Abby Jimenez stopped by Good Morning America to discuss her latest novel, Just for the Summer.
Jimenez’s book, published earlier this month by Forever, follows Emma, a nurse who travels to Minnesota to meet a man she found on the social network Reddit. A critic for Kirkus called the novel “a wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.” The book is the April selection for the Good Morning America book club.
Jimenez, who is also a professional baker, appeared on the show with cupcakes from her company Nadia Cakes.
“Would you ever believe you’d be sitting here with your cupcakes and your sixth rom-com?” asked GMA co-anchor Janai Norman.
“Never in a million years,” Jimenez responded.
A Little Free Library steward named Jenny asked Jimenez via video, “How do you balance complex, difficult subject matter like mental health with lighter, happier romantic elements in your novels?”
“I think you can laugh at a funeral,” Jimenez replied. “Humor is weaved into the threads of everyday life no matter what’s happening to us, and that’s sort of my signature in my books. I make you laugh and I make you cry, and this book is no different.”
Norman noted that Jimenez brought in outside readers to ensure that she was dealing with “sensitive topics” correctly.
“I always have sensitivity readers, beta readers, and advisers for my books, so I had…several psychologists that helped me depict the mental health aspects of this book with accuracy,” she said. “Most of all, I want my books to be harmless to people. I want them to entertain, and I want people to walk away feeling like they’ve learned something, and I think I really did that with this one.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
