Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Compared to her perfect, older sister June, Harper was always second best. So when June commits suicide with no visible signs or a note left behind, her death rocks Harper’s world. Of all people she should have been the closest to her sister, but it had been years since they’d been good friends. Worst of all, Harper hasn’t shed a single tear. She can’t allow herself to feel or her world will fall apart. Her mother is already a wreck and she can’t add shutting down to her already long list of screw ups. After she and her quirky and flirty bestfriend Laney find a California postcard in June’s top drawer Harper decides that the least she can do is follow June’s wish: to get to California. Before her divorced parents can split her ashes, she, Laney, and a mysterious badboy connected to June named Jake are off on the road trip of their lives. Little does Harper know that in saving June she might just also be saving herself.

I had never heard of Saving June before reading Nomes review of it but when the raving reviews from all the trusted Australian bloggers I know kept coming in my curiosity was piqued. It was with reservation that I picked it up, thinking in the least it would be a diverting read. After my lukewarm expectations I was completely surprised to find that the up-to-the-brim hype was totally warranted. Saving June turned out to be one of my biggest surprise favorites of the year.

Being able to explain why you loved something as much as you did is another matter, but I will try my best. First of all, it would be because of Harper. Sarcastic, angry, couldn’t-care-less Harper. She felt real and more importantly her suddenly grief-stricken state felt real. How do you deal with losing a loved one? How do you deal when that person decided to take her life? In Harper’s case, she goes numb and turns even harder and rougher around the edges than she was before. She doesn’t want sympathy, she doesn’t want to be saved, and she certainly doesn’t want to become the good girl, filling the void June left. That the screw up was left behind and chose to live doesn’t even make a difference. A passage from early on:

My eyes shift from her [Aunt Helen] to my mother, shocked, but Mom won’t even look at me. I can’t believe I’m being ambushed. I mean, I know Aunt Helen’s never liked me. I get it. June was always the golden child while I’m the rotten egg. I never even had to do anything to make myself look bad except be average in comparison to her saintly self. This is nothing new.

June wouldn’t be so selfish. June wouldn’t be so cold. June wouldn’t abandon her daughterly duties. Except that she did, permanently, leaving me to take the reins of a role I cannot possibly fill. But no one wants to think about that.

My sister is dead and I’m still being measured up against her ghost. I’m not even surprised.

So why does it still hurt?

And that’s what Harper is up against. With just her and her raw authenticity Saving June would be great. But there’s also a fully-fleshed bestfriend in Laney and most crucial of all a complex and swoon-worthy guy in Jake. For some it’s art and for others it’s the written word, but for Harper it turns out that music via Jake’s obsession with it is the catalyst for processing her emotions on their long and winding road trip to California. Jake’s knowledge of classic rock and the art of the mix CD plays a huge part on their trip as he opens Harper’s eyes to the greats and trailblazers of rock. They even drop in on a concert along the way to hilarious results. Because I can’t help myself, one of my favorite music moments (The Beatles “Let It Be”):

I want what Paul had. I want the fair that there will be some kind of an answer, something more than these endless questions taking up so much space in my head, this feeling that nothing matters and nothing has a point. It isn’t fair. It isn’t faith that I have no answers. It isn’t fair that June isn’t here to give them. Most of all it isn’t fair that she did this to me, that she left me to deal with this mess on my own. That’s how I feel: completely and utterly alone. Even with Laney here. Even with my mother. I’m still alone.

Hot tears prick behind my eyes like tiny searing needles. The feel of them there surprises me as much as it does Jake.

He glances over at me, confused. “Hey. What’s—“

“Shut up,” I retort reflexively.

And that’s just a small taste of this powerful and poignant book. While not perfect, Saving June was a perfectly satisfying reading experience in every way. Breathtaking, heartbreaking, and simply beautiful in both its bitter and sweet moments it was hard to tear myself away from Hannah Harrington’s clear and striking prose. I’ve already found myself rereading my favorite parts and can’t wait to get my hands on a hard copy. Highly recommended for fans of The Sky is Everywhere and Raw Blue.

Saving June comes out on November 22. To buy the ebook go to Angus and Robertson or Borders AU.

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