written when the author was just seventeen years old makes the accomplishment even more astounding, as the writing is mature and thoughtful, sometimes bordering on the profound. My complaints are so minimal that I hesitate to mention them, but here they are: there are so many party scenes and so many characters flitting in and out of those parties that sometimes I found it hard to keep track of them. A character would resurface later in the story and I couldn’t recall just how Hazard had met him or her, or even if he or she was supposed to be important. Also, there is (in my humble opinion) an intrusive and unnecessary, and very long, flashback chapter right in the middle of the book that jarringly pulled me out of the narrative and didn’t really provide any necessary information that couldn’t have been worked in throughout the story in more subtle ways.
Having said all this, do yourself an enormous favor: read “Collide.” Get to know Hazard Oscar James and Jesse Logan Wesley. You won’t be sorry you did. And if you feel too squeamish to read about “gay” boys, then you’ll sadly miss out on two of the most desperately touching and memorable characters of this or any year. And that will be your loss.
August 19, 2017
"We all collide. It made him think of Newton’s third law of motion: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
Can I give this book more than 5 stars? Five is not enough for this book.
Jesse and his crew are the cool kids in Bethany High. Hazard (yes that’s really his name) is a freshman who has a best friend named Emery and his little group of friends that mostly go unnoticed. One day everything changes and Hazard is invited to the cool kids table and he starts going to parties, starts drinking and making out with people. Even with Jesse. The parties sort of have a motto “what happens at a party stays at party”. They start a “friends with benefits” relationship because it’s fun, but they are definitely not gay, maybe bisexual, but there is no way they are in love. The problem is the more they deny it and try to push each other away the more they collide. Eventually the shit hits the fan and then it’s full on angst time.
Well fuck.
This book nearly destroyed me. I had to put it down a few times to take a deep breath and to calm down. It’s a roller coaster and you’re sitting in the front wagon and just pray you’re going to survive this ride. Because I can promise you this it’s going to fuck you up.
In all honesty I just can’t stop thinking about Hazard and Jesse. When you’re turning the pages you just silently hope they are going to be OK because otherwise you don’t know how you’re going to survive this.
I don’t know what I was hoping this book was going to be, but it definitely surprised me and it made me think about all the other amazing books and all the characters that are just waiting for you to find them, that are out there and you know you will never have the time to read all of them. Now that is sad and depressing.
I'm just glad I accidentally found this one and it was an amazing ride.
May 7, 2012
I loved this book and it would make a great movie with a kick ass soundtrack. Collide will definitely take you back to high school. Oh yes, all those wonderful, tearful and cringe worthy moments will be remembered. I bet everyone knew someone like the MC’s or the side characters back in the day. Hazard (aka Danger) and Jesse are very frustrating characters. You can see their truth even when they can’t. They are good boys who feel lost and alone. They make some really bad decisions in order to feel connected to anything they view as solid. I still loved both MC’s and the side character even when they did and said horrible things. The bond between the MC’s and each member of their group is very strong. I cared about all of them. Let me stop. I already feel myself wanting to ramble so I’m going to do a self-intervention and advise you to read Tina’s review. This book is very real and authentic. Please don’t be put off by any of the sex. You will not feel icky reading it because I don’t believe it was meant to be hot or sexy. It’s just part of their story like the drinking and smoking. I thought it was handled very well. I would love for there to be a sequel.
September 20, 2012
THIS. This book was one of the best things I have read this year. I'm torn between wanting to read it all over again right now and to never read the words again. I felt like I was Hazard. I felt his pain. Ya know that feeling of being unsure of where you stand with your friends? That awful feeling that maybe your best friend likes someone more than they like you? That maybe the person you are in love with and love more than anyone else in the world is gonna leave you? That awful sick feeling in your stomach cuz you know it's about to happen and you're gonna be alone? Yeah, that feeling. I know all that makes this sound like a dark and heavy story , and it is. But is soooo good. I just wish I had the words to explain how much I loved this book. It ends with a HFN but for me it was a good ending and I'm happy with it. But like someone else said, I want more, I want to read everything this author has ever written. This was just that good.
April 29, 2014
Enjoyed. A more realistic book about what teens go through than the white-washed PC versions of dribble I normally find in this genre. Teens have sex, they do dumb things, they experiment with drugs and make irrational decisions. That is a part of growing up.
