I could not put this book down. It was dramatic and while the characters are teens the problems they are dealing with makes this feel like more than a YA romance.

Great writing, I have never been through anything like the main characters in this book but I really felt connected to these characters and their loss and emotions.

Spoiler here * It felt like a real life happy ending, everything worked out but life is still hard and it’s not perfect but it can be beautiful.

This book is so much more than a YA romance. I honestly think the classification of YA Romance devalues the book, at least it does for me. I was not prepared for the emotional toll that this book was going to have on me. You think I would have been prepared after reading the author’s introduction, but ya girl didn’t take the hint. In the introduction the author, Abigail Johnson, reveals that she herself is a tetraplegic. While Rebecca’s story is not hers, this is not a memoir, as readers we still get the insight of a character written by an author who has and is going through if not the same than similar struggles. You can tell how close she was to this character with the rawness and care that she writes through Rebecca’s POVs. She really lays out the emotional, physical, and mental challenges of being a person in a wheelchair, especially when they were born able bodied. Things I have honestly never thought about, things that have really opened my eyes. The engagement party at the very inaccessible restaurant glaringly comes to mind.

I also found the relationship with her mother to be so relatable. Even though it’s an extreme case of loving someone who can’t give you what you need, it was gut wrenching reading her feelings toward her mother and the actions she took to get closer just to be shut down. I’m not a crier, but I shed some serious tears during these scenes. Waterfalls. Like my husband had to check on me crying.

Ethan is dealing with his own trauma. His mother is an addict and has left him off and on at his grandparents’ house throughout his life. This time is different, a deal has been made behind his back and she’s not planning on coming to get him. Which sends him spiraling to find her when he finds out she’s left rehab. His worry of not being there for his mother is all-consuming, and a feeling he has carried his whole life. He feels as though if he’s not there for her then she will have no one there to save her when she ODs. He also reveals the surprising level of abuse he has suffered by her hand and it's tragic.

Together their relationship goes through many ups and downs. Many of the downs being when Ethan has let Rebecca down, yet again. Many times Rebecca chooses to let Ethan’s problem encompass hers as a way to deflect her own emotions and feelings to what is happening in her own life, which is so relatable. But when pushed to express herself I love how Rebecca bites. She hits the nail right on the head and tells Ethan how it is.

Listen, if this book is not a bestseller than this author needs to find a new publisher, manager, … whatever! I will be thinking about this book for a long time and carrying a lot of the lessons the characters learned and taught me. I read this book on my Kindle, but plan on getting a hard copy for my personal library the second it’s released. I need to hold and hug this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Abigail Johnson for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Absolutely fantastic plot! Could not put the book down once I began reading it. Cannot wait for it to be released. Will recommend it to everyone I know!

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview.
Two kids are thrown together over the course of years but are always ripped apart suddenly and without notice. Ethan lives with his mom in a recurring cycle of drugs, alcohol, and men. He wants to protect her and keep her safe. The best thing she does for him is take him to his grandparent's house when she goes to rehab. Ethan has such a love for acceptance from his mother, Joy, that he cannot see what it is doing to him.
Rebecca lives the ideal life with her doting father and emotionally withdrawn mother. When Ethan comes to stay with her neighbors, they become best friends until he is ripped from her life without any notice or even a goodbye. As the years pass this cycle continues and begins to affect their relationship. After a horrific accident leaves Rebecca partially paralyzed and feeling responsible for what happens to her family she begins to emotionally pull back from her mother and Ethan.
Both Ethan and Rebecca deal with the building pressure of their lives and growing feelings for each other.

I have some mixed feelings. I started off really really liking this book. I loved the connection between our two main characters and the history they shared. There are a few things that just don’t line up. Why did she have to have an all or nothing relationship with him? When he was younger and moved away, you’d think she’d want to remain in touch, she was holding it over him for so long and he didn’t even have a choice at the time. Also, this couple was SO back and forth, they forgave each other then they were mad and they love each other but now they don’t really like the other.

I went into Every Time You Go Away expecting a easy YA contemporary, but that's not at all what this is. Instead, it's a heartfelt and relatable read. It's rare for a YA contemporary to touch me so significantly, but I was genuinely moved.
I can't wait to share this book with the teens at my library, because I found myself wanting to devour every page!

I can’t remember the last time I cried throughout an entire book. Every star I have goes to this one. Alexa, play Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift😭

First off, I want to thank NetGalley, Inkyard Press, and Abigail Johnson for the ARC of this book. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Because I’ve been in the biggest slump and this single handedly pulled me out. I haven’t had a 5 star read in a WHILE. This was simultaneously heartbreaking and heart fulfilling.

