Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Published: May 1st 2011

Pages: 336
Format: Paperback (New)
Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

‘If she’d waited less than two weeks, she’d be June who died in June. But I guess my sister didn’t consider that.’

Harper Scott’s older sister has always been the perfect one so when June takes her own life a week before her high school graduation, sixteen-year-old Harper is devastated. Everyone’s sorry, but no one can explain why.

When her divorcing parents decide to split her sister’s ashes into his-and-her urns, Harper takes matters into her own hands. She’ll steal the ashes and drive cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going, California.

Enter Jake Tolan. He’s a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession and nothing in common with Harper’s sister. But Jake had a connection with June, and when he insists on joining them, Harper’s just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanour and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what she needs.

Except June wasn’t the only one hiding something. Jake’s keeping a secret that has the power to turn Harper’s life upside down again.

When I finish started reading Saving June, I didn't like it at all. I thought it was a pretty basic young adult book and nothing really jumped out at me. But as I got more into the book, the more I fell in love with it. Harper, Laney and Jake are some of the best characters in any young adult book that I have read. Why? Simple, they are realistic. They are a group of teenagers with very different personalities but at the same time, they all want the same thing: to figure out who they are and why they are alive.

On top of that, it has an adorable romance that slowly grows during the whole book. The only complaints I have are: 1.) I wish it would have gone further into the story then it did. I would have liked to know what happened with the characters later down the line. 2.) June's reasoning for what she did is never explained. Which was VERY disappointing.