Recommended.
Recommended.
November 27, 2018
How to belong
It wasn’t until I got to the 50% mark in the book that I started to connect with Hazard. I wasn’t feeling his need to make Emery jealous, or all the partying he was doing with Jesse. Then it hit me, Hazard was slowly falling in love. I don’t think he knew it yet, and since the book is in his perspective, it wasn’t obvious. The back half of the book puts the first half into perspective. There is a fight scene that was so real I felt awkward witnessing it. J.R. knows how to turn on the feels. The last few chapters just crushed me. This book will definitely stick with me. 4.75 for best friends.
It wasn’t until I got to the 50% mark in the book that I started to connect with Hazard. I wasn’t feeling his need to make Emery jealous, or all the partying he was doing with Jesse. Then it hit me, Hazard was slowly falling in love. I don’t think he knew it yet, and since the book is in his perspective, it wasn’t obvious. The back half of the book puts the first half into perspective. There is a fight scene that was so real I felt awkward witnessing it. J.R. knows how to turn on the feels. The last few chapters just crushed me. This book will definitely stick with me. 4.75 for best friends.
May 23, 2012
Sometimes engrossing, sometimes dull, and eventually left me feeling depressed ... The depressed feeling is from the pacing, I think. If the story had continued past the "hopeful" ending and given me more time seeing the characters interact in a positive way, I think I'd have had a better reaction.
June 10, 2019
Heavily atmospheric YA novel about 14 year old misfit Hazard and how his life changes due to his relationship with 16 year old "bad boy" Jesse. It felt hauntingly familiar to me, despite the author writing it as a teenager in 2010-ish (estimate based on an interview I read) and me being in my mid-40s. It perfectly captures that high school experience of not fitting in, of the feeling that space and events away from school and parents are the most real, and of the often emotionally incoherent but deeply felt relationships with both friends and romantic interests.
It also seriously digs into the effects on young people of a homophobic / queer-erasing culture. A sizable chunk of Hazard's problems come from how he and the people around him don't openly discuss, understand, or even acknowledge bisexuality.
It's a painful book, even on second read, but I was so touched by it, and I was relieved when the author crafted a believable positive next step for Hazard at the end after everything he'd been through.
It also seriously digs into the effects on young people of a homophobic / queer-erasing culture. A sizable chunk of Hazard's problems come from how he and the people around him don't openly discuss, understand, or even acknowledge bisexuality.
It's a painful book, even on second read, but I was so touched by it, and I was relieved when the author crafted a believable positive next step for Hazard at the end after everything he'd been through.
May 10, 2020
**4.5 stars**
Hazard and Jesse...wow..they sure collide.
The angst omg....two high schoolers begin this tumultuous relationship-this "friends with benefits" relationship. They (especially the younger boy Hazard) are just beginning to learn who they are and start to explore their sexuality. They are learning how to belong and how to fit in to different cliques. Basically, they are learning how to grow up.
This story really reads like diary entries by Hazard. It's a YA story that definitely doesn't end with a HEA....I would say a sketchy HFN.
It was very interesting, it kept my attention. Very good character development. I realized about halfway through this book that it wasn't going to end with hearts and flowers. It ended, probably, the way it needed to.
I hope there's a follow up so we can get to see Hazard and Jesse explore a 'grown-up' relationship.
Hazard and Jesse...wow..they sure collide.
The angst omg....two high schoolers begin this tumultuous relationship-this "friends with benefits" relationship. They (especially the younger boy Hazard) are just beginning to learn who they are and start to explore their sexuality. They are learning how to belong and how to fit in to different cliques. Basically, they are learning how to grow up.
This story really reads like diary entries by Hazard. It's a YA story that definitely doesn't end with a HEA....I would say a sketchy HFN.
It was very interesting, it kept my attention. Very good character development. I realized about halfway through this book that it wasn't going to end with hearts and flowers. It ended, probably, the way it needed to.
I hope there's a follow up so we can get to see Hazard and Jesse explore a 'grown-up' relationship.
