A Million Junes
Written by Emily Henry
Age Range: 12 and up
Hardback: 391 pages
Publisher: Razorbill
ISBN: 978-0-448-49396-1
What to expect: High School, love, friendship, ghosts
Emily Henry, author of THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD, is back with this phenomenal story of love, loss and intrigue woven with magical realism.
Jack “June” O’Donnell lives by the rules her father set forth: Stay away from the Angerts. Don’t go to the waterfalls. And stay away from the Angerts. That’s not easy, since the Angerts live nearby, and in their small town of Five Fingers, Michigan, it’s difficult to avoid run-in’s.
June’s father passed away from mysterious circumstances years before, and her family has moved on. Her mother is remarried, and she now has two adorable little brothers. Things seem as normal as they can be, considering June believes she lives in a “thin place,” – a place so thin it’s where Heaven and Earth meet. Coywolves roam and steal shoes, and magical cherry trees can heal with a single bite of delicious fruit. And spirits roam the property.
But it’s not all beautiful, because a curse binds the O’Donnells and the Angerts together. No one quite knows what started it, but everyone knows that when something bad happens to one family, something bad happens to the other. It’s best for everyone if they just stay away.
So when June runs in to Saul Angert at the fair, she’s more than curious. He doesn’t seem like a demon. In fact, he’s handsome and charming and perfectly polite. They begin a secret, Romeo and Juliet type romance and discover that the spirits of June’s home want them to know the awful truth behind the secrets of their two families. And it just may explain the mysterious death of her father, and every other horrible thing that has trapped them in this feud for generations.
Emily Henry is a master storyteller. Told in alternating scenes of reality and dream-like flashbacks led by ghost-hosts, this enchanting story grips you from the first chapter. Its surreal quality envelops readers in a fantastical world that really is Magical Realism at its best. Henry’s writing is poetic and imaginative, and her characters are exquisitely compelling. June will pull at your heart in a rare way. At times heartbreaking, thrilling and romantic, this book is perfect for teens and parents alike. There won’t be a dry eye come the last page of this brilliant book.
Highly recommended.
About Emily Henry
Emily Henry is the author of The Love That Split the World. She is a full-time writer, proofreader, and donut connoisseur. She studied creative writing at Hope College and the New York Center for Art & Media Studies, and now spends most of her time in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the part of Kentucky just beneath it. She tweets @EmilyHenryWrite.
A Million Junes, by Emily Henry, was reviewed by Denise Mealy. Discover more books like A Million Junes by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Emily Henry, Friendship, Ghosts, High School, Love, and YA Fiction.