This is a childhood friends to lovers, and boy was the angst angsting!!! Ethan is dropped off at his grandparents house to stay for months at a time throughout the years because his mother is an addict—she always picks him up when she sobers up. But he strikes a close friendship with Rebecca, our MC who lives next door. When he finally comes back at 17, after years of being away, he finds that things have changed: Rebecca is now in a wheelchair after he paralyzed from a car accident that killed her family. With both characters having strenuous relationships with their mothers, and their own battles with grief and guilt, their relationship is constantly being tested.

This book was heavy, so please be wary of that and the trigger warnings. I have to say, I appreciate that the character is written by an author with the same disability, because it felt more authentic to see her struggles—even with day to day life in a world that remains majorly inaccessible. But also, reading about the kind of grief someone can have over their able-body.

Ethan’s experiences and feelings about his mom were so brutal to read. The struggle of having someone choose the drugs over your time and time again was excruciating to read.

“Why couldn’t you want me more?”

UGHHH. PAIN.

She really captured the messiest emotions a person who is close to an addict could have, and she captured it beautifully, perfectly, devastatingly.

The plot was solid and interesting and captivating, but the romance had me in tears. Ethan LOVES REBECCA AND REBECCA LOVES HIM WITH HER WHOLE HEART. Their relationship felt so natural and beautiful and painful and sweet. Their journey was so beautiful to read and you really do feel like you’ve been on a JOURNEY by the time you’re done reading this.

“Needing to get back to my mom feels like a tight fist clenching in my chest. Wanting to be with Rebecca is like that fist letting go.”

LIKE HUH?????????? EXCUSE ME MA’AM?? WHO SAID YOU COULD HURT ME LIKE THIS???

The last line of the novel literally brought me to tears. it was so subtly impactful, and the perfect way to end the book.

If you read this, I promise you won’t regret it. I hope it becomes a number one best seller because it deserves everyone’s stars.

{Content warnings: addiction, grief, child abuse, physical trauma, neglect.}

Ethan and Rebecca become fast friends when Ethan comes to live with his grandparents who live next door to Rebecca and her family. The two are adventurous and love spending time together, but every visit comes to an end. Ethan’s mom struggles with substance abuse issues and she sporadically leaves Ethan to live with his grandparents, but always to returns for him. Ethan is returning for the first time in three years and a lot has happened to both Ethan and Rebecca since the last time they have seen each other. Rebecca was in a car accident two years ago that resulted in her father’s death and left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Ethan has been caring for his mom and trying to keep her safe from herself and her drug use. This story follows Ethan and Rebecca as the reunite and discover what their relationship looks like after all they have been through.

Ethan and Rebecca are both navigating the typical challenges of growing up on top of circumstances that are unique to them. I have not personally experienced any of the challenges that Rebecca or Ethan have, but I still found the book and characters to be relatable. I definitely shed some tears throughout and loved to see the growth of the characters of the course of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A sweet YA novel with hidden depth?! Sign me up! This is the first book I've read by this author, but I doubt it'll be my last. "Every Time You Go Away' follows Ethan and Rebecca through alternating timelines of their past and their present, as they grow up, grow apart, and come back together- all while Ethan deals with his mothers ongoing drug addiction, and Rebecca deals with her own personal grief. This book provided a very accurate portrayal of real grief and the guilt and other feelings that often come along with loss, and I found that to be refreshing for a fictional novel. The characters are extremely likable, and the disability representation was awesome. This book was emotional and heartfelt, but also had some lightness and sweetness to to it with the lovely romantic aspect (and sub-plot) Having the extra "twists" regarding the romance really intrigued me as well, but no spoilers on that! Overall, I certainly would recommend this book to any contemporary YA lovers!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Abigail Johnson, and the publishers for providing this ARC for me to read/review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts!

3.75, rounded up. I enjoyed this story, but I did feel like it got stuck in rut of Ethan feeling stuck by his mom’s situation and Rebecca being upset about it. There were other family dynamics that were explored well & I liked the secondary characters very much. The issues dealing with the death of a parent and addiction were authentic. I like how the story was revealed between the past and present. Overall, it was good, but not great.

This books was Avery cute and easy read! One of the first books I have read from this I’m author and I liked it loads!

A sweet YA novel with hidden depth?! Sign me up! This is the first book I've read by this author, but I doubt it'll be my last. "Every Time You Go Away' follows Ethan and Rebecca through alternating timelines of their past and their present, as they grow up, grow apart, and come back together- all while Ethan deals with his mothers ongoing drug addiction, and Rebecca deals with her own personal grief. This book provided a very accurate portrayal of real grief and the guilt and other feelings that often come along with loss, and I found that to be refreshing for a fictional novel. The characters are extremely likable, and the disability representation was awesome. This book was emotional and heartfelt, but also had some lightness and sweetness to to it with the lovely romantic aspect (and sub-plot) Having the extra "twists" regarding the romance really intrigued me as well, but no spoilers on that! Overall, I certainly would recommend this book to any contemporary YA lovers!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Abigail Johnson, and the publishers for providing this ARC for me to read/review. All opinions are my own honest thoughts!