November 6, 2013
self-indulgent load of immature teenage angst with a lot of alcohol and writing on people and walls with sharpies. anyone who misses high school will be thanking God it's over after reading this. it might be better if you are a teenager and can read this and be like" oh, that's me!" but for anyone else, this is meandering, focusless drivel.
January 9, 2015
Why don't more people know about this book?
This is another one of those instances where I wish I had the chops to write the review that this book so deserves. I sincerely mean it when I say that Collide goes down as one of the best books I've ever read. It's raw, honest, and depressingly realistic. It left me with such a bittersweet feeling. I notice the mixed reviews, and I think this book resonated so much with me because high school wasn't far long ago for me. I connected deeply with Hazard's fear of loneliness. Hazard and Jesse...together they were so sweet, heartbreaking, ugly, destructive, and so goddamn frustrating. They were deeply flawed individuals, hurting themselves and each other through stupid decisions and seemingly unforgivable words and actions. They were just incredibly, refreshingly human.
I'm sorry that I just can't find the words to describe just how much I friggin loved and hated this book. For making me want to smile like a huge idiot and then confront my own memories and truths and insecurities. For making me damn depressed, angry, and then daring to leave me tentatively hopeful.
I am just left feeling, as another reviewer said, that I want more, a sequel (a short??), anything else this author ever decides to write.
This is another one of those instances where I wish I had the chops to write the review that this book so deserves. I sincerely mean it when I say that Collide goes down as one of the best books I've ever read. It's raw, honest, and depressingly realistic. It left me with such a bittersweet feeling. I notice the mixed reviews, and I think this book resonated so much with me because high school wasn't far long ago for me. I connected deeply with Hazard's fear of loneliness. Hazard and Jesse...together they were so sweet, heartbreaking, ugly, destructive, and so goddamn frustrating. They were deeply flawed individuals, hurting themselves and each other through stupid decisions and seemingly unforgivable words and actions. They were just incredibly, refreshingly human.
I'm sorry that I just can't find the words to describe just how much I friggin loved and hated this book. For making me want to smile like a huge idiot and then confront my own memories and truths and insecurities. For making me damn depressed, angry, and then daring to leave me tentatively hopeful.
I am just left feeling, as another reviewer said, that I want more, a sequel (a short??), anything else this author ever decides to write.
August 12, 2017
DNF @ 42%
In general, it was nice. But the tell-not-show tendencies and the writing style in general (also the fact that the characters' depth was taking too long to build) made me crazy frustrated. I'm sorry, I just can't.
I'm still rating it (contrary to what I'm used to doing with DNFs) because I think I read enough and I could get a taste of what it was.
I think what killed this book for me where the expectations. I had SUCH hopes for this story. I'm sad now. But you know, this is less than 300 pages, and you just have to understand that there's something odd going on when I've been reading for four days and I'm not even halfway through.
In general, it was nice. But the tell-not-show tendencies and the writing style in general (also the fact that the characters' depth was taking too long to build) made me crazy frustrated. I'm sorry, I just can't.
I'm still rating it (contrary to what I'm used to doing with DNFs) because I think I read enough and I could get a taste of what it was.
I think what killed this book for me where the expectations. I had SUCH hopes for this story. I'm sad now. But you know, this is less than 300 pages, and you just have to understand that there's something odd going on when I've been reading for four days and I'm not even halfway through.
January 20, 2013
I love how all the reviews below relate the experiences of this book and its characters (Hazard and Jesse) to their own lives and their own teenage experience... Thank you, Goodread readers for your honesty and insight. Very refreshing. And this book will certainly do that. It will make the reader glance back at their own youth with a sort of nostalgia and with a better understanding of what it was really like to be young.
This book takes place around the year 2004 (and beyond)and I would have been in high school at the same time as Hazard and Jesse. I would have been Jesse's age. I love all the music references and pop culture references! MySpace! The bands: Panic! At the Disco and Yellowcard! The song: "I Will Follow You Into the Dark." None of these things are incredibly important to the plot, they are just mentioned, but it sure made me smile (and in the case of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" - become sad.) These characters also made me remember the strangeness of not yet being an adult but not really being a kid anymore either... The deceptions, the rebellion... what it meant to want something so badly that you would risk anything to have it... Hell you didn't even know what you were risking... That's what it means to be young.. To just do things.. To do things because it is fun, and reckless and yes, stupid, and yes, crazy, but to a teenager, isn't that what life is all about? Of course I have memories of being a teenager, but this book actually helped me remember not just the moments that made up my teenage life, but what it actually felt like. That really is a remarkable feat to be able to be sent back in time through your own memories and to really remember what it all actually felt like.
