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A review by cschaepe84
A Million Junes by Emily Henry
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Two families, one curse, thousands of moments that play out through generations.
Junior O'Donnell and Saul Angert are two people from two different families in a small town of Five Fingers who have a feud. The exact feud isn't quite known, but all that they know of it is to stay away from each other or very bad things happens. People die, people get very sick, tragedy strikes. So, when Saul and Junior literally run into each other one fateful night when Saul returns to Five Fingers, they feel a connection despite the curse. They were taught to hate each other, but couldn't bring themselves to. In addition, on the night June meets Saul, she begins to experience a distant memory in her room, one that played out when she was eight years old and her father was alive. You see, June lives in a haunted house, or at least in a special place where the veil between this world and the one beyond. These episodes of experiencing memories happen in escalating frequency ever since she and Saul reconnect and began falling in love. Ah, but the curse! Saul and June use their heads together to figure out the mysteries of this curse and unravel a tragic tale of loss, vengeance, and generational trauma.
This was such a unique, heart-felt story that left me in tears. The writing was so beautiful. Henry did such an outstanding job creating this atmospheric world that I could see and taste, balancing this with the intense emotions of the grief from losing someone you loved. I myself having lost my father can very easily relate and I found myself feeling so hard for Junior, who idealized and idolized her father, never questioning the way he told his story: perfect, rosy, and heroic. But when the memories continued to unravel, she is confronted with certain truths about her father, and then confronted with the truth about a wrong committed long, long ago, that haunted both families. Through June and Saul we learn about how love and forgiveness can heal all wounds, as well as accepting the past as it is, both the good and the ugly, as well as being grateful for what you have in the present. This book had me pondering all these things in my own life, as there are some things that are painful in my past, but there's also a lot that I miss that I wish I could revisit and see again. However, there is so much to love and be grateful for in the present, but if you do not let go of the past, you will never see that, and you could miss out on a brighter, more fulfilling future.
Man, this is my first book that I've read of Emily Henry's, and I understand this is some of her earlier writing. I know she writes mainly rom-coms now, but it's such a shame she doesn't write stories similar to this. So incredibly beautiful, so haunting, and yet, such a triumph all rolled into one. For anyone who has ever grieved, this book could bring some comfort and hope.
Junior O'Donnell and Saul Angert are two people from two different families in a small town of Five Fingers who have a feud. The exact feud isn't quite known, but all that they know of it is to stay away from each other or very bad things happens. People die, people get very sick, tragedy strikes. So, when Saul and Junior literally run into each other one fateful night when Saul returns to Five Fingers, they feel a connection despite the curse. They were taught to hate each other, but couldn't bring themselves to. In addition, on the night June meets Saul, she begins to experience a distant memory in her room, one that played out when she was eight years old and her father was alive. You see, June lives in a haunted house, or at least in a special place where the veil between this world and the one beyond. These episodes of experiencing memories happen in escalating frequency ever since she and Saul reconnect and began falling in love. Ah, but the curse! Saul and June use their heads together to figure out the mysteries of this curse and unravel a tragic tale of loss, vengeance, and generational trauma.
This was such a unique, heart-felt story that left me in tears. The writing was so beautiful. Henry did such an outstanding job creating this atmospheric world that I could see and taste, balancing this with the intense emotions of the grief from losing someone you loved. I myself having lost my father can very easily relate and I found myself feeling so hard for Junior, who idealized and idolized her father, never questioning the way he told his story: perfect, rosy, and heroic. But when the memories continued to unravel, she is confronted with certain truths about her father, and then confronted with the truth about a wrong committed long, long ago, that haunted both families. Through June and Saul we learn about how love and forgiveness can heal all wounds, as well as accepting the past as it is, both the good and the ugly, as well as being grateful for what you have in the present. This book had me pondering all these things in my own life, as there are some things that are painful in my past, but there's also a lot that I miss that I wish I could revisit and see again. However, there is so much to love and be grateful for in the present, but if you do not let go of the past, you will never see that, and you could miss out on a brighter, more fulfilling future.
Man, this is my first book that I've read of Emily Henry's, and I understand this is some of her earlier writing. I know she writes mainly rom-coms now, but it's such a shame she doesn't write stories similar to this. So incredibly beautiful, so haunting, and yet, such a triumph all rolled into one. For anyone who has ever grieved, this book could bring some comfort and hope.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Violence