Just for the Summer Quiz – 20 Questions

Welcome to the comprehensive quiz for Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer. This 20-question test covers plot details, character motivations, themes, symbols, and synthesis questions. Use it to check your understanding of the book, or as a fun challenge after reading. After the questions, you’ll find a complete answer key with explanations.

Want to review the full story first? Visit our main book page or jump to the ending explained. For a deeper dive into specific chapters, check the questions and answers.

Section 1: Plot & Sequence (8 Questions)

Mix of multiple‑choice and short‑answer. Choose the best answer or write a brief response.

1. Before Emma changes her plans, where was she supposed to go for her next travel nursing assignment?

   • A) Alaska
   • B) Hawaii
   • C) Florida
   • D) Colorado

2. Justin uses an unusual object to cross the lake and rescue Emma when she is sick. What is it? (short answer)

3. What name does Justin give to the Brussels Griffon he adopts? (short answer)

4. Emma works as what type of nurse?

   • A) Emergency room
   • B) Pediatric
   • C) Travel nurse
   • D) Operating room

5. Why is Justin’s mother going to prison? (short answer)

6. At the end of the epilogue, Justin proposes using a creative billboard. What does the billboard say?

   • A) “Marry me, Emma”
   • B) “Will you marry me?”
   • C) “Forever starts now”
   • D) “You’re my soulmate”

7. Emma takes a DNA test and discovers she has a half‑brother. What is his name? (short answer)

8. How many dates did Justin and Emma agree to as part of their original “curse‑breaking” experiment?

   • A) Three
   • B) Four
   • C) Five
   • D) Six

Section 2: Character Motivation (5 Questions)

1. Why does Emma initially agree to the dating experiment with Justin?

   • A) She wants a summer fling
   • B) She has the same “good luck charm” curse and hopes to break it
   • C) Maddy convinces her to go for it
   • D) She needs a place to stay in Minnesota

2. Early in the story, Justin refuses to forgive his mother for embezzling money. What reason does he give for this refusal? (short answer)

3. According to Maddy, what is Emma’s real reason for using her nomadic lifestyle to avoid deepening her relationship with Justin?

   • A) She is afraid of commitment due to childhood trauma
   • B) She doesn’t like Minnesota
   • C) She thinks Justin is too poor
   • D) She wants to travel the world with Maddy

4. At the end of the summer, Emma decides to leave Justin and return to her old life. What is her stated reason? (short answer)

5. Why did Emma’s mother Amber hide Emma from her own parents and never let them raise her?

   • A) She was ashamed of her parents
   • B) She was possessive and selfish; she knew her parents would never give Emma back
   • C) Her parents lived in another country
   • D) She wanted Emma to be independent

Section 3: Theme & Symbol (4 Questions)

1. Justin gives Emma a potted rosebush instead of cut flowers. According to the author, what do these roses symbolize? (short answer)

2. The island cottage where Emma and Maddy stay has a charming appearance but is poorly maintained and isolated. What does it symbolize?

   • A) Luxury and escape
   • B) Emma’s own transient and isolated lifestyle
   • C) The American dream
   • D) A fresh start

3. Emma treasures a childhood stuffed unicorn named Stuffie. In the Q&A, the author says the unicorn represents what? (short answer)

4. Dragonflies appear as a recurring symbol in the book (also seen in Part of Your World). What do they symbolize?

   • A) Death
   • B) Change
   • C) Eternal love
   • D) Good luck

Section 4: Synthesis (3 Questions)

1. In Chapter 15, Justin tells Emma about his mother’s betrayal. Emma uses a “crack in the ice” metaphor. What does this metaphor explain about trauma and behavior? (short answer)

2. Based on the author’s Q&A, compare Emma’s attachment style with Justin’s. Name each style and give one example of how it affects their relationship. (short answer)

3. The “curse” is never really broken by the experiment. How is it ultimately resolved by the end of the book? (short answer)

Answer Key

Section 1: Plot & Sequence

1. B) Hawaii
   Emma was about to leave for a six‑week assignment in Hawaii before she changed her plans to Minnesota (Chapters 3 and 5).

2. A unicorn pool floatie
   Justin paddles across the lake on a unicorn floatie to reach Emma when she is sick (Chapter 31).

3. Chad
   Justin names his dog after his ex‑best friend Chad as petty revenge (Prologue).

4. C) Travel nurse
   Emma is introduced as a travel nurse working temporary contracts (Chapter 1).

5. Embezzlement
   Justin’s mother embezzled money and is sentenced to six years in prison (Chapters 15 and 17).

6. B) “Will you marry me?”
   In the epilogue, Justin arranges for the Toilet King billboard to display the proposal message.

7. Daniel Grant
   Emma’s half‑brother appears after she takes a DNA test (Chapters 40–41).

8. B) Four
   The experiment specifies four dates, a single kiss, and then a breakup (Chapter 4).

Section 2: Character Motivation

1. B) She has the same “good luck charm” curse and hopes to break it
   Both Justin and Emma have a pattern of exes finding soulmates after them; they hope dating will cancel the curse (Chapters 1–3).

2. He chooses anger over empathy, feeling betrayed by his mother’s actions and unwilling to forgive her
   Justin explicitly rejects Brad’s advice to show empathy, closing the blinds on the Toilet King sign that reminds him to choose empathy (Chapter 12).

3. A) She is afraid of commitment due to childhood trauma
   Maddy tells Justin that Emma is incapable of falling in love because of her past neglect (Chapter 29).

4. She believes she needs to heal alone and cannot expose Justin’s children to her unresolved trauma
   Emma says she doesn’t want to become “their Amber” and must work on herself before she can be a partner or parent (Chapter 44).

5. B) She was possessive and selfish; she knew her parents would never give Emma back
   Amber admits she refused to let her parents raise Emma because she would never get her back (Chapter 41).

Section 3: Theme & Symbol

1. Roots, permanence, and the desire for Emma to plant herself
   The author explains that Justin’s roses need planting, symbolizing his wish for Emma to put down roots (Q&A, Chapter 51).

2. B) Emma’s own transient and isolated lifestyle
   The island is a metaphor for Emma’s way of living: beautiful at first but impractical, poorly maintained, and dangerous in a crisis (Q&A, Chapter 51).

3. Emma’s innocence and childhood
   Stuffie is “the token of Emma’s innocence and childhood, one of the last things she attaches to” (Q&A, Chapter 51).

4. B) Change
   Dragonflies are a repeated symbol that change is coming, also present in Part of Your World (Q&A, Chapter 51).

Section 4: Synthesis

1. The metaphor explains that trauma creates a crack that can drive people to make self‑destructive choices. Justin’s mother embezzled money because of her own trauma, so Emma urges Justin to see her as broken rather than evil.
   In Chapter 15, Emma says the crack can be filled later, and understanding that helps with forgiveness.

2. Emma has an avoidant attachment style; Justin has a secure attachment style. Emma withdraws when intimacy grows, like when she insists on leaving because of the kids. Justin consistently reaches out, offers support, and expresses his feelings directly, even when Emma pulls away.
   The Q&A (Chapter 51) discusses avoidant vs. secure attachment and how it creates the central tension.

3. The curse is broken not by the original experiment but by Emma’s personal growth: she goes to therapy, unpacks her bags, takes a permanent job, and returns to Justin ready to commit forever. They agree to date again “not just for the summer, but forever.”
   In the final chapter (47) and the epilogue, Emma shows she has healed and can now build a lasting relationship.

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