This being said, why I gave the book only three stars is not so much due to its characters or overall plot, but due to the way it was written. I found it choppy in a very disjointed way. And the angst... I know it's a teen piece so angst is a must, but it stopped the flow of the story and again contributed to the disjointed feeling. Additionally, I would have loved more dialogue! So much of this story is just narration of insignificant events, it would have been nice to hear the characters' voices more often. However I may be a bit more critical of writing style than other people. I acknowledge this. I appreciated the characters, however, and what I appreciated most was how the angst was not focused around Hazard's feelings about his sexuality.... Rather, it was barely discussed.. Hazard wanted to be with Jesse. Period. It wasn't that Hazard wanted a boy specifically or was caught up in some sexual identity crisis... He just liked Jesse and Jesse liked him. I wish this was the way the world worked... Just be with someone who makes you happy. I wish that was the case, especially with high school kids. It would be nice if they could just really be themselves and not worry about what other people think...
So all this being said, this story just screams "youth" to me. Maybe it will reflect your own youth. I know that I saw some of myself in Hazard. Maybe it will be nothing like your own experiences. But either way, I think it will help you gain insight into your own teenage experiences... Did you do things out of loneliness? Were you just trying to fit in? What did all those hours spent with friends really mean? And to me these questions aren't daunting, or even that important, but at the same time, it is an interesting exercise to reflect on one's past with a deeper understanding. And I think that this story allows us to have a deeper understanding of our own experiences, which to me is one of the joys of reading... I read for pleasure, yes, but to also better understand the human condition. And through these characters and through your own reflections, you will.
This book takes place around the year 2004 (and beyond)and I would have been in high school at the same time as Hazard and Jesse. I would have been Jesse's age. I love all the music references and pop culture references! MySpace! The bands: Panic! At the Disco and Yellowcard! The song: "I Will Follow You Into the Dark." None of these things are incredibly important to the plot, they are just mentioned, but it sure made me smile (and in the case of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" - become sad.) These characters also made me remember the strangeness of not yet being an adult but not really being a kid anymore either... The deceptions, the rebellion... what it meant to want something so badly that you would risk anything to have it... Hell you didn't even know what you were risking... That's what it means to be young.. To just do things.. To do things because it is fun, and reckless and yes, stupid, and yes, crazy, but to a teenager, isn't that what life is all about? Of course I have memories of being a teenager, but this book actually helped me remember not just the moments that made up my teenage life, but what it actually felt like. That really is a remarkable feat to be able to be sent back in time through your own memories and to really remember what it all actually felt like.
This being said, why I gave the book only three stars is not so much due to its characters or overall plot, but due to the way it was written. I found it choppy in a very disjointed way. And the angst... I know it's a teen piece so angst is a must, but it stopped the flow of the story and again contributed to the disjointed feeling. Additionally, I would have loved more dialogue! So much of this story is just narration of insignificant events, it would have been nice to hear the characters' voices more often. However I may be a bit more critical of writing style than other people. I acknowledge this. I appreciated the characters, however, and what I appreciated most was how the angst was not focused around Hazard's feelings about his sexuality.... Rather, it was barely discussed.. Hazard wanted to be with Jesse. Period. It wasn't that Hazard wanted a boy specifically or was caught up in some sexual identity crisis... He just liked Jesse and Jesse liked him. I wish this was the way the world worked... Just be with someone who makes you happy. I wish that was the case, especially with high school kids. It would be nice if they could just really be themselves and not worry about what other people think...
So all this being said, this story just screams "youth" to me. Maybe it will reflect your own youth. I know that I saw some of myself in Hazard. Maybe it will be nothing like your own experiences. But either way, I think it will help you gain insight into your own teenage experiences... Did you do things out of loneliness? Were you just trying to fit in? What did all those hours spent with friends really mean? And to me these questions aren't daunting, or even that important, but at the same time, it is an interesting exercise to reflect on one's past with a deeper understanding. And I think that this story allows us to have a deeper understanding of our own experiences, which to me is one of the joys of reading... I read for pleasure, yes, but to also better understand the human condition. And through these characters and through your own reflections, you will.
