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. Synopsis from Goodreads PERSONAL REVIEW Thank you to Harlequin Teen and NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy of Every Other Weekend in exchange for an honest review. I've never read an Abigail Johnson book, but I clearly need to find and read of them now! The synopsis of Every Other Weekend is actually what grabbed my attention first; I was really interested to read about teens going through their parents divorces and how it affects them. But this book was about so much more: family dynamics, romantic relationships, who to trust and who to turn to when things are burning down around you. I fell in love with this book. Excellent Dual POVs I loved that we are given both Jolene and Adam’s point of view because it added so much depth to the story! They are coming from such different backgrounds and experiences, so it’s so important that we get to know both of them and really feel what they’re going through. Adam’s family has so much healing to do, and he is also struggling with his anger, while Jo’s parents are absolutely horrible and it’s heartbreaking to see what her life is like. I fell in love with both of them and my heart broke for them so many times while reading this. Jo and Adam’s Experiences are Heartbreaking There are sections of this book that are hard to read because it's so easy to picture someone falling into the exact same situation. Adam's experiences revolve around his oldest brother's death and how the aftermath has completely changed his family. His relationship with each of his parents is fractured and I really felt for what they must be going through. Jo's story broke my heart. She literally has no adult role-model to rely on and of course she looks for that caring and understanding elsewhere. But Johnson does an excellent job of never victim blaming, instead showing the immediate love and support Jo gets from those who know her. Wonderful Storytelling I honestly couldn’t put this book down! There is a slow build towards the climax, but I loved all the different facets of Jo and Adam’s lives that I wanted to follow them around forever! Johnson has done a wonderful job of creating characters that go through real life issues in a realistic way. I wish we'd gotten to see Jo at school and in her "other life" a bit more, just to give us a comparison of what her life on the weekend is compared to the rest of the week. We're given a fuller picture of Adam's life (school, weekends with his mom, etc), and it definitely helped build his character and story arc. I thought Johnson did a beautiful job telling this story. This was such a wonderful book! I'm so excited for it to come out in 2020 because I've already been recommending it to people and I can't wait to talk about it with them. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character-driven YA contemporary novels or those who have enjoyed other stories by Abigail Johnson, Rainbow Rowell, or Morgan Matson. Every Other Weekend comes out January 7, 2020. FINAL RATING: 4.5/5 
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About MeHi, I'm Alexandra! I love reading (largely YA fiction, but sometimes I'll read "adult" books), playing board games, Nutella, and binge-watching TV shows on Netflix with my husband. Follow Me on Instagram@AllCharactersWanted
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