Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis: If she'd waited less than two weeks, she'd have been June who died in June.

But I guess my sister didn’t consider that. When sixteen-year-old Harper’s sister June, the perfect, popular, pretty one to Harper’s also-ran, commits suicide just before her high school graduation, nothing in Harper’s world makes sense anymore. With her family falling apart, Harper has a plan – steal June’s ashes and take her sister to the one place she always wanted to go: California. Embarking on a wild road trip of impromptu gigs and stolen kisses with mysterious musician Jake, the one person who could hold answers about June, Harper’s determined to find peace for her sister. But will she find peace for herself along the way?

Review: This is a book that I read last year and immediately fell in love with. Yes the main plot point is slightly depressing by Hannah makes the whole story feel quite light hearted and fun which makes it a really easy read especially for summer.

Haper's older sister June has committed suicide, leaving the family in turmoil. Harper blames herself for not noticing and, despite June being dead, we really get to see the relationship the two had through Harper and her memories of June. One of the things I really liked about Harper as a character is that she admits she was particuarly awful to June before she died but this book is about her trying to make up for that by taking her sister to the one place she always wanted to go. California.

All of the characters in this book were so well developed. They all had individual stories and personalities and it was really interesting to delve into Jake's character in particular because we don't know much about him, just that June knew him in some way. He's stubborn and a jerk sometimes but, when it counts, he's a really decent guy and I loved getting to know him and watching his relationship with Harper change and grow over the course of the book.

The idea of stealing June's ashes was quite amusing for me - it just seemed like such a strange thing to do, but at the same time, I could completely understand why Harper had to do it. Her parents would never have accepted it. The use of the road trip was also really inventive for me. Hannah didn't just stick her characters on a plane and fly them to California - they wouldn't have had the money for that and besides, a road trip means there's a lot more time for character development. There are so many stops along the way and each one reveals a little more about the characters and their history which I thought was really nice and totally made me want to take a spontaneous road trip in a beat up old van with some friends.

The secondary focus of this book for me though was the music. Jake is a musican - his brother works in a record store and his whole life revolves around music and throughout the trip, he imparts everything he knows onto the two girls and onto us the reader. Harper's sarcasm cut through it though so it doesn't sound like a boring history lesson but is actually really interesting and at the back, we get a list of all the songs mentioned throughout the book to create our own 'playlist' and really understand what Jake is telling us in the book.

Overall, I think this book is a great summer read. It encompasses things I think everyone dreams of doing - jumping in a car one day and just driving. Taking the scenic route and doing things you never dreamed you would be doing but it also highlights the bond between sisters and how, even in death, that bond never disappears. It doesn't matter what you did when they were alive as long as you recognize the fact that there will always be things you wish you had said or done when they were alive. Reall poignant and funny but with little glimpses of real sadness beneath it all that uncovers the essence of how we cope when we lose someone we love.

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