Book Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

When her older sister commits suicide and her divorcing parents decide to divide the ashes, Harper Scott takes her sister's urn to the one place June always wanted to go: California. On the road with her best friend, plus an intriguing guy with a mysterious connection to June, Harper discovers truths about her sister, herself and life.

My thoughts:
At first glance Saving June sounds a little sad and depressing. Harper has always lived in the shadow of her "perfect" sister, until one day her sister commits suicide, and Harper is left behind with a grieving mother who's well on her way to becoming an alcoholic, a dad who has completely cut all ties to his old family, and an aunt that uses the Bible to explain everything. How is Harper supposed to go on with her life, when her sister was taken away so suddenly and without explanation?

I'm not going to spoil anything for you here, but let's just say that the answer involves a road trip to California, Harper's vintage-loving flirty best friend Laney, and mysterious music nerd Jake. Saving June was so strong and touching, and I loved the message of how you're the only person that can do something about your own happiness. Enjoy life for what it is, even if there are times when you just feel like hiding in bed all day, because this is the only life you have.

One of my favorite things about Saving June was how music was a vital part of the story. There's is one moment in particular, involving Let It Be by The Beatles, that really had me crying, and I think I fell in love with Jake when he told Harper about Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. It did feel a little dumb that Harper and Laney were so surprised by Jake's taste in music, but I guess most teenagers don't really listen to The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix anymore.

Cover:
I think the cover is beautiful. A little sad, a little dreamy, and very much like the book itself.


My rating of this book:

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Full disclosure:
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

This book can be purchased from a number of local retailers and online book stores like Amazon and The Book Depository (I'm not an affiliate of either). The latter store has free shipping to about 100 countries.