October 22, 2014
I was wondering whether or not to write a review on this one.
The thing is, this is a very destructive book. Its frustrating as hell, non of the decisions the characters make are the right ones, even when you thing they made a good choice you see them screwing it up in the next few pages.
It goes in circles and its like that up until around 60-65%.
I was very annoyed with the book and its characters and the down hill course they were strolling along. I was SO sure I've read this type of books before and i thought i knew how it would all tun out in the end - the author would get bored at some point and every character would have a revelation all of a sudden, admit its mistakes, apologize and everybody would live happily ever after. But,
BUT!
That's not at all what happens, and the story flips upside-down around 65%.
The author doesn't rushes the conclusion. Instead he drags it for a several chapters, he gives the characters time to contemplate what they've done, to change, to learn, to repent.
And that makes all the difference.
At the end i loved it.
Why I was hesitant to write a review? Because i adored this book, but i don't think its for everybody. Its very destructive and frustrating (as i said), its violent at times, its honest and that makes it a bit explicit.
So i definitely recommend this, but be warned of the content if you contemplate reading it and are a little squeamish.
originally posted on:
The thing is, this is a very destructive book. Its frustrating as hell, non of the decisions the characters make are the right ones, even when you thing they made a good choice you see them screwing it up in the next few pages.
It goes in circles and its like that up until around 60-65%.
I was very annoyed with the book and its characters and the down hill course they were strolling along. I was SO sure I've read this type of books before and i thought i knew how it would all tun out in the end - the author would get bored at some point and every character would have a revelation all of a sudden, admit its mistakes, apologize and everybody would live happily ever after. But,
BUT!
That's not at all what happens, and the story flips upside-down around 65%.
The author doesn't rushes the conclusion. Instead he drags it for a several chapters, he gives the characters time to contemplate what they've done, to change, to learn, to repent.
And that makes all the difference.
At the end i loved it.
Why I was hesitant to write a review? Because i adored this book, but i don't think its for everybody. Its very destructive and frustrating (as i said), its violent at times, its honest and that makes it a bit explicit.
So i definitely recommend this, but be warned of the content if you contemplate reading it and are a little squeamish.
originally posted on:
January 13, 2013
It's hard to describe this book. It's incredibly, incredibly intense. It's painful at times, it's frustrating, it's depressing, it's desperately sad. It took me back to every crappy part of high school - the peer pressure, the clicks, the overwhelming desire to want to fit in somewhere. It made me think about how bloody hard it is to not really even know who you are and what you want. I never really knew what was going to happen next in the book - there was no underlying implication that a HEA was in the cards.
The love between Haz and Jesse was one of the most heart-aching stories of any book I've read. It was so raw and painful and hopeful.
It made me cry.
It made me jump onto iTunes at 2 in the morning to listen to the songs they were talking about in the book because - as with all brilliant stories - I felt like I was there with them.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I discovered that the author was only 17 when he wrote the book. As I said - intense. Couldn't put it down. Maybe grab some tissues and block out some serious time because you're not going to want to put this one down.
The love between Haz and Jesse was one of the most heart-aching stories of any book I've read. It was so raw and painful and hopeful.
It made me cry.
It made me jump onto iTunes at 2 in the morning to listen to the songs they were talking about in the book because - as with all brilliant stories - I felt like I was there with them.
I was absolutely gobsmacked when I discovered that the author was only 17 when he wrote the book. As I said - intense. Couldn't put it down. Maybe grab some tissues and block out some serious time because you're not going to want to put this one down.
February 5, 2013
I couldn't connect with this. This is not my experience and I get the strenuous bid for meaning but the writing did not serve this desire nor was I particularly moved. Plus, I just didn't think it was that good. I don't get the rave reviews.
I need an everyone-loves-but-me shelf for this.
I need an everyone-loves-but-me shelf for this.
May 6, 2016
When it comes to YA novels, this is it. Especially gay YA novels. I was surprised to read that the author was only 17 when this was released.
