Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Just for the Summer

I loved this so much. I love Abby Jimenez - I will pre-order all her books always - and this one was maybe my favorite ever. I am continually impressed and moved by how deep the character development felt in this, and how deeply and emotionally Jimenez deals with major trauma and mental health struggles; this book is probably the most vivid example of that and I thought it was just gorgeous. It is NOT light and easy - though I loved knowing that there would be an HEA (thank you genre fiction!!), I appreciated that the mention and dealing with the characters’ stuff wasn’t cursory. I LOVED the main characters and the ways they grew and changed, and also felt (as always) that the side characters were beautifully drawn. (Also love the mentions, big and small, of characters from Abby Jimenez’s other books - ones we love and ones we hate!! The various webs that intersect in her world building just feel so good!)

I loved the audio narration by Christine Lakin and Zachary Webber (both SO good), though the author Q&A was a little disappointing to me; I’ll add it to the content warnings but as someone who has major trauma from a house fire I found AJ’s giggles about the major fire plot point in the book kind of off-putting. As I said I will still for sure order her next one and can’t wait to read it - I drew this out for five days with much effort and it made me so happy. ❤️

Content Warnings

abidavisf's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As I predicted, Just for the Summer had me bawling, laughing, blushing, and yelling at the sky.

Abby Jimenez has done it again. How she is able to create such beautifully complex characters and weave them all into this interloping Minnesotan family tree is beyond me. The time, effort and logic that must go into making these connections is astounding and I LOVE THEM ALL.

Emma broke me in so many ways. The life that was chosen for her was so unjust, and yet she fought her way to become this caring, empathetic and adventurous woman. Watching her accept and heal from her trauma through this tale was both beautiful and heart-breaking. No child should ever have to experience what Emma did. I am so proud of her but, most of all, I hope she is proud of herself.

Where to start with Justin? The unicorn symbolism woven throughout this book fits him so perfectly. He is available emotionally, a protector, a carer, but also deeply burdened by his own trauma. The juxtaposition of Emma, whose trauma began at a young age, and Justin, whose was given to him in his twenties, is so interesting. Emma was able to teach him how to handle the shock of his seemingly perfect and romanticised life turning inside out through her own experiences and her own empathy, which, as Maddy points out, is her strongest quality and yet also her biggest weakness. Justin deserves the world, and I hope that we can see him get that in later books. No doubt they’ll pop up again around Minnesota.

Maddy, Maddy, Maddy. She’s a real one. To be loved by somebody like Maddy is a beautiful thing, and something that everybody deserves. I’d love to see more of her and meet her moms, but I also think that I know enough about Maddy to know that she was so loved in her life that she has grown to have the ability to care incredibly deeply for those that she loves. She has a beautiful soul, loves fiercely, observes and tends for everyone she can, and is truly a gift to all who know her. She’s also hilarious. 10/10 would be her best friend.

Just for the Summer is a grilling tale of trauma, grief, friendship, and love. It encourages its readers to hold those they love best, to choose empathy over anger, but also to set boundaries when needed to protect themselves. You should always love you more.

Thank you, Abby, for another life-affirming read that I will be thinking about forever. I can’t wait to re-read already.

Content Warnings

sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense medium-paced

Originally, I figured that I could wait until Abby Jimenez's JUST FOR THE SUMMER was released before I would read it. However, the anticipation became too much, so I requested the book and have no regrets.

I read this novel a few weeks ago during a cross country flight, and was so glad that I was able to finish it in one sitting. As I didn't read the synopsis, I was pleasantly surprised that we were returning to the world of Royaume - the site for PART OF YOUR WORLD, and YOURS TRULY. We do get decent page time or cameos from our favorite couples.

From the opening Reddit thread - which leads to sliding into DMs and then exchanging contact information to text, to the epilogue, JUST FOR THE SUMMER is filled with signature Abby humor, and little Easter eggs for her fans (For example, J names are the worst).

Like any Abby book, you will hit some emotional bumps that require some tissues for the reader. It is not all fun and laughs for Emma and Justin. Emma works to unpack childhood trauma about abandonment and being able to quickly leave things, especially once her mother appears back on the scene. There's also a huge reveal about her family that her mom has kept from her her whole life, and it basically rocks Emma's world. That's not to say that Justin doesn't have any emotional weight, because he does - he must care for his three much younger siblings.

While you do not need to read either PART OF YOUR WORLD or YOURS TRULY, I highly recommend that you read both before diving into JUST FOR THE SUMMER. PART OF YOUR WORLD because it will make you understand the events in this novel better, and YOURS TRULY just because it's my favorite Abby novel to date.

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