Obviously, this is a book that Candace poured her heart and soul into. You can feel the raw emotion of every nuance of this book bleeding onto every page. One part The Sky Is Everywhere with shades of I'll Meet You There and The Sun Is Also a Star, this is a near-perfect contemporary that will be the perfect summer beach read.

3.5 stars

I was provided an ecopy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I started reading this book a couple years ago and I think I only managed to get a couple chapters in before I put it down and didn't pick in back up. At the time I just wasn't in the mood for it. I finally picked it back up and while I didn't end up falling in love with it like everyone else has I did end up enjoying it. This book is a pretty hard book to read but at the same time it's hopeful. This book is about forgiveness. Forgiveness of others and yourself. My issue was with the characters. You are meant to feel bad for them and I did but at the same time I didn't particularly like either one of them and the romance didn't completely work for me either but not for the reason you might think (if you read this then you know what I am talking about). I get what the author did with this book and for that it gets points but it just didn't 100% work for me unfortunately.

I didn't get to read this book before it expired. I did flick through it before it expired though and was unsure that it was something I would enjoy reading. However, it is sure to gain an audience that really likes this style of book.

I enjoyed most of the characters and thought the storyline and message were so important. Overall, a great YA book

The one thing that struck out to me for this book was the title – I mean, Bash? Birdie? Are these real names or just nicknames? I was really curious and honestly I think that was one of the main reasons why I picked this book up. Glad to find out that Bash was the nickname for Sebastian but for Birdie, unfortunately, that’s her real name. I’m really not sure what her parents were thinking when they came up with that name because her sister and brother had normal names. But anyways, moving on to the actual book.

The overall premise is that Birdie and Bash meet at this party and sparks fly; however, nothing happens due to circumstances and before they can be reunited again, they are set along this collision path that is linked by this horrific tragedy. It’s a tragedy where they stand on opposite ends – the victim and the guilty. As they reunite again, they don’t realize that they are already set on this collision course and they obviously fall in love because it’s a YA novel and they always fall in love. So basically that’s the general gist of the plot.

For me, the most suspenseful thing was simply knowing what exactly this terrible tragedy was and how each one played a role in it and then slowly watching as the dominos fall as everything came into play. Obviously I knew how things were going to end – at the end of the day, YA is still YA and happy endings are still pretty much a given. The one thing I was more surprised with was the “guardian angel” that came and helped one of them out. I wasn’t sure how the author was going to play it but I was definitely a little surprised. I did think that the author did a cop out simply because it was the easy way out. I definitely wish there was more of a trial or issue to the conclusion of the story.

The relationship between Birdie and Bash was a little far-fetched for me mainly because they only met each other once at the party where, yes, a great conversation was held but that was it. They later found out that they were part-timing at the same job but still didn’t have too much of an interaction either. They were more coworkers than real friends. And the romance was also super short-lived. They only went on one real date and that was pretty much the end to their relationship. Yet somehow they fell in love with each other. I’m just sitting here feeling a bit skeptical about the whole thing. I’m not saying it wasn’t cute but I didn’t really sense the attraction as much nor did it seem realistic in any way.

Overall, I thought the book was okay. It was cute and while there were some heavy topics, the overall ambiance of the book was entertaining and relatively easy to read. The plot felt a little overdone because I know that other similar books are out there so it wasn’t anything new. The only new thing was the collision theory detail. So it felt like a book I had read previously with different characters.

I enjoyed reading this bittersweet yet hopeful story of two teens just trying to make their way in life. The two are just existing until the night that they meet one another. It was instant chemistry but it was over before it even started. Then a terrible accident brings both Birdie and Bash together;connecting them in so many ways. As I stated above, the story is a little bit bittersweet. I don't want anyone thinking that the adorable cover means it's going to be light and sweet. Because it isn't.

Go into the story the way you would go into reading a John Green story. In my opinion, I think the author has a similar writing style like Green. Plus I also find his books somewhat bittersweet but they are filled with all kinds of witty dialogue. Which is pretty much what you get in this book. Birdie is hella smart and I instantly felt like I could relate to her when we first see her through Bash's eyes. Bash was a great narrator and I enjoyed how well layered his character.

Overall, I think this is a great story for teens and young adults. The story is thought provoking, engaging, and filled with characters you won't soon forget.

*Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Absolutely LOVE this book!
Review on my blog: https://thebookishdeer.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/blog-tour-the-inevitable-collision-of-birdie-and-bash-by-candace-ganger/

I read 75 pages and so much about The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash rubbed me the wrong way. The way Bash describes Birdie when he meets her, him staring at her for literally an entire 3-4 minute song like a creep and yet she isn't creeped out, the way Birdie calls a girl named Stacey "Fat Stac(k)" in her head just because Stacey's shitty friends came up with the nickname, the dialogue Birdie and Bash exchange,...

This book isn't for me and that's okay.

Cool diversity note: Bash and his mom and Brazilian!

https://www.bustle.com/p/15-obsession-worthy-ya-contemporary-novels-hitting-shelves-in-2017-38635

What a punch in the gut! Though Bash was in the car that ran over Birdie's brother, he has never owned up to it. Now he finds himself working alongside Birdie in a roller skating ring and is feeling compelled to own up to it. As for Birdie, she is my spirit YA character: sassy and full of random trivia.

This is a great read for fans of Nicola Yoon, John Green, and Jandy Nelson.

Bash met Birdie at a party and was instantly smitten. Birdie herself was a bit taken with Bash as well and couldn't stop thinking about him, even as she tried to decide to cop to sneaking out to attend said party or not.

Unfortunately for Birdie and Bash, theirs is much more than a story of boy meets girl... Theirs is a story tied together by tragedy. And it's a tragedy big enough to tear them apart when they finally do come together once again.

I'm just going to get this out of the way first - The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash is way sadder than I expected. Seriously, I was not prepared for the feels!

Ok.

So a boy (Bash, aka Sebastian Alvarez) and a girl (Birdie) meet at a party. They've both been dragged to the party by their respective friends (Kyle and Violet) and they don't know each other. But as Bash tries to avoid his ex, and make her jealous at the same time, his eyes land on Birdie and he's instantly intrigued. They banter a bit and that, it seems, is that.

Until it turns out Birdie has gotten a job at the same skating rink Bash works at. Yay!

But no. See, before all that happens, something truly, terribly, bad happens first. And it does not bode well for the teens. Plus, Bash's mom is dying and he's flunking out of school. Birdie's lost the scholarship she needs to be able to attend college and pursue her career as a medical examiner. Again, things do not bode well for the teens!

But it's not all sad or bad. There's some levity to the story. There's lots of chemistry (literally and figuratively) and skating, too!

I always have one YA book tapped to be my companion at the beach for a day in the summer. Candace Ganger's debut novel, The Inevitable Collison of Birdie and Bash was that book.

Birdie and Sebastian (Bash) meet at a party. There's interest on both sides, but nothing happens that night. Well, nothing between the two of them. But something does happen that will change both their lives.... The reader knows what has transpired and can only be a silent witness as events unfold. The pair meet again and the sparks are still there.....but so is what happened....

Two great lead characters - I was happily in their corner, hoping that the fates would align for them. But Ganger has set a pretty high set of obstacles for the pair. Maybe tragedies is a better word to use.

The supporting cast is easy to categorize - Bash's friend Kyle is very easy to - well, to hate. Birdie's grandpa Sarge says little, but has much to say when he does speak. Ms. Camilla had me in tears. But it was only on reading the author's notes that I discovered Ganger had taken inspiration from her own life for some of the characters and heartbreak. You can feel that personal connection in the writing.

Birdie is a science nerd. Ganger cleverly uses science terms and Lessons of the Day to accompany situations, relationships and developments as the book progresses.

"Lesson of the Day: There are reasons - many reasons - some particles shouldn't combine, no matter how curious you are about the outcome. Sometimes things explode; sometimes they dissipate, evaporate, disintegrate. And sometimes they collide and become something so much more than you ever thought they could."

