I loved One by Crossan and looked forward to reading this but for some reason neither plot captured me and I just didn't care what happened to either character - there just seemed to be too many issues in one book.

a very clever book and so relevant today.. two young people who at first glance seem culturally miles apart, but as a result of falling foul of the law have to spend time together and become star-crossed lovers. Nicu's stumbling English and struggle to avoid being bullied by both peers and teachers at school is depressing to read , as is Jess to whom appearances mean a lot and yet her family life means that she has such a lot to hide. A bleak, emotional read.

I've seen lots of people online talking about just how relevant this book is and the timing of its release couldn't be better. With Trump's stupid ban and Brexit causing increasing rate of race-related crimes and abuse, the young adult audience need to be made aware of the seriousness of these issues and the pain they cause.

Jess is a Year 10 student dealing with an abusive step-father. Often forced into filming her mother's torment, Jess knows that if she acts out it is her mum who will experience the punishment. Trapped and rebellious, Jess has no real friends to turn to. Then there's Niku, the other half of the narrative. Niku is Romanian and moves to England temporarily with his family so that they can earn money and send some of it back home. Niku wants to settle in England despite the racism sent his way, but his family keep talking about going home and providing him with an arranged marriage.

Of course, Jess and Niku connect and a friendship is formed. The dynamics between the pair are constantly evolving and based upon young adult conventions such as social acceptance and slang, but in some ways it is more true a friendship than many adult ones. I loved how Niku was very patient with Jess and kept his thoughts separate from his actions, exemplifying maturity that his peers not only think he is incapable of, but is in fact more noteworthy than their own. Meanwhile, the background characters in the story, Meg, Dan and so on, aren't developed at all but this isn't necessary as they are there to play the roles of the 'society' - to be representations and nothing more.

I feel like it would be impossible to write a review of We Come Apart without mentioning the writing style. Calling it "unique" feels like an understatement. It could have been a poem in parts. The use of minimal language which carried huge significance meant that the book was memorable, fluid in form and had a sense of immediacy. Like the characters were telling their story to only you.

I heard recently that statistically more women read or are "better" readers because they are typically more empathetic and reading is about empathising with characters. Whether you think this is true or not, I thoroughly empathised with both Jess and Niku. The ending was so emotionally powerful, packed with so much that I had to re-read it multiple times.

We Come Apart was a quick read but one that was nonetheless strikingly poignant. It's a special book that I hope will find its way into the hands of many readers who can also appreciate how important these issues are.

The book was very easy to read and it isn't bad but it was just so dull for me. The topics and issues that the book discusses are important but everything felt too rushed or too simplified. I really couldn't connect to the characters.

Can't wait to buy this one for my school library. I love Sarah Crossan's style - One had me in floods of tears - so a collaboration with Brian Conagham was always going to be interesting and I certainly wasn't disappointed! Have already been recommending this to English teachers at school. Will be pleased to see it once published as I didn't get the full effect of the poetry as an arc.

Jess and Nicu are two teens growing up in the harshest of conditions. Both are battling to stay afloat in a cruel world and find an unlikely partnership in each other. Written in alternating POVs, in short chapters, and with completely unique voices, this quick read was unlike anything I have ever read before. It was intense, sad, uplifting, heartbreaking, eye-opening ... so many things! This is the kind of story that should be read in schools; so many teens could benefit from reading such an important book with a clear message about acceptance, abuse, bullying and more. I highly recommend this unique and powerful read that ended all too soon.

Yay another Sarah Crossan book written in verse.

I really enjoyed the characters, I loved both of them. I can see this book being compared to Eleanor and Park, but British, and written in verse. I was really rooting for both characters and their relationship. I really enjoyed Nicu's accent/English in this book and the way he picks up different sayings in English. He tries so hard and is such a positive, up-beat person completely contrasting Jess's violent life.

But.

I felt the book had no conclusion. I put all the effort into getting to know these characters and their story and then it came to an abrupt stop with no resolution for the characters. [ What happens with Jess? Does she fight for Nicu? What happens to the bullies? Did Dan die? Is Nico in trouble? What does Jess do with all that money? What happens with Nicu? Is he in trouble? Will his parents stick up for him? Will he be forced to enter into an arranged marriage? Will Nicu tell his parents about Jess? What happens with Jess's Mum, she's at a friend's house, does she go back to Terry? Does she go to a woman's shelter? Does Jess reunite with her mum? Will Terry be arrested? (hide spoiler)] Fifteen unanswered questions.

