Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: November 11, 2011
Source: Thanks to Harlequin Teen Panel
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Summary: ‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn't consider that.’
Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.
When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.
Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.
Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.
Review: I'd planned on getting Saving June from the library one day but then it showed up unexpectedly in my mailbox. I jumped on the chance to read it as soon as I got it. Saving June is a harder read, considering the subject manner, but it is also an extremely powerful one.
The two elements of the story that stand out the most are Harper and the music. Harper is someone I instantly liked. She'd already gone through a lot before her sister committed suicide and even before you finish the first couple of chapters you can see how hard this has hit Harper. The only thing I really didn't like about Harper was that she was made out to be kind of a rebel and I didn't think that was shown very well. Otherwise, she was a well-developed character that had a dry sense of humor that made me smile throughout the book.
The way music was incorporated into this book was wonderful. I'm not a huge music fan, well at least a current music fan. I'm more into the oldies so I loved how older music was brought into the conversation. Jake, one of my favorite side characters, has an odd obsession with ABBA that I loved, mainly because Harper teased him about it so often. Jake is such a sweet guy. Like Harper, he is in no way perfect but I still loved reading about his intricate relationship with Harper and her sister June.
Usually I'm a huge fan of road trips and this book was no exception. It definitely wasn't a usual road trip but it was a memorable one considering all the odd places Harper, Jake and Laney went during the course of Saving June.
Saving June manages the heavier topics expertly but also manages to make the reader smile. This is a debut that I would recommend for everyone.
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2 comments:
I really liked this one too. The music as a great aspect of the book and I think it made me understand the characters and connect with them more.
I don't usually go for books that cover the tougher issues (I'm too much of a wimp!) but I like that this had a slice of humor along with the difficult bits, to make it go down smoother. Sounds good!
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