Thanks to Netgalley and ink press for allowing me to read this arc for an honest review!

This was so good! I really enjoyed this romance more than I thought I would. Usually, I can tell what rating I am going to give a book within the first 30 pages and this was an instant 5-star. One movie I love is "October baby" and this showed that vibe. I liked the romance but how it wasn't everything in the story. Great writing too!

Thank you to NetGalley for this free version in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book. Initially I thought it was just about two people who meet at different times in their lives, it's actually about a lot more. Each character experiences some rather tragic life events. I enjoyed the resolution of the book, although watching the characters muddle through so many experiences was painful to watch (read). I am glad I read it though.

A poignant story about grief, healing, forgiveness, and finding a second chance at love along the way. It was a beautiful portrait of the beauty of life even amidst the pain.

This was a lovely book! Lots of meaningful themes, thoughtful writing, and a well-paced plot that kept the story moving along. Ms. Johnson creates memorable characters with interesting conflicts and problems. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Every Time You Go Away

3.5 stars rounded up

Ethan and Rebecca's story begins when Ethan is dropped off at his Grandparents home next door to Rebecca's parents. His Mom perpetually lost in the revolving door battle of substance abuse, drops him off promising to return when she is well. For Ethan the time apart is filled with anxiety and worry as he waits for her return, the gnawing responsibility of keeping her safe never fading..
Rebecca and Ethan become fast friends making the days go by fast, although the weight he carries clings to him. Over the years, this pattern continues as Ethan is dropped off, only to be whisked away just as abruptly.. Every time he goes away he leaves a picture of a hand drawn flower on Rebecca's windowsill, a goodbye of sorts until he returns. Rebecca faces her own hardships, but she stuffs them down determined to not be a burden to those around her. This sweet and heart wrenching story about love, loss, and forgiveness, will cause you to look deep in your heart and reexamine how our actions affect those we love.

Thank you Netgalley and Inkyard press for allowing me to read this for an honest review

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a review.
I was so excited to be approved for this read, I dove right in and could not put it down! I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author!

Abigail Johnson's Every Time You Go Away is a poignant and beautifully written novel that explores the themes of grief, forgiveness, and love. The story follows the lives of two childhood friends, Ethan and Rebecca, who reunite after many years apart. Their relationship had been abruptly ended when Ethan's mother took him away, leaving Rebecca with only a flower as a goodbye gift.
Years later, Ethan returns to town to take care of his mother, who has been struggling with addiction. Meanwhile, Rebecca is still learning to navigate life in a wheelchair after a car accident that killed her father. As they reconnect, they must confront the challenges they've faced and determine if their love can overcome the hardships that have kept them apart.
Johnson's writing is searing and lyrical, capturing the emotions and struggles of her characters with great depth and sensitivity. Every Time You Go Away is a powerful and moving read that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

Abigail Johnson employs her superb knack for engaging dual-POV YA romance in a new novel that is both deeply personal and widely relatable. In an author’s note Johnson reveals that she hadn’t been ready to write a character working through the emotional fallout of a spinal cord injury, as she had as a teen, until the characters in Every Time You Go Away took a hold of her and wouldn’t…go away.

In addition to crafting a messy, sexy, heart-wrenching and life-affirming love story, Johnson depicts everyday life as a wheelchair user at an authenticity level an able-bodied author would be hard pressed to match. The disastrous engagement party at a completely inaccessible restaurant, where it’s assumed Rebecca won’t mind the “inconvenience,” rings particularly true.

Rising way above problem-novel melodrama, Rebecca and Ethan’s story is thorny and thrilling in equal measure,

Wow this book is filled with a lot of hard things, but a lot of good too.
This book is beautifully written. We see Ethan and Rebecca in the now and in the past. We learn about what has happened to them and a lot of it is hard things that deal with grief. But we also see so much good as they work through it apart but also together
Rebecca and Ethan have a beautiful friendship, that also leads to more. I really adored these characters. I could picture them in these spaces. Johnson does a really brilliant job creating these characters and this world.
I really loved this story and can't wait to get it into the hands of so many readers.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

*Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for my review.*

I am absolutely in love with this book and these characters. A dual timeline, second chance romance between Ethan, whose mother is a drug addict, and Rebecca, who became paralyzed and lost her father in a car accident.

The two characters spend a lot of time together when Ethan lives with his grandparents. But every time his mom decides she’s ready to take care of him, he returns without a goodbye. And every time, Rebecca is crushed. We follow along as they, now 17, begin to repair their relationship and work through the pain of the past couple years

I was drawn in by the cover, but stayed for the story and these characters. The author’s note at the beginning tells of how this is a story she never thought she could write, but I am so glad she did because it is one of my favorites.

I thought the side characters were great additions to the story as well. My favorite characters are those who have flaws, feel pain, and show emotion so they were the perfect characters for me. Ethan forever has my heart.

This book was heavy, but is so beautiful at the same time. I loved the disability represented in this YA novel as well as the handling of topics regarding grief, substance abuse, and death. Check content warnings before reading.