This has some depth, it's angsty as a young adult novel should be, and the characters are well constructed and real. They aren't one dimensional or annoying, but rather human, full of flaws. This book managed to capture so well the teenager years, and first love. I do have some minor complaints but they are easily glossed over when you look at the big picture, here.
Rather than cute and fluffy, like some other Gay YA books I've read (Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Dante and Aristotle discover the secrets of the universe) this one doesn't really go for that. The characters here portrayed are messed up, confused and irritating, at times.
But still, this books thrives on it because it contains a realistic approach on things. Definitely worth a good read.
This has some depth, it's angsty as a young adult novel should be, and the characters are well constructed and real. They aren't one dimensional or annoying, but rather human, full of flaws. This book managed to capture so well the teenager years, and first love. I do have some minor complaints but they are easily glossed over when you look at the big picture, here.
Rather than cute and fluffy, like some other Gay YA books I've read (Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, Dante and Aristotle discover the secrets of the universe) this one doesn't really go for that. The characters here portrayed are messed up, confused and irritating, at times.
But still, this books thrives on it because it contains a realistic approach on things. Definitely worth a good read.
December 3, 2013
I really wanted to love this one. I just did not connect with it. I'll probably read it again someday. Maybe it will be a better read for me later.
November 10, 2012
“We all collide”. It may only be a piece of graffiti scrawled on a brick wall, but, for fifteen-year-old Hazard James, it holds a deeper significance. We come into contact with countless people during our lifetime. Mostly these will be fleeting encounters that have little lasting effect, but occasionally, the collision will alter the course of our lives forever. This is precisely what happens in the case of Hazard and bad boy Jesse Wesley
Hazard is a good boy, who hates to be late for school and always does his homework on time. At least, he is until he tangles with the older, dangerously cool Jesse in the school cafeteria. For some reason, perhaps because Hazard stood up to him when so many are afraid to do so, Jesse takes a shine to the younger boy and sets about introducing him to an underworld of parties and drinking where rules cease to exist. Suddenly Hazard has gone from being invisible to the boy everyone stares at when he walks into a room at Jesse’s side, and the feeling of power is as intoxicating as any alcohol.
When, at Jesse’s instigation, their relationship progresses to a “friends with benefits” arrangement, Jesse assures Hazard it doesn’t mean anything. It isn’t as if they’re gay, after all, and they’re certainly not in love. Hazard believes him, so why does it start to hurt so much when they fight, or when he contemplates Jesse ditching him for someone else? By the time Hazard begins to make sense of it all, he’s in too deep. He can either face up to the truth about himself, or turn his back on the boy who has become such an integral part of his life.
I found Collide by J. R. Lenk to be an incredibly honest portrayal of adolescence and all the joy and pain that goes with it. This is a hard-hitting but immensely powerful coming of age story about two damaged boys realizing their feelings for each other and discovering that actions have consequences. Words have the power to wound, and the decisions we make impact not just on ourselves, but on those around us—a lesson both Hazard and Jesse learn the hard way.
I can recommend this to anyone looking for a novel about authentic teens which, although not romanticized in the slightest, will put your emotions through the shredder.
Written for Rainbow Book Reviews and the Boys on the Brink Blog
Hazard is a good boy, who hates to be late for school and always does his homework on time. At least, he is until he tangles with the older, dangerously cool Jesse in the school cafeteria. For some reason, perhaps because Hazard stood up to him when so many are afraid to do so, Jesse takes a shine to the younger boy and sets about introducing him to an underworld of parties and drinking where rules cease to exist. Suddenly Hazard has gone from being invisible to the boy everyone stares at when he walks into a room at Jesse’s side, and the feeling of power is as intoxicating as any alcohol.
When, at Jesse’s instigation, their relationship progresses to a “friends with benefits” arrangement, Jesse assures Hazard it doesn’t mean anything. It isn’t as if they’re gay, after all, and they’re certainly not in love. Hazard believes him, so why does it start to hurt so much when they fight, or when he contemplates Jesse ditching him for someone else? By the time Hazard begins to make sense of it all, he’s in too deep. He can either face up to the truth about himself, or turn his back on the boy who has become such an integral part of his life.
