Andie’s Book Club: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Sometimes, that same idea of reaching beyond your comfort zone is exactly what you need in life …
Are you the kind of person who comments on a Reddit thread? I love Reddit — the questions are vulnerable, the comments are relentless, and the honesty feels addictive. As I’m typing this, I realize Reddit is my Real Housewives. I don’t do reality TV, but give me a messy, heartfelt Reddit thread and I’m hooked.
The thing about anonymity online is that it can go one of two ways: you can use it to bravely step out of your comfort zone, or you can use it to tear someone else down. I like to think I fall in the first camp. There’s something magical - like a little lightning bolt - when you think of the perfect comment. And if no one agrees with you? No one has to know it was you anyway!
Sometimes, that same idea of reaching beyond your comfort zone is exactly what you need in life - not just online. Whether it’s taking a chance on a job, a relationship, or a new city, it’s the leaps that change us. That’s the heart of Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer.
Just for the Summer: Characters & Conflict
Emma, the main character, has made an art of staying unattached. Her childhood left her with more baggage than Delta, so she keeps moving, both physically and emotionally, with only her foster sister and best friend, Maddie, as her constant. But when Maddie convinces her to connect with a guy on Reddit (yes, Reddit!), Emma takes the risk… and falls hard.
This book dives deep into grief, healing, and second chances, and not the glossy, Hallmark kind. It’s about learning to trust yourself, to forgive the past, and to open your heart again, even when it feels impossible.
I loved living vicariously through Emma: a woman with no roots, traveling from place to place with nothing but her best friend and a suitcase. Meanwhile, Justin, the guy she meets online, is her total opposite: a small-town Midwesterner who craves stability and family. They both carry heavy baggage, and it’s what draws them together and keeps them apart.
Can they change for each other? Should they even try?
Just for the Summer kept me turning pages because of its layered characters, emotional honesty, and slow-burning relationship that feels real, messy, flawed, but hopeful. It’s a story that reminds you: taking a leap, even when it’s scary, might just lead you home.
