This was amazing and so well written. It talks about hard subjects and was dense. The main characters seemed flawed which made them feel real.

*I received an e-arc via Netgalley from the publisher. Thank you for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own*

I can’t read an Abigail Johnson book without having a cry! I honestly felt all of the emotions in this book. It was such a moving and well written story. It’s both beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking.

Ethan and Rebecca grew up as neighbors and have been friends since they were kids. They have been in and out of each other’s lives and had to deal with a lot of hard things. There was a slow burn love story, but it was so much more than that. It was about the power of hope after a lot of loss.

If you love powerful contemporary romance, then I think you will love this one too! Just give me all of Abigail’s books please!

Well this book is heavy. Rebecca and Ethan’s lives are intertwined through the years of him coming and going with his mom. Both of their stories are tragic and yet hopeful. I did shed some tears at the end, really good read.

This book was a sweet healing journey of grief with childhood friends to lovers. I love books by this author that I’ve read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Ethan and Rebecca met 8 years ago and were instant best friends. And then Ethan had to leave with his mom. It's been four years since Rebecca saw him and since then she's been in a terrible car accident that's left her wheel chair bound and Ethan has been dealing with his mother's drug addiction. They have to learn to navigate each other again.

A story of redemption and acceptance that sucked me in right from the start.

This was a lovely story about two teenagers who have faced trauma in their life and are facing those challenges together. Told in alternating timelines, this story lets the reader get a full picture of their relationship and its evolution. Another beautiful story by Abigail Johnson. Thank you for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story was boring and I would not recommend this book. I could not relate to the main character in this book. It came across as boring at certain parts of the story.

Always an emotional treat from this author.

This book is a bit different from her other books. both Rebecca band the author are in wheelchairs.

Ethan met Rebecca years ago after she saw him move in with his grandparents.
He didn't stay though. He came and left a few times.

Rebecca is coping with the aftermath of a deadly car accident that took her fathers life and put her in a wheelchair.

when Ethan moves back again they struggle with reconnecting and communication.

Ethan has always felt responsible for his mother which is why he leaves so many times.

This book was realistic and brought out many emotions.

It is about grief and forgiveness too.

Just wow.


absolutely selling n this one!


Thanks to the author, publisher and net valley


4 stars

Rebecca and Ethan have both been through their fare share of grief. Will it tear them apart or bring them together? This is such a sweet and emotional story of friendship, healing, forgiveness, and love.

Ethan and Rebecca met eight years ago. Every time Ethan's mom would try to get clean again, she would drop him off at his grandparents. And then he would be gone again ... until the next time.

It has been three years since the last time Ethan left, and a lot has changed.
Both dealing with their own issues, Ethan and Rebecca have a push and pull relationship that left my head spinning.

Look I remember what it was like being a teenager, I remember the angst and the rollercoaster of emotions, and I am all for reading about it.
But this one was too much. I felt like this whole book was two characters taking turns being mad at each other.

A second chance romance where the MMC and FMC meet again after both going through tragedy/obstacles on their own. I'm always a fan of real life events being obstacles characters face and grow from. Ethan would stay with his grandparents when his mom was unable to care for him. Rebecca lived next door. They were friends who could have been more. Then 2 years after he left his grandparents she's in an accident and ends up paralyzed. When Ethan returns, she fears too much has changed between them.

I'm not usually a YA/NA reader, but I love books with disability rep and decided to give this one a chance. It was a great read.

If you can handle grief and a little soul searching, trauma healing read this one.

Ethan and Rebecca go through a lot to get to the end of this book and the place they end.

It is a story that takes places over an extended time and each time the grief and the real life gets even more real.

This is definitely a second chance, we worked through life to get here story and I truly think you will enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Abigail Johnson and Inkyard Press for this ARC. Rebecca and Ethan have spent splintered time together over a span of years, first as children and now as teens. Rebecca is now in a wheelchair, and Ethan is still worrying and searching for his mom. Both have demons and difficult relationships with adults in their lives. Finally, they have to decide, are they in this together or are they done with each other.

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

This was a beautifully written story about guilt, family, childhood trauma and friendship starring characters who feel extremely real and vulnerable. The progression of Ethan and Rebecca's relationship was understated in a way that a lot of YA relationships aren't, and I truly appreciated the development that happened. There were definitely parts of the plot that lagged, making the pacing of the book a bit odd because the chapters were short, which usually quickens the pace. For the majority of the book, I also just wanted to scream at the characters to actually talk to each other because the lack of communication was astounding. Overall, this was a heartfelt, authentic story that I really enjoyed.

Hmm. A combination love story and comparing trauma. The ways that the people closest to us hurt us the most. That sort of thing. I think it's the obvious direction of the plot that I struggle with the most. Yes, there's a lot of back and forth and will they/won't they. We know how it's going to end and I sort of wish it had taken a different path.

Rounded up to 3.5 stars.
I so appreciate a book that has depth and authors that are willing to address heavy topics. I especially love when authors like Abigail Johnson write about these topics from a personal place, like the disability representation in this story comes from Abigail's own experience. Yes, this is a second chance romance, but it's not meant to be a light-hearted story and I love it all the more for that. The journey through heartache, sorrow, grief, forgiveness and acceptance make it a beautiful story that I think the young adult audience would resonate with and find comfort in. Thank you NetGalley and Inkyard Press for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Here I am, once again, trying desperately to find the words to review a book that made me sob uncontrollably but nothing I think of can do this book justice

Ethan and Rebecca’s story is one of loss, trauma, letting go of guilt, and ultimately learning to live for yourself. While there is a childhood friends to lovers romance tied up in this story I think that ultimately the healing that happens for these characters is the most important and my favorite part.

This is told in a multiple POV between the two MCs with several flashbacks to the past which I think really helps us see how their friendship has grown over the years, despite the fact that Ethan always ends up leaving to go back to his mother.

CWs: child abuse/neglect, substance abuse, death of a parent, physical trauma

If you have a teen in your life who yearns for a real story- hand them this title. I can definitely see this being made into a movie. It's very John Green like.

I love a book that incorporates some form of overcoming into a real story and Abigail Johnson nailed it! I was very intrigued by the author's own story when I looked her up having overcome her own challenges after suffering paralysis from an accident, and I now know why this story was so beautifully written.

The story follows Rebecca and Ethan who were on and off friends as he came in and out of her life, but now he is back and things are different. He's far more jaded by his personal struggles with an addict mother and she's in a wheelchair after an accident injured her and killed her father. I knew right away there was going to be a lot of emotion in this story. I wasn't so sure I wanted to cry, but honestly, it wasn't that type of emotional. I felt a lot, but it was more a sadness because I felt these kids were given too much in their young lives and pride as you watch them grow in the book. Johnson was really able to hit these hard topics in a way that educated and showed the reality woven into this story. She not only hit one heavy topic, addiction but also about overcoming a traumatic injury that changes a life.

There was nothing I did not like about this story. While I usually dislike jumping back and forth in time, I felt this was well-placed and gave a little insight into a current situation, and wasn't over the top. I loved the character development and while there were side characters that helped guide the story and the characters themselves, the focus was really on Ethan and Rebecca the whole time. I'm a huge fan of Abigail Johnson's writing and cannot wait to go get the next book.