Every Other Weekend

by Abigail Johnson

Overview

Heartbreak brought them together…will love tear them apart?

Adam’s life used to be awesome. Straight As, close friends and a perfect home life. Then his oldest brother died. Now his mom cries constantly, he and his middle brother can’t talk without fighting, and the father he always admired moved out when they needed him most.

Aspiring director Jolene’s life is nothing like the movies she loves—not the happy ones anyway. 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 quickly become the best part of their lives. Have Jolene and Adam found something real? Or is their connection doomed from the start?

They’ll find out…every other weekend.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335929099
Publisher:	Inkyard Press
Publication date:	01/07/2020
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	512
Sales rank:	74,670
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.60(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Abigail Johnson was born in Pennsylvania. When she was twelve, her family traded in snowstorms for year-round summers and moved to Arizona. Abigail chronicled the entire road trip and has been writing ever since. She became a tetraplegic 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. Visit Abigail at abigailjohnsonbooks.com and on Twitter @AbigailsWriting.

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2019

Gr 7 Up—Adam's parents have separated due to grief over the death of their oldest son. Jolene is being used as a pawn in her parent's divorce. On the surface, this is the story of a friendship and budding romance between Adam and Jolene, who spend every other weekend at their dads' apartments. However, in addition to the tender love story, the book takes on a number of important issues for young adults including divorce, loss, grief, family dynamics, relationship control, and sexual assault. The two main characters are well developed and teen readers will easily empathize with their emotions, their family conflicts, and the events that unfold in their lives. The narrative perspective shifts with each chapter, alternating between Adam and Jolene, providing readers with the inner thoughts of each character both when they are together on the weekend, and during the weeks apart. The author also uses texting conversation threads as the communication vehicle in between their visits, a technique that will resonate with teens. VERDICT Romance fans will especially enjoy this title, as it delves into many family and relationship issues. Recommended for general purchase.—Theresa Muraski, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Library

School Library Journal

2019-09-23
Two teens from broken families find solace in one another's company.

After the death of his oldest brother, Adam and the rest of his family grieve in ways that pull them apart. When Adam's father moves out, Adam and his other brother alternate weekends with each of their parents. At his father's apartment complex, Adam meets his neighbor Jolene, a 15-year-old aspiring filmmaker who is a pawn in her parents' bitter divorce. Her father cheated on her mother with a much younger woman, and Jolene is forced to spend every other weekend with her since her father is never home. Though details of their situations differ, Adam's and Jolene's lives parallel one another as they develop a special kinship in which Jolene is a balm to soothe Adam's grief and anger with his father and Adam offers a critical remedy for Jolene's deep-rooted loneliness. Though the story feels long-winded at times, Johnson (Even If I Fall, 2019, etc.) has written a complex and emotionally charged character-driven story that explores a variety of painfully human themes, including loss and emotional abuse. Adam's and Jolene's struggles will draw readers in, and the slow-burning romance will touch readers' hearts. The book situates whiteness as the norm; Jolene's father's girlfriend is Asian, and two of Jolene's friends are dark skinned.

Heart-wrenching and hopeful—a reminder that we can change our stories. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

"This is a coming-of-age story with real heart and authenticity. A must read!"-Samantha Young, New York Times bestselling author of The Fragile Ordinary and On Dublin Street, on Every Other Weekend

"A poignant, painful, and stirring story about two kids trying to navigate divorce, first love, and finding your dreams."-Kathleen Glasgow, author of Girl in Pieces and How to Make Friends with the Dark, on Every Other Weekend

"Every Other Weekend handles sensitive family issues with honesty, amidst the fresh, emotive backdrop of Johnson's stunning prose. Adam and Jolene spark the page with their wit. And they'll slide into your heart as they discover each other's."-Laura Taylor Namey, author of The Library of Lost Things

"Johnson beautifully evokes the tender romance that eventually builds between them [Adam and Jolene] after their first encounters, offering readers access to the two teens' inner thoughts and fragile psyches. Jolene's loneliness, especially, will break hearts... The positive, not overly simplistic resolution to the complicated story will touch readers." –Booklist

"Johnson (Even If I Fall, 2019, etc.) has written a complex and emotionally charged character-driven story that explores a variety of painfully human themes, including loss and emotional abuse. Adam's and Jolene's struggles will draw readers in, and the slow-burning romance will touch readers' hearts... Heart-wrenching and hopeful-a reminder that we can change our stories."-Kirkus Reviews

"In addition to the tender love story, the book takes on a number of important issues for young adults including divorce, loss, grief, family dynamics, relationship control, and sexual assault. The two main characters are well developed and teen readers will easily empathize with their emotions, their family conflicts, and the events that unfold in their lives... Romance fans will especially enjoy this title, as it delves into many family and relationship issues."-School Library Journal on Every Other Weekend

From the Publisher

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