Saving
June is a worthy addition to the substantial list of contemporary teen
novels dealing with grief after losing a loved one.
In this case, Harper’s older sister, June, has committed
suicide just before her high school graduation. This has been a shock to everyone,
since June was popular and appeared to be happy. At June’s memorial, Harper
meets Jake, who has a mysterious connection to June. Harper soon discovers
there’s a side to June she was unaware of.
June’s dream was to go to college in California, so Harper,
along with her best friend Laney and Jake decide to steal June’s ashes and take
them to California. Harper’s parents, who are recently divorced, had decided to
split the ashes among the two of them. (I really can’t believe that. I can’t
imagine anyone thinking that is a good solution….) This is unacceptable to
Harper as well, and the fact that her aunt has decided to move in with Harper
and her mom also sends her reeling. Harper really can’t stand her aunt.
So, this is a road trip story with several interesting side
trips—one to St. Louis, where I am from, so that has a special appeal to me.
The characters are great, even the side characters that they meet along the
way. I believed Harper’s grief, and really thought Harrington did a great job
of getting us inside her head. Laney was
a great, although unlikely, best friend, and the addition of the mysterious
Jake kept me easily turning the pages. I thought Harper’s dealing with her
unhappiness by running away with June was a realistic scenario, given the
situation.
The only part that left me a little disappointed was the
secret that Jake is keeping, which is revealed towards the end of the book. I
didn’t buy it. I don’t think he would have kept this secret—it didn’t make
sense to me. It makes for a dramatic ending, though.
And…I will still recommend this to my contemp fans. I think
they will really like this, especially if they enjoyed 13
Reasons Why, Fall
for Anything, Hold
Still, or Before
I Die.
Published by Harlequin, November 22, 2011
eBook obtained for review from NetGalley
336 pages
Rating: 3.5/5
Sounds like a pretty good read!
ReplyDeleteI keep seeing this book all over! I need to check it out. I've been really into contemporary lately.
ReplyDeleteI love contemporary books (yes, I'm biased :-). But I really enjoyed this review and the details you provided. Will have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteI've been watching and excited for this book for a LONG time. Glad to see that, even though it wasn't perfect, that you liked it!
ReplyDeleteNice review! I really liked Saving June and the realstic story. It was so worth ordering it from an Australian book store!
ReplyDeleteI've heard great things about this book so I want to put it on my wishlist since my library doesn't have it. --Haha, agree with you about splitting the ashes ..it's like splitting a body ..you take the one from the waist down and I take the top ..yikes!!!
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