A raw story of dysfunctional families and unexpected friendship... Every Other Weekend by Abigail Johnson (Review & #Giveaway) @The_FFBC

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 - Leave a Comment

Welcome to my tour stop! Learn about this new release and enter the giveaway below...

Every Other Weekend

By Abigail Johnson
YA Contemporary
Hardcover & ebook, ? Pages
January 7th 2020 by Inkyard Press

Summary

What if your safe place…is a person?

Adam Moynihan’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a home life so perfect that it could have been a TV show straight out of the 50s. Then his oldest brother died. Now his fun-loving mom cries constantly, he and his remaining brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired proved himself a coward by moving out when they needed him most.

Jolene Timber’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. As an aspiring director, she should know, because she’s been reimagining her life as a film ever since she was a kid. With her divorced parents at each other’s throats and using her as a pawn, no amount of mental reediting will give her the love she’s starving for.

Forced to spend every other weekend in the same apartment building, the boy who thinks forgiveness makes him weak and the girl who thinks love is for fools begin an unlikely friendship. The weekends he dreaded and she endured soon become the best part of their lives. But when one’s life begins to mend while the other’s spirals out of control, they realize that falling in love while surrounded by its demise means nothing is ever guaranteed.

(Affiliate links included.)

Goodreads│Amazon│B&N│Book Depository│Target│iBooks│Kobo│GoogleBooks

Pre-Order Campaign

ANYONE in ANY COUNTRY who pre-orders a copy of EVERY OTHER WEEKEND or places a hold/requests a copy from your local library will receive an exclusive swag pack including:

(1) bookmark
(1) signed & personalized quote bookplate
(1) exclusive sticker featuring the original artwork by Marissa Korda

There's also an amazing giveaway! Find more info HERE.

My Review

EVERY OTHER WEEKEND is a contemporary YA with all the feels. It's messy and emotional, with plenty of drama, but also fun and quirky. The characters are easy to like and commiserate with as they deal with their dysfunctional families, while also falling in love with this story as they fall in love with each other. Recommended to YA contemporary readers.

I couldn't help but love these characters in all their crazy messiness that has become their lives. There's just something raw and vulnerable about them from the beginning that immediately drew me in. I really loved the whole premise of them both seeing each other every other weekend when they're visiting their dads' places and how their relationship grows over all the weekends they're together. I also loved the other relationships in this story, not necessarily the other people, but more in how vivid and well-drawn the other characters were and all the tension and challenges all the relationships posed. There were some really difficult topics this story brings out, but there definitely wasn't any rationalization for any of the poor behaviors as it was all portrayed in a straight-forward way that just makes you relate to the main characters and think at the same time. The ending was sweetly perfect.

I also had a few issues with the story, but nothing that you wouldn't find in most books in the genre. There was quite a bit of crude content and some things that were just tough to read. I'm not always big on drama or when characters are inconsistently not smart and so a few spots were a little too much for me. There were also places where the writing was a little jerky or where there were typos (maybe it could have used another copy edit pass or two?).

In the end, was it what I wished for? This story was a mix of heavy and sad and sweet. I loved the hero's family dynamics as well as some of the friendships and definitely the romance. If you enjoy messy, emotional YA romances that are about a whole lot more than the romance, then check this one out. I'd also suggest this to fans of Katie McGarry.

Content: Swearing, innuendo, derogatory comments, references to affairs, smoking, drinking, sexual assault, divorce, separation (several things that might be triggers for some).
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through the Fantastic Flying Book Club, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.

About the Author

Abigail was born in Pennsylvania. When she was twelve, her family traded in snow storms for year round summers, and moved to Arizona. Abigail chronicled the entire cross-country road trip (in a purple spiral bound notebook that she still has) and has been writing ever since. She became a tetraplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident when she was seventeen, but hasn’t let that stop her from bodysurfing in Mexico, writing and directing a high school production of Cinderella, and becoming a published author.

Website│Goodreads│Facebook│Twitter│Pinterest│Instagram│YouTube

Tour Schedule