Just for the Summer

Dammit, this is the second Jimenez in a row that's made me cry during the third-act breakup. She's SO good at this.

Emma and Justin are wonderful, both separately and together, but better together once she gets some real help for the trauma responses that she lives with, understandably. As usual, the text message dialogue is excellent, as was Justin's creating questionnaires for dates (I do love a good nerd). Neither of them has an easy life, and Jimenez really excels at portraying complex people who fall in love despite/in spite of all the hard things that happen in life.

Both Briana/Jacob and Alexis/Daniel from the previous two books in the series play roles in this one, and it all comes full circle and made me immediately want to re-read Part of Your World. Maybe I will.

Also there's an ugly dog that Justin names after his best friend, who moves out to get married. Is he the asshole? lol

CW: childhood abuse/neglect, mentions of foster care (past), death of a parent (past), parental instability, second family