I was quickly pulled into this romance and didn’t want to put it down. It could have been longer and gone deeper with a storyline this engrossing. A few times the characters grated on me with their repetitive whining, but that is teens for ya.
Recommended For: Fans of young adult or romance.

I knew this book was going to be emotional when I was already crying at the authors introduction.
As someone who survived a spinal cord injury it was really hard to read about Rebecca's trauma but it was also something I didn't know I needed. It has been seventeen years since my injury and I still struggle with coping nearly every day.
This book follows Ethan and Rebecca throughout their childhood having to constantly say goodbye and wait until the next time they'd see each other not knowing when that would be.
Ethan's mother is an addict, when things get bad she drops him off at his grandparents house which just so happens to be next door to Rebecca.
Rebecca is curious when a boy suddenly is dropped out next door, they become instant friends and every time he leaves it hurts her more and more but she can't seem to stay upset about it when he shows up again.
Ethan and Rebecca are nearly adults now, his grandparents are desperately trying to save him from his mother and the toxic environment he has been in but Ethan just wants to find his mom. That is until he starts to realize just how much of Rebecca's life he has missed while he's been gone.
Rebecca had an accident while Ethan was gone. One that took her father and her ability to walk. She hates talking about it and her mother seems to not want anything to do with her as well.
When Ethan shows up again she wonders how long he'll stay this time and if she's ready to be hurt again.

This book hit me in so many places. Like i said having survived a spinal cord injury and then reading about someone else's experience is hard. Rebecca's mother reminds me of mine. Very closed off emotionally, I've always felt like I can't talk about my injury with her. I feel guilty for all of the time she had to spend with me while I healed. Time away from her other children.
Ethan's story was hard too. My brother is very similar to his mom. Always chasing that high that seems to be more important than everything else. Trying to let go of guilt for not being able to save or help someone can seem almost impossible at times. Unfair that they can't just choose family over drugs. But trying to cope with the fact that it isn't your fault at the same time you have to cope with losing someone that is still alive.
When I started reading this book I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect it to help me heal in some ways. I know that won't be the case with everyone but I highly recommend reading it. If you know someone who suffers from these traumas it might help you better understand them. and there's romance! What more could you want in a book?!!
Thank you Abigail Johnson for writing such an amazing story. I was rooting for Ethan and Rebecca the entire time, not just as a couple but as individuals that needed the support to start healing.

This is a heavy book but a worthwhile read. The characters are instantly approachable and the circumstances you find them in gets you easily hooked.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every Time You Go Away by Abigail Johnson. I was honestly surprised by how great this book was. I selected this book on NetGalley predominantly for its fantastic cover, and for the first couple of chapters, I wasn’t sure about it. The story is pretty heavy- it’s about the complicated friendship between a teenage girl who is paralyzed in a car accident that kills her father and the neighbor boy who only appears in her life when his addict mother is at rock bottom. While that might describe the subtext of the story, the characters are so much more. Tragedy is a footnote in who they develop into over the course of the book. There’s romance, difficult parental relationships, and hard truths about addiction, all while maintaining the levity needed to be an easy read. I loved this one. I highly recommend you check it out when it’s available December 5, 2023.

I just finished this spectacular YA contemporary novel and it's so good I'm a bit speechless - the last line is so powerful, I just sat here, stunned for a minute. Ethan and Rebecca (the boy and girl next door) have been friends since they were kids, in and out of each other's lives with incredible difficulties thrown at them both - Ethan's mom is a drug addict always spinning out of control, and Rebecca has been seriously injured in a car accident that left her paralyzed and using a wheelchair for mobility. This is not just a slow-burn love story (and that aspect is always well done in Abigail Johnson's books) - this is an emotionally hard-hitting book about moving on after incredibly great loss and finding hard-won hope for the present and future. I feel like there just aren't adequate words for how good this book is. Seriously, just read it - it's the most inspirational thing I've read in a long time (and not in a trite way - in a profoundly moving way). I'm stunned by the author's courage in telling such an emotionally raw story with such universal themes. I hope this book wins all the awards. My highest recommendation.

5⭐️ thank you NetGalley and Abigail Johnson for this ARC copy of Every Time You Go Away. This review is entirely my own.

Loved this. Could not put it down. You can definitely tell the author’s perspective is authentic and heartfelt and reflected in both of the main character’s stories. I truly loved this story and both MCs and will 100% be recommending this book to everyone.

Thank you NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review. Everytime you go away is a heart wrenching book about 2 people and their difficult childhoods growing up. This book will get you hooked right away and in love with the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was fantastic. It shines a light on disabilities and real-world issues like addiction, grief, and transition from childhood into adulthood.
Seeing the friendship/relationship between Rebecca and Ethan grow throughout the book with the flashbacks of their past is refreshing.
Abigail Johnson is a fantastic author and had me hooked from the very beginning.