Just for the Summer

1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Just for the Summer grounds its romance in Emma’s journey of overcoming childhood trauma and resulting mental illness. How does this kind of intense emotional setting compare with other romance novels you’ve read? 
• Part of the appeal of a romance novel is the actual romance. Did you find the attraction between Emma and Justin believable and “shippable”? Was it satisfying when they finally slept together? 
• Have you read the other books in the Part of Your World series? How does this one compare to those? Did you spot connections between the characters, settings, and plot elements of Just for the Summer and the rest of the series’ novels?
• Emma and Justin first get together to break a “curse”—everyone they date finds The One immediately after breaking up with them. Does the novel live up to this high-concept premise, which points to themes of fate, luck, or even the supernatural?

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Connect the book’s themes and characters to personal experiences.

• Consider the role of therapy and self-discovery in the novel. How do you view Emma’s journey through therapy and the steps she takes to overcome her past? Have you had similar experiences with seeking help and finding stability?
• The characters’ past traumas, which typically don’t have anything to do with their romantic experiences, nevertheless affect their romantic relationships. Has your emotional history ever impacted how you connect with romantic partners? How have you dealt with that?
• The novel shows Justin and Emma having to balance everyday life—jobs, family strife, and even parenting on Justin’s part—with the more fantasy-adjacent excitement of new love and sexual desire. Is the way these competing responsibilities are shown realistic? How do they compare to your experience?

3. Societal and Cultural Context

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

• The novel features several examples of nontraditional families—Emma is fostered by Maddy’s family, Justin has to care for his siblings, Emma bonds closely with her extended relatives. Is the novel making an argument about nuclear families versus more broadly defined ones?
• Genre novels like this one are sometimes dismissed or diminished as lesser literature—criticism that often comes with a strain of sexism. Does this novel embrace its genre, push against the perceived limits of “beach-reads,” or try to go in a more literary direction?
• Several characters face unresolved mental health challenges. However, the novel doesn’t fully provide diagnoses for the characters. Does this ambiguity help normalize mental health challenges as ever-present in regular life or does it do the opposite?  

4. Literary Analysis

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

• The novel relies on many parallels: Emma was fostered by Maddy’s family, while Justin will have to foster his younger siblings; Emma has created an internal island of “smallness” to protect her emotions, and also lives on a literal island in Minnesota; Emma spent her childhood taking care of herself and her adulthood as a professional caretaker. How do these parallel details reinforce the novel’s themes?
• Why is the novel told from both Emma and Justin’s points of view? What do we learn about each of them from their narration? How are their voices different? How do they see themselves and each other?
• Roses are a complex motif in the novel. When they are connected to Amber, who wears rose-scented perfume and paints roses on Neil’s walls, they are a symbol of instability. Conversely, when roses appear in the home of Emma’s extended family and on the bush that Justin gives her, the roses represent permanence and reliable blooming. Why does the novel use the same image for these two different ideas?

5. Creative Engagement

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

• What if the novel took the “curse” idea more seriously? Could you imagine this story with supernatural or fantastical elements? Where would they fit in? 
• How would this novel sound if it were told by another character? Who would have an interesting take on events and why?
• The novel gives Emma and Justin a semi-traditional happy ending: they settle down, get engaged, and will raise Justin’s siblings. What other happy endings were possible here? What if Justin and Emma decided to raise the kids while still pursuing a nomadic lifestyle? 

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