This book didn't make me cry, but it came pretty close.
It's been awhile since I picked up a YA novel that truly made me think, made me tear up, made me clench my fists and bite my lips and flip through the pages with a ferocity that only increased as the book went on. It's been awhile since a YA novel moved me the way this book did, made me truly feel for the characters and break my heart the way this story did. It's been awhile since I liked a YA book so much. I haven't been posting a Literature Analysis or reading so much YA fiction lately, because in the haze of paranormal romances and dystopian romances and contemporary romances that have been crowding the Dymocks shelves, young adult sometimes seems like a genre that cares less about the stories and more about the commercial value. Up until I picked up Saving June, I'd been hitting somewhat of a YA dead end. Good girl meets dangerous boy. Dangerous boy declares love for girl. Repeat my previous two sentences a few thousand times and you have a standard paranormal romance. It's so, so easy for authors to fall into this trap. Hannah Harrington didn't. It's not to say that Saving June is perfect, or an easy read for someone who's lost a loved one to suicide. Oh, it might be totally untruthful and melodramatic. But for me, the emotions were captured perfectly. The road trip was written perfectly. Lacey was written perfectly. I loved almost all of it. The only exception was Jake's character, why Harper let him go on the road trip, and the romance. I didn't like that, because I felt it was an unnecessary addition to what would've been a near-one hundred percent contemporary. But I feel that I can let that element, that one element of the story, go. Because I loved the rest of it so much. Because I fell in love with almost all of the characters. Because it was what rekindled my interest in YA and reminded me of why I love this genre so much. I think it's a full five stars.
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AuthorRobert Robinson is a tutor, writer, author of Book Reviews at ThePaperGuide and literature explorer. Robert was born in Austria. He moved to New York 10 years ago. Robert likes to travel, spend time with family and friends. Archives
December 2018
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