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atamano's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Medical content, and Alcohol
buffy87's review against another edition
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The first half of the book I really was confused about where the plot was heading. I felt pretty uneasy reading it... almost like I was expecting a jump scare of SA trauma. But as the story unfolds things become a bit clearer.
Plot wise, I wasn't too invested. I kept getting jarred out of the flow by June's confessions towards Finn. It made me want to stop.
However, the writing makes you want to keep going. There are some beautiful moments of prose dangling throughout this book that it was a pleasant surprise.
I enjoyed the conversation between the sisters via art. In fact the sister relationship was intriguing for me to read as it was complicated but also wholesome.
Suitable for junior high and up.
Plot wise, I wasn't too invested. I kept getting jarred out of the flow by June's confessions towards Finn. It made me want to stop.
However, the writing makes you want to keep going. There are some beautiful moments of prose dangling throughout this book that it was a pleasant surprise.
I enjoyed the conversation between the sisters via art. In fact the sister relationship was intriguing for me to read as it was complicated but also wholesome.
Suitable for junior high and up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
micklesreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was unbelievably good. Through June's eyes, I felt like I was a teenager again, when everything is changing and everything is life and death, except for June and Finn and Toby, it really is. This was an incredibly moving book that I'm going to be thinking about for a long long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Grief, and Alcohol
shoelady523's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
carly_the_librarian's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
lizlikesfrogs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
readingbooksbcwhynot123's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was truly an...interesting book, is probably the right choice of words. I really did like it. I could barely let go of it, because it was so intriguing. A little disturbing and off putting, yes, but I read this book at 14 and I say that I could definitely relate to the mindset of a young person, especially since she was my age. Beautiful book, truly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Mental illness, and Gaslighting
Minor: Hate crime, Racism, and Sexual content
impeachnixon's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I'm writing this review years and years after I read it, so it won't be very detailed or anything, but it's taken me this logn to form my thoughts on it (and I still don't really know how I feel). All I can say is that I'm incredibly torn. I read this book when I was a 15 year old girl, and I was immediately put off by certain elements of it. In one scene, June calls Toby her boyfriend (as a "joke"? I didn't get it then and I don't get it now) and he isn't put off by it. There's the one scene where he, like, breathes down her neck? It made me extremely uncomfortable as a young girl. I don't need books that feature such complicated and controversial topics to explicitly spell out that they are bad, but, at the same time, I felt EXTREMELY uncomfortable at just how un-challenged some of these scenes went, especially as someone who was similar in age at the time to the main character. There were also many instances where June spoke about her love in language that was transparently meant to parallel the gay experience-- talking about how it isn't a love she chose, etc. That, plus one of the most prominent gay male characters (in my opinion) crossing the line in this book really made me feel like this book was not having the conversations about homophobia or incest that it wanted to be having, and that it was drawing extremely questionable comparisons between the two. I didn't need it to so explicitly condemn any of the character's actions or feelings-- I think that the reader should be trusted to form their own opinions about the events in the book. Besides, if Toby didn't act the way he did and didn't allow June to say and do some of the things she said and did, I have no problem with the book depicting and exploring the feelings that June had for her uncle. Honestly, I think my biggest complaint is just that I was lead to believe the book was in the young adult age range. The cover design, the synopsis advertising that it's about a 14 year old girl, and the synopsis not mentioning that she has feelings for her uncle had all kind of contributed to this idea for me. I still can't tell if it's YA or not-- although I hope it isn't intended to be. I can't really let myself give it under 3 stars because I did really enjoy reading certain parts of it. I think it was really well written, I loved June's relationship with her sister being explored. Although I wish that it was explored in a different way (namely, Toby handling June's feelings better and not having lines that seem to compare incest to homosexuality), the themes explored in this book and the relationships depicted were interesting and impactful. This book brought a lot of conversations that are very uncomfortable to the forefront. Still, I can't get over how uncomfortable it made me to read this book as a girl similar in age to the protagonist. For years, I've struggled to put together my feelings on this book, but I think that's my basic review. I felt like it was well written (although not flawless), but, in my personal experience, it was not tactful enough to make someone in the same demographic as the main character have a comfortable reading experience. And it wasn't always uncomfortable in the sense that it challenged me (although, to its credit, this book did challenge me in a way that I think is productive and conducive to the conversation it wanted to start). Rather, it often made me uncomfortable in the sense that I felt like I was supposed to like and relate to characters who didn't make me feel safe. I don't know how many stars off that warrants, if any. All I know is that it's one of the strongest memories I have of reading a book in that time of my life, and, although i don't know exactly what feelings I have about this book, they are no doubt very strong feelings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Incest
Minor: Pedophilia
dani_j_norwell's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Homophobia
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
The writing itself is beautiful and the characters are interesting enough, but the weird incest tones (and a vague inclination that that is going to move toward an extremely shitty "forbidden love" comparison to gay relationships, which might be me being hypervigilant but, from a glance over other reviews, does seem to crop up) and dubious handling of HIV/AIDS-related topics is making me think it would probably be better to drop this earlier than later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Incest, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Teenage protagonist is infatuated with her adult uncle; there is no reciprocation, but her feelings are still covered in depth. Death of a family member due to AIDS. Period-typical negative attitudes about AIDS. Brownface is mentioned and the R-slur is used in passing. Underage drinking in at least one scene.