Just for the Summer Abby Jimenez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ . . . Dual Perspective Emma and Justin. Online meet cute - I was instantly interested in the story. I found myself smiling at their banter while I read. I loved this book. There is are some deep topics of death and loss, childhood neglect and trauma and I definitely found myself crying at some parts. Abby Jimenez creates such developed characters with depth and intricate story lines. She very clearly put in her time studying trauma and I found some of the writing beautiful and impactful. I love Justin and Emma! I found myself giggling out loud at some parts of the story and would have read it in one day if it hadn’t been for having to go to sleep 😉 Also, for fans of Jimenez there are a lot of Easter eggs from previous books. #JustfortheSummer #justforthesummerabbyjimenez . . . My favorite section Pg 156 “What happens when water gets into a crack and it freezes?” “It expands,” I said. “Makes the crack bigger.” “Unhealed trauma is a crack. And all the little hard things that trickle into it that would have rolled off someone else, settle. Then when life gets cold, that crack gets bigger, longer, deeper. It makes new breaks. You don’t know how broken she was or what she was trying to do to fill those cracks. Being broken is not an excuse for bad behavior, you still have to make good choices and do the right thing. But it CAN be the reason. And sometimes understanding the reason can be what helps YOU heal.” ... “How do you learn to forgive her?” “You don’t have to forgive her. You really don’t. You can still love someone that you’ve decided not to speak to anymore. You can still wish them well and hope for the best for them. Choosing a life without them doesn’t mean you stop caring about them. It just means that you can’t allow them to harm you anymore. But if you don’t think your life would be better without them in it, then accept that they have cracks. Try to understand how they got them and help fill them with something that isn’t ice.” She peered at me. “If you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy. IT’s so much healthier than anger. For both of you.”