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A review by ashley_mrose530
Just For the Summer by Abby Jimenez
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This one is a little hard to review honestly. It was hard for me to read, harder than I thought it would be.
I didn't think that the toxic mother situation would get to me as much as it did since I don't have a toxic relationship with my own mom. But my best friend did and I saw the same traits in Amber as I did in her mom and it made me so angry the whole book. I was just so mad on behalf of Emma but also my best friend. And every time Emma made excuses for her mom hurt my heart so much.
Anyway, that made this book very personal for me, but yet I didn't enjoy it as much as I have with Jimenez's other romances. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two main characters. They had some cute moments together, but I didn't feel their love grow as much as I usually do with Jimenez's characters. And I know that has something to do with Emma's characterization and it was necessary for her arc, but it was still a bit of a let-down.
At the same time, Emma's character arc was really phenomenal. Jimenez has a great way of pushing her characters as far as they can go and then watching them break in order to watch them pull themselves back together as something new and better and I think she did that very well here too.
I do feel like Justin's personal issues took a back seat in this novel. He was going through a lot with his mom going to prison and him taking over the guardianship of his brother and sisters. That's a lot to deal with and I feel like it should have been a bigger deal and more of a focus in this book than it was. I think the book just didn't quite have the time to do that. I also think it would have been a lot if it had tried to go more into it. Therefore, I don't know if it was a good idea to have that element at all. I feel like it could have worked just as well if Justin didn't have quite as much to deal with so that the reader would expect his story to be more on the back burner like it was.
Finally, I LOVED that plot twist. I did not see it coming at all.I did read Part of Your World, but I don't have a good memory and I forgot most of the characters' names and what happened to them so I was very surprised when I finally connected everything together. The only perk of having a terrible memory!
So yeah, there are conflicting feelings about this one. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other two, but I understand why that is and I do appreciate the artistic ability it took to write this so well.
I didn't think that the toxic mother situation would get to me as much as it did since I don't have a toxic relationship with my own mom. But my best friend did and I saw the same traits in Amber as I did in her mom and it made me so angry the whole book. I was just so mad on behalf of Emma but also my best friend. And every time Emma made excuses for her mom hurt my heart so much.
Anyway, that made this book very personal for me, but yet I didn't enjoy it as much as I have with Jimenez's other romances. I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two main characters. They had some cute moments together, but I didn't feel their love grow as much as I usually do with Jimenez's characters. And I know that has something to do with Emma's characterization and it was necessary for her arc, but it was still a bit of a let-down.
At the same time, Emma's character arc was really phenomenal. Jimenez has a great way of pushing her characters as far as they can go and then watching them break in order to watch them pull themselves back together as something new and better and I think she did that very well here too.
I do feel like Justin's personal issues took a back seat in this novel. He was going through a lot with his mom going to prison and him taking over the guardianship of his brother and sisters. That's a lot to deal with and I feel like it should have been a bigger deal and more of a focus in this book than it was. I think the book just didn't quite have the time to do that. I also think it would have been a lot if it had tried to go more into it. Therefore, I don't know if it was a good idea to have that element at all. I feel like it could have worked just as well if Justin didn't have quite as much to deal with so that the reader would expect his story to be more on the back burner like it was.
Finally, I LOVED that plot twist. I did not see it coming at all.
So yeah, there are conflicting feelings about this one. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other two, but I understand why that is and I do appreciate the artistic ability it took to write this so well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment