I've been a massive fan of Abigail Johnson for a long time and I've been excited to read this one ever since I read about it being the first time she's written a character who, like she does in real life, uses a wheelchair.
What's always drawn me to Abigails books is her ability to write beautiful, broken boy characters. And this one doesn't disappoint! Ethan is definitely broken. His mother has been consumed by addiction for most of his life and she has often dumped him with his grandparents for periods of time while she either tried to get clean or went on benders. She's always come back for him though, even when what she was taking him to wasn't the best place for a kid.
Rebecca has grown up in the house next door to Ethan's grandparents and, as someone around the same age, inevitably became friends with him. It hasn't been easy though - Ethan is often spirited away so quickly he barely has time to leave a note to say goodbye. And as they've grown up, their friendship has grown deeper and more complicated and his leaving hurts more each time.
Now, Ethan's back. A lot has happened since they were last together and they've never talked much in between visits. So, this is the first time Ethan has seen Rebecca since the accident that killed her father and left her reliant on a wheelchair to get around. Yet. despite everything, they still find themselves falling back into their familiar rhythms.
Yet things aren't quite the same. Ethan is fixated on finding where his mother went when she skipped out of rehab the day after signing herself in. Initially Rebecca helps him with the search, phoning people she might once have known and helping Ethan track down increasingly tentative leads. The more she helps, the more she feels like Ethan is leaving her all over again.
Rebecca's mother has barely spoken to her since the accident and is singularly focused on getting her off to college. She's about to marry her new lover and Rebecca feels increasingly like she's counting down the hours until she never has to look at her again. Rebecca doesn't even know if she wants to go to college - she's happy in her part-time job making jewelery and loves the woman she works with and her chaotic, growing family.
Over the course of the summer, these two best friends have to face the things that have damaged them in the past and decide how they're going to face the future - and if maybe that future is brighter if they stay together.
I enjoyed this book very much. Both characters felt very real in both their guilt and anger over the situations they found themselves in. Neither of them are perfect and their abilities to acknowledge and even embrace their flaws was refreshing to see. I found myself really rooting for them to figure it out and find a way they could be together. I felt like they were both better people together than they were apart.
So I'd recommend this one. It's kind of heavy in places, but in the best possible way.
But don't just listen to me; here's the blurb:
Eight years ago, Ethan and Rebecca met, two trouble-making kids sharing secrets and first kisses in a treehouse, until Ethan’s mom returned to take him away. Each and every visit, his only goodbye was a flower on Rebecca’s windowsill.
Three years ago, Ethan left for the last time to take care of his mother, who’s struggled with addiction his whole life.
Two years ago, Rebecca was in a car accident that killed her father. She’s been learning to navigate life as a wheelchair user ever since.
Now, they discover if their hardships have torn them apart…or will bring them closer than ever.