I found Collide by J. R. Lenk to be an incredibly honest portrayal of adolescence and all the joy and pain that goes with it. This is a hard-hitting but immensely powerful coming of age story about two damaged boys realizing their feelings for each other and discovering that actions have consequences. Words have the power to wound, and the decisions we make impact not just on ourselves, but on those around us—a lesson both Hazard and Jesse learn the hard way.
I can recommend this to anyone looking for a novel about authentic teens which, although not romanticized in the slightest, will put your emotions through the shredder.
Written for Rainbow Book Reviews and the Boys on the Brink Blog
April 1, 2016
What a great book!
I liked that it went through details until half of the story and not from the first pages.
Hell! I even woke up some morning and thought I was done with the entire book and everything between Jesse and Hazard was over. I felt so sad I didn't even want to get up. It would have been a heartbreaking ending. Happily, I realized I wasn't done. I needed to keep on reading. Finish it.
I felt shocked, excited, I loved Hazard, I loved Jesse. But there are some things I wish
to know. One of those is what the heck happened later! Haz deserved to be happy. They both. Together.
Was Emery gay? Did Hazard's mom openly accepted Jesse?
There were several mysteries. However, in truth it doesn't matter whether anybody was bi or gay. They wanted to be happy and, if not stubborn, they will be able.
Yeah, we all collide. I've collided with several people. And there'll always be someone whom to collide with.
I adored this book and have to admit I cried while reading (only a few times).
I liked that it went through details until half of the story and not from the first pages.
Hell! I even woke up some morning and thought I was done with the entire book and everything between Jesse and Hazard was over. I felt so sad I didn't even want to get up. It would have been a heartbreaking ending. Happily, I realized I wasn't done. I needed to keep on reading. Finish it.
I felt shocked, excited, I loved Hazard, I loved Jesse. But there are some things I wish
to know. One of those is what the heck happened later! Haz deserved to be happy. They both. Together.
Was Emery gay? Did Hazard's mom openly accepted Jesse?
There were several mysteries. However, in truth it doesn't matter whether anybody was bi or gay. They wanted to be happy and, if not stubborn, they will be able.
Yeah, we all collide. I've collided with several people. And there'll always be someone whom to collide with.
I adored this book and have to admit I cried while reading (only a few times).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2012
I could not finish this book. Sorry. But I can not read another page. I would not say it is a young adult book in any way. It glorifies drug use, and underage sex (a 14 year old having sex with 17 year old). It was set up in a diary format. Each entry less enjoyable then the last. There is no plot that I can see. Just ramblings on how 'difficult' it is for a spoiled 14 year old of a middle class family. How 'cool' the parties/drugs/sex is. While the sex scenes are not described in detail as they happen there is enough discussion about to leave zero doubt of what is occurring. I think the author was trying to skate around the young adult genre requirement of no sex but failed to understand that the its not the sex acts alone ( or lack of them) that makes a book eligible for young adult, its the theme, the message that the book conveys.
July 16, 2013
This isn't a perfect, or even typical, YA book but it just worked so well for me that I have to give it 5 stars. You probably have to be in the right mood to really appreciate it - it's long and slow-paced, almost philosophical at times. It does a lot of telling (rather than showing) and it's light on plot. It's more of a meandering journey through Hazard's adolescent years.
The story has a dark, melancholic undertone. I was always braced for something bad to happen, it just has that inevitably tragic feel. It's not a traditional romance, or even romantic, but it is a story of first love and deals with all the firsts that come with that. The feels were strong in this one.
If I could clone this story, I would, to read again and again. I really hope there is more from this author to come.
The story has a dark, melancholic undertone. I was always braced for something bad to happen, it just has that inevitably tragic feel. It's not a traditional romance, or even romantic, but it is a story of first love and deals with all the firsts that come with that. The feels were strong in this one.
If I could clone this story, I would, to read again and again. I really hope there is more from this author to come.
February 9, 2016
This is not an easy book and it wasn't very pleasant to read, but it was quite affecting and well written. It's a bleak coming-of-age story and I didn't expect it to be so grim. It's suffused with teenage isolation and rebellion and pain. I found it to be a bit of a downer. I wouldn't call this a romance, though there is a quite dysfunctional love story. I did consider DNF-ing this several times, but it's quite engaging through all the dysfunction and sadness and teenage angst. This is a gritty and emotional book that feels very real. It's raw and bleak and left me feeling that way myself.
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