My only quibble is Bash's taking the blame for 'the incident' - I did have a hard time thinking that someone would actually do that. But, it's absolutely a driving point of the plot, so it's very necessary.

Loss, grief, love, friendship, coming of age and more populate this novel. It's a really wonderful debut. Read an excerpt of The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash. This book has 'movie' written all over it. Fans of John Green will enjoy this one.


Cr: Merinda Buchanan
"Candace Ganger is a young adult author, contributing writer for Hello Giggles, and obsessive marathoner. Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. Candace—aka—Candyland—has a severe Milky Way latter addiction + eats way too many donuts/doughnuts but all things in excess, amiright? FYI: She’s TOTALLY awkward in person (#sorrynotsorry). She lives in Ohio with her family." You can connect with Candace on her website. like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter.

Halfway to the end and I can't go any further. Ack! Sorry NetGalley & book team. Just can't finish.

I didn't like any of the characters -- I get to a certain extent, you're not supposed to because these characters even hate themselves -- and the story was awful and depressing. Normally, I like books that make me "feel," but this didn't spark anything in me to go on.

I get that Birdie is a nerd, but ending each section with something on chemical reactions and whatnot took the story a little far into... left wing/radical/devout/religious nerdism? I'll keep it a little longer on my reader and may update this review if ever I finish.

Was hoping others feel similarly with me that this book is just a cruel waste of my freedom this summer and we've got other books to read and things to do.

THE INEVITABLE COLLISION OF BIRDIE & BASH by Candace Ganger:
To be honest, I did not care for this book very much at the beginning and THEN I became totally hooked. Birdie and Bash (Sebastian) are high school seniors who end up working together at a roller skating rink, but their lives are so much more entangled than that. There's romance – an attraction first felt at a party that Birdie sneakily attends. There's tragedy – with the possibility of death shadowing both of their families. There's the angst of teenage friendships being tested – with Bash in particular making poor (and sometimes almost inexplicable) choices in regards to his "buddy," entitled and manipulative Kyle. And there's suspense ... debut author Ganger uses alternating narration from Birdie and Bash so readers know their thoughts and secrets while wondering when each will see the other differently. There's a few too many cliches and some rather clever writing - particularly in regards to a recurring chemistry motif. Plus there's loyalty – from grandparents, caring adults, friends and each other. Full of emotion, THE INEVITABLE COLLISION OF BIRDIE & BASH is a relatively quick and easy read with greatest appeal for later middle and early high school readers.

The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash is about two people whose lives intersect at different times, each time with a different impact and outcome.

Bash is the child of a single immigrant mother whose health is ailing. It's no wonder that he's hardly doing well at school and hanging with the wrong person, namely his friend Wild Kyle, who happens to be the son of his mom's former employer. He meets Birdie at a party and the two engage in some comical banter. Unfortunately, their encounter doesn't have the chance to go anywhere because Bash is pulled away to take care of his friend. So they're stuck wondering about each other. Birdie has more on her mind than just the mysterious boy from the party. She's unsure about her future and doesn't know how to break it to her mother. She also has the added pain of not getting along with her out of control younger sister. At the very moment that Birdie decides she has to speak to her mother about a secret she's been holding, her family's world collapses. Birdie is left with the guilt of causing the accident and Bash is left with the heavy weight of the truth about what happened.

I'm not going to sugarcoat it: this was a tumultuous read. At any moment you're either gutted for Bash because life has been so cruel to him or ticked off at him because he's being an ass or boneheaded about something. Birdie's a mess because she's been unhappy for a while and sometimes she becomes almost detached from her life when she becomes so analytical. Then there's that odd moment of lightheartedness between them that makes you wish you could wrap them up in a bubble and keep them there. The somber truth about what connects them outside that bubble is inescapable. Granger takes our emotions all over the place as we watch Bash and Birdie pick up all the broken pieces of their lives and make attempts at moving on or in Bash's case, redemption. I was close to tears several times. If it weren't for that glimpse of hope down the road I don't know that I could have kept my composure.