This book is about two teens who are on a journey to see if love triumphs all. This is told from two perspectives Ethan who has a lot of childhood trauma from dealing with his drug addict mother and Rebecca who is trying to navigate life in a wheelchair and dealing with the trauma of losing her father.

This book is beyond beautiful! I love the whole thing. I loved the authors reasoning for writing a book with one of the main characters being in a wheelchair and feel like her experiences really helped the character come alive. I feel like this book brought a lot of awareness around the difficulties someone in a wheelchair can have in this world and expressed how everyplace should be wheelchair accessible. You never really think about it really unless it is affecting you, or at least I haven’t; but it really made me think about it. I really connected with Ethan’s story having to deal with a family member who struggled with addiction her whole life and how that effected me as a child. I also related a little bit to Rebecca and her Relationship with her mother. I was so emotionally invested in this story right from the beginning.Overall I loved Ethan and Rebecca’s story the good and bad. I would highly recommend

This was such an incredibly heartfelt story. There is a lot of trauma and pain, but told so beautifully. It's a coming of age story, and a love story. A story of acceptance and growth. The depth of the characters was excellent and you could really see how they grew and matured as the story moved back and forth in time. Absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an advance read in exchange for this review.

Ethan shows up at his grandparents' doorstep because his mom struggles with substance abuse. Rebecca lives next door and they become fast friends. Then Ethan leaves. Rebecca is in a car accident that killed her father, left her paralyzed and in a wheelchair, and fractured the relationship with her mom. Ethan returns. These two try to work out their friendship while dealing with so much individually.

This was such a great YA read. It's told from both Ethan and Rebecca POVs, and it's told from various points in the past and the present. They are both struggling with something - Rebecca blames herself for her father's death and believes that her distant mother does too. Ethan is trying to find out where his mom went after she left rehab. They also navigate their friendship. There's some heavy material about substance abuse, grief, moving on, and family. Excellent read.

I really liked reading Rebecca’s perspective and learning more about what every day life is like for a wheelchair user. It’s rare to find any disabled characters in a book, especially in the romance genre, so this book was very refreshing and also educational. However, I didn’t really feel a deep connection to the romance itself and didn’t really care if they were to end up together in the end. Regardless, I think this story is a good read.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

A heartwarming romance that leaves you fulfilled in the end. The love story between Rebecca and Ethan is one of hurt, forgiveness, support, and hope. The two grew close to one another as Ethan was dumped at his grandparents house next door to Rebecca's by his mother who was battling addiction. Due to circumstances beyond his control the abruptness for which he came and went depended solely on his mothers state of mind at the time. Rebecca's hurt every time he left without saying goodbye festered to the point of her shutting herself off emotionally when Ethan reappears two years after a tragic accident that killed her father and left her paralyzed from the waist down. The pain and brokenness of both characters pulls at you heart as they learn to navigate through their relationship and their relationships with their families. I love that this beautiful story is clean and romantic and demonstrates that happiness is obtainable even in the wake of trauma. The only concern I have is the length of the book as many YA readers shy away from books with this many pages. It's a good thing that the story will lure them in as the book is shared and talked about.

This book held so much promise and fell flat for me. I wish there had been more depth, and the character’s “growth” didn’t make much sense. That being said I love the representation of the disabled community, and the ending was cute.

This book was so bittersweet. It took me through so much and I am left happy to have been along for the ride with Rebecca and Ethan. It was filled with complex feelings and the writing felt so natural and easy to read. Such a good book. Highly recommend.

This second chance romance was very good. I liked the representation of a character in a wheelchair. I thought that this book was very good and I highly recommend it.
I just reviewed Every Time You Go Away by Abigail Johnson. #EveryTimeYouGoAway #NetGalley
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I have been a huge Abigail Johnson fan for the last few years and I was so excited to be able to read her newest book on NetGalley and leave a review! As always, she had my hooked from the start and in tears several times throughout the story. More than any other author I have read, Ms. Johnson has an uncanny way of opening your mind and heart to the difficulties so many go through every day. In past books that was the repercussions of crime on the family of the perpetrator as well as in the family of the victim, the repercussions of infidelity and divorce on children, and of grief and loss on families. I have found myself thinking about these things in a new light and with more compassion because of her books. This new book was no exception, and in a way she herself has direct, personal experience with. One of the main characters becomes paralyzed as a teen and has to use wheel chair, something Ms. Johnson also has to do. The every day physical, mental and emotional challenges she has to overcome was heart rending and made me so much more aware of what those who use wheelchairs have to go through every day. Things like the width of a doorway or the legs under a table! Things I have never thought about. The other character is dealing with a mother who is shackled by addiction and his guilt and feelings of responsibility are so moving and humbling. Both characters have so much brokenness and grief and are so raw. Every book she has written has dealt with these themes, but she always approaches it in a new and thoughtful way. I loved the story and devoured it in a few days (as a busy mom that’s quick for me!). I am a 36 year old mom and wife and I only discovered her books a few years ago. But I admire her writing and emotional honesty and the vulnerability of her character’s so much. And her books are PG which is so rare these days! It is another thing she has never wavered from and something I really appreciate because I can recommend them without any qualms. Well done Ms. Johnson!