Review: Saving June By: Hannah Harrington

Title: Saving June

Author: Hannah Harringtion

Published: May 1st, 2011

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars!

Goodreads 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 demeanor 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.

My Thoughts:

I will admit that I was hesitant to read Saving June only because it seemed like such a heavy read, I didn't know if I was ready to read about teenage suicide or that I could handle the emotional roller coaster I knew it would take me on. But, let me just say that this book was amazing and I completely enjoyed every single piece of it.

Harper is left dealing with the aftermath of her sister's suicide, everyone including her is in complete shock.  Her and June were always the complete opposites. I really enjoyed Harper's character she wasn't fake and she seemed completely real throughout the book. I felt her pain but, the book wasn't overwhelming or depressing which made me very happy. It felt like a coming of age story and I felt what Harper decided to do with her sister's ashes was brave and memorable. 

My absolute favorite part of the whole book was Jake and Harper's relationship. They had such an amazing banter with each other and I loved watching their love and hate relationship. Harper did not like Jake from the very beginning of the trip, she can't understand why he has offered to take her and her best friend  all the way to California for her sister, while wondering what kind of relationship him and her sister shared. Although I have been reading a lot of road trip books lately, I loved this one the most. It felt so much more like Harper's journey then a road trip although it still had it's fun aspects to it. 

Jake was one of those guys that you can't help but love, he loves music especially the classics and he was determined to teach Harper and Laney all the facts about his favorites. I loved that he didn't feel dumbed down or shallow, I could tell he was deep even if you didn't get to see it all right in front of you. He was complicated and broken, He was definitely unlike most of the boys you read about in  YA because he felt so completely real to me that he could exist in real life (at least in my dreams he does lol)

Laney, definitely added a bit of lighter side to the book and she did make me smile so many times throughout the book. She added humor and a different view on the situation, she loves old movies and actors who died too soon. She wants to be the next Marilyn Monroe and even though she was only a secondary character, I feel like I got to know her just as much as I did the rest of the characters.

Hannah Harrington's debut was amazing, it was one of those books that after reading it I felt completely satisfied, it also made me think. I called my sister just to remind her how much I loved her because this book really made an impact on me. It felt like a celebration of life, love, and happiness. Saving June takes a tragedy and reminds you of what's important in life, read this one and you won't regret it!

Happy Reading!

Kristin