I'm in between on this book. The events that transpired got me emotionally but otherwise I have mixed feelings about these two characters. I didn't feel a strong connection to either of them but rather I felt I was looking in from the outside the entire time. I will add that I'm glad that I read it as it's a reminder that everyone's life is more complicated than what we assume we know, and that Birdie and Bash are as complicated as can be.

~ Bel

When I first started reading The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash, I kind of expected it to be a lighthearted comedy/romance that would make me smile the whole way through. Maybe I forgot exactly what the book was about, but I definitely got something with a lot more feelings to it than a simple romantic comedy. In fact, it really made me think, and those who follow my reviews know that I love a book that makes me think.

I have read my share of beautifully written and amazing books, and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash is definitely one that I want to add to that list. It has so much going for it – it does have a lot of fun moments in it, but it also talks about a lot of important issues that really make it worth reading. It isn’t just your typical summer romance, so don’t think that – it has a lot of serious things going for it that really make it a deep, meaningful, and fantastic read.

Sure, The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash starts off in a way that reminds me of a lot of other young adult contemporary/romance novels, but as the book progresses, it really stands apart from the crowd. It’s such a great read, and the writing is something that hooked me from the very beginning, so I can only say good things about it.

The characters in this book were not only so much fun to get to know, but their story lines ran deep and they had a ton of personality that made them feel so real. I honestly felt like I knew both of the main characters personally, and it was a real treat to have them as my bookish friends for a while. They grew as characters so much in the story and it made them become incredibly special to me. I was sad when I had finished the book, because I felt so attached to them.

If you want a really great book to amp up your summer reading, The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash is sure to quickly become a favorite. I highly recommend this one to pretty much anyone who is looking for a deep story line with characters who will make you feel all the emotions.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

the inevitable collision of birdie & bash looks like your standard contemporary ya—lighthearted, frothy, fun. except in this case judging a book by its cover will give you some serious whiplash, because this novel is heavy, sad, and tragic. though this is a love story, it probably shouldn't be.

both birdie and bash suffer some great tragedies in the month that spans the novel's timeline. and the fact that bash is inextricably linked to birdie's tragedy makes their entire relationship problematic. and bash knows this. he spends most of the time treating birdie badly, so it's hard to understand what about bash keeps her coming back.

chemistry and chemical reactions thread the narrative as a way to explain the connections between characters and events. but in the end, there is too much plot and not enough character development going on here. the sum total of all the horrible circumstances that birdie and bash are dealing with, is too much, it becomes too hard to believe that things could be that bad. or be resolved so magically.

and maybe that's the problem i had, there was so much that needed to be fixed, that when everything does blow up, the way things are solved doesn't feel earned or realistic to me.

This will go live on my blog (for tour) on Tuesday. Kellyvision.wordpress.com

As a couple (or even as friends), Birdie and Bash don't make sense. She is incredibly intellectual, more of a thinker than anything else; he is much more of a feeler and prone to bad decisions. They meet at a party and sparks fly...and then they end up having more in common than they should (vague for spoiler reasons but it's not like they're related).

It took a bit for me to love this book but oh, I do. (If, like me, you don't exactly love Bash, Birdie's chapters are better and will likely make you change your mind about him.)

Best of all? This book is incredibly clever. Birdie makes math jokes I still don't get, but I feel smarter for reading a book with them. But it's also full of lines I DID get and laugh at.

This book is an absolute delight. Recommended. (NOTE: it will also make you cry.) Recommended anyway.

I initially saw this book at ALA and thought the cover and title looked interesting, so I grabbed a copy on NetGalley without reading the description. I was quite surprised at the depth of this book. Much like the characters, the book wasn't perfect, but based on this one, I have a feeling we can expect great things from Candace Ganger.

I couldn't finish this book. It sounded promising, but I couldn't connect to any of the characters. Thank you for sending me this for review though.