As someone who is an avid fan of reading, constantly finding a new book to enjoy and escape through, I was lingered on this book for a while. For good reasons of course, because Abby Jimenez always manages to capture an entire world in a mere 400 pages. Her debut book, “The Friend Zone” is the beginning of a journey for all of the characters in her future stories. All of the characters are in some way connected, whether they are simply best friends or crossed paths once years ago. I would recommend reading her other books that predate just for the reasons that they follow a timeline, and could contain spoilers. It doesn’t make the story hard to follow by any means, but if you’re worried about spoilers, read the others first.
With all of that out of the way, “Just for the Summer” is a heartfelt and captivating novel from beginning to end. The main characters are Emma and Justin who, and just bear with me on this because I thought it was dumb at first too, met on Reddit. Yup, Reddit. Justin supposedly has a “curse”, where every woman who dates him and then breaks up with him immediately finds “The One” right after. He writes an online confession about his experience, and Emma discovers it at work, messaging him about having the exact same problem. They continue to talk about their shared experience, becoming closer and closer until they joke about even meeting up in person. When Emma realizes the requirements of her job could lead her to his city, she takes her chances and they meet up in person. Since they’ve hit it off so well, they come up with a mutually beneficial pact; they go on a series of dates and after a significant amount of time has passed, they break up, which leads to their “The One”.
Following them on this journey, you are taken through a story full of ups and downs not just in a romantic relationship, but with friendships and family members. Jimenez continues to incorporate real world situations, showcasing that life is and should be complicated, and that books should represent the hardships instead of just being a happily ever after story. I loved the way she makes the relationship between Emma and Justin not feel rushed and that within the first 100 pages it feels like they’ve known each other for years instead of days. Usually, authors can rush the characters’ story, making it feel forced or awkward. I’ve never had this experience with a book by Jimenez, including “Just for the Summer”. It has to be one of my favorite reads of this year, easily claiming one of the top 10 spots of my rank this year.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable rollercoaster of emotions that I would recommend to anyone looking for a good read or looking to get out of a slump.