Jess and Nicu meet during Community Service and slowly become friends. Nicu is Romanian and longs to escape his future of an arranged marriage. Jess suffers a hideous home life, forced into actions she can't bear. They make each others lives that bit more bearable. But will they get a happy ending?
I LOVED We Come Apart; I haven't stopped thinking about Nicu and Jess; I think they'll stay with me for a while. Told in verse, from alternating perspectives, each voice is distinct and I particularly enjoyed Nicu's turn of phrase as he wrestles with the English language. Jess can be hard to like in places, but is realistically portrayed I think. The writing style allows for nothing extraneous and I raced through the book, desperate to find out the fate of the star crossed friends. Themes of immigration and racism are timely, considering the current climate but the real focus is on friendship and overcoming hardship. By the end, I was in pieces and my heart had been thoroughly stamped upon. But in a good way.

Brilliant combination of 2 of the best current YA authors. Two very distinct voices from two very different backgrounds, 2 star crossed lovers thrown together by circumstance but this is definitely not a textbook romance. I was rooting for them all the way through as they strived to overcome the obstacles that life threw their way. My only criticism was the sudden ending, reading the review copy on kindle it took me totally by surprise and I had to double check to make sure i hadn't lost it somehow! Teens do like a satisfying ending and I can see hem being very upset by this although as an adult it made sense. Happily ever after would not have been a fitting ending for this book.

I read this pretty much in one sitting. It was easy to read but also had a lot of very heavy subjects to addressed. Jess's life of abuse and worry intersect with Nicu's life trying to live life in the UK, while fending off the pressure of his parents. These teenagers affect each others lives in various ways and give the readers hope that they will achieve their dreams and forge a new life away from their various troubles.

The most interesting thing about this book was the way that Nicu's sections were written. They were almost in verse, with a lot of broken English as he struggled to become proficient in the language. It showed a lot about how people treat foreigners, putting him in the bottom classes because his English wasn't good enough to express himself even though he was actually really smart. It really hit upon the point that sometimes when you make assumptions about people based on their race or level of English it can push them down and make these assumptions true because they can't get out of the box that everyone is putting them in.

The ending disappointed me. It felt a bit of a let down and I felt what happened with Nicu was a bad portrayal of racial stereotypes. The worse thing about it was that the authors seemed to make such an effort with his character through the rest of the book and then just threw it away.

If you're looking for a read that's easy and brings up a lot of interesting points then this could be a good place to start.

It's taking me longer to digest this book than it took me to read it - because it was just incredible. I didn't know what to expect, and I have never read a YA in verse before, and it astounded me. I was amazed with how much I connected and understood the characters so quickly, how the story was just as gut wrenching and sweet and humorous even though there were no sweeping lengthy sentences to string out every detail. The authors give you just enough to be immersed and compelled, but don't overwhelm you. And the ending, THE ENDING! Uh, cry.

I can't fault this book - an easy 5 stars from me!

I don't use the word heartbreaking often but this book really did break me!

I felt a building sense of dread from the start. The book was very well-plotted, with lots of hints that something terrible was going to happen and still delivered a gut punch when it did!

The characters were beautifully crafted. Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan created voices that felt very authentic and complimented each other really well.

This is a fantastic collaboration and a really moving story.

This was a quick pleasant read. I can't give it more than three stars though because I had quite a few issues with it. It is such a relevant book though and so I think people should read it.

I'll start off with the good! Nicu was a lovely character. He was so adorable and sweet, I loved him! I'm not sure which author wrote Nicu's POV but it was amazing. The author completely submerged themselves into writing this character and I found Nicu was done very well. I would like to know who wrote Nicu so if anyone knows, please comment on my review and tell me! I absolutely adored reading the broken English because Nicu put things in such an unusual way and some of it was really beautiful. So Nicu and the writing of Nicu was spot on for me. Another good thing about this book was the way the racism was portrayed. People were so cruel to Nicu because of his skin colour and because he was Romanian. It wasn't just students who were malicious but teachers and adults too. I don't know how people can be so awful to others just because of their skin colour, their religion or their place of origin etc but that prejudice is everywhere these days. So many people are for Brexit, the Muslim ban, the wall etc because they don't want foreigners in their country. It's absolutely ridiculous and this book portrays just a bit of that hate towards Nicu & his family.

The mediocre - the writing as a whole. Verse is usually hit or miss with me. This unfortunately was a miss for me. It just didn't add anything to the book. I did like how it was quick. Verse usually skips all the waffle and jumps right into the story and focuses on what's important so I enjoyed that aspect but on a whole, it was just okay. I also didn't really like Jess. She made it hard to like her but I did feel bad for her. I didn't enjoy her chapters as much as I enjoyed Nicu's.

The bad - the ending. I just didn't understand it. Maybe I'm not supposed to understand it but I didn't like the end either. While I was reading this, I felt like something like that would happen but I was hoping I was wrong.

I would recommend this book if you're in the mood for a fast young adult book.

* I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Nicu's cute descriptions -

"My hair stick to me like I step out of deep blue sea."

"She not believe I am wild animal like other delinquents. Because I not wild animal. I am pussy cat."

"And when these TAKING THE PISS things happen, I always search for the special eyes of Jess. Always I search."

"My body goes wobbly."

"I want to jump, cheer, whoop. Sit on nine clouds."

"In movie we touching elbows together: gentleness, delightness. And it feel like voltage speeding through my body."

"I dream of my heart beating on top of Jess heart. So we beat like one."

~~~~

"‘Nicu, people here only see our skin, not the thing within,’"

We Come Apart is such a powerful, sweet little read. It is a free verse novel and therefore a fairly quick read. The story explores issues faced by immigrants today, as well as the topics of friendship, love, and racism. The novel has dual-perspectives. There is Nicu, a Romanian immigrant who speaks little English. And then there is Jess, a London-born girl who has fallen into a bad crowd. As the story unfolds, a friendship turned romance is formed. The writing is phenomenal. I cannot get enough of Crossan's free verse novels. They tend to leave a mark on the reader that doesn't let you go. I highly recommend this story full of heart.

Star crossed lovers in a modern environment

This is an enthralling story and, unfortunately shows how racism and prejudice is still alive and well amongst some of our teenagers.

Jess is in Year 10 at school and is a bit of a rebel. She is caught shoplifting and made to do community service picking up rubbish. Nicu is at the same school but is Rumanian and suffers terrible racism from the pupils there purely because he is not British.

The two of them are thrown together whilst doing their community service and for Nicu it is love at first sight whereas Jess slowly finds herself drawn to this unusual boy who is so different from her school friends.

Both of them come from troubled backgrounds, Louise, Jess’ mum is living with a violent man, Tony, who revels in beating his partner up and making Jess film the scene. Nicu’s parents are obsessed with saving enough money to provide a dowry for his bride who will come from Rumania.

As the two become closer they share the secrets of their lives and finally concoct a plan to run away together to start a new life. Do they make it, you will need to read this to find out.

I liked the way that this book was written, it jumps from Jess’s story to Nicu’s story on every page and the language that Nicu uses is very amusing. However this is one of the reasons that he is picked on so much at school and I do hope that the youth of today are beginning to realise how destructive this can be. I have a good feeling that things are improving, although possibly not in America!

This is quite a short book but I feel it could be used as an example to our young people as well as older people on how not to behave just because someone is different.

Dexter

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

I received this book through netgalley. I read it quickly but did not really enjoy it. I found the voice of Nicu a Romanian written in faltering English hard to read, I went into editor mode and wanted to correct all his mistakes. The formatting on the page was not to my taste either but this could be a quirk of my Kindle App and not be the same for others. It was untidy and not always easy to see initially who was 'talking'. It is also unfortunate that I am also reading another book about bullying, group sessions and unhappy teenagers. Two very different books but both troubled. The ending was clever and did leave me wondering about what happened next? However, I did not empathise enough with the characters to think about it for very long.

I do wonder who will want to read it because teenagers who find reading difficult will find this difficult to read. The issues are very relevant to any teenager and so should be read by all, experience suggests it will not be widely read. I hope to be proved wrong because it deals with a number of very important issues.

This book is definitely coming out at the right time (with what's happening around the world right now) and its message is immensely powerful.
It follows two unlikely friends as they meet and get to know each other as a part of a juvenile reform course due to both Nicu and Jess being caught shoplifting. Nicu has recently emigrated to the UK from Romania and Jess lives in an unsafe and abusive home.
As this book isn't officially released yet, I'll just list the things that really stuck out for me:

- the look into Nicu's mind as he navigates his way in a new country and how hard it is to be in an unfamiliar environment and having to learn a new language, especially when no one gives you a chance (as is often the case in this book).
- It's also a glance behind those kids who act up in class. I often always thought as a kid, 'Why don't they just stop and do what they're told? Why are they so naughty?' etc., when there is ALWAYS a reason, even if it isn't always apparent to you. Having a look inside Jess's mind on why she did the things that she did was incredibly eye-opening.
- the way that teachers treated Nicu was absolutely despicable. Not even giving him the time of day, not even a smile and always assuming the worst of him was absolutely heartbreaking to read. A teacher can literally make or break a student.
- It's told in dual perspective and in verse, and to be honest it felt like the wrong format. I honestly don't understand why it was told in verse and it certainly didn't bring anything to the table for me.
- Another thing I was unsure about was the writing from Nicu's perspective. It felt almost wrong to be reading the disjointed English and the innermost thoughts of Nicu when he was written by a white man. I'm still unsure how I feel about this because while the message of the book is super important, it just felt a little weird to me if that makes sense.
- The ending was absolutely gut-wrenching. Prepare yourself.