Review: Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Author: Hannah Harrington

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Page Count: 322pages, Paperback

Date Published: November 22nd 2011 (first published May 1st 2011)

Find it on Goodreads: Saving June

Source: A copy was sent to me from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Rating:  4.5/5

‘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.

My Thoughts: Completely exceeded my expectations. Loved it. 

It's 4am right now and I just finished Saving June. I was utterly blown away by this book. It was brilliant and beautiful and sad and funny and made me feel so much. There was a large presence of music in the novel, which I so appreciated. It added to the imagery, and I felt as if I was wholly immersed inside the story.


For a while, it felt as if all I was reading were dead sibling books. They were really getting me into a reading slump, therefore I was extremely hesitant about picking up this book. I didn't want to read another book that would make me sad. While this one was sad in a sense, it was so much more. I laughed, I teared up, I swooned, I got mad, I felt so, so much for the characters. June, Jake, and Laney will hold a special place in my heart now.


There's something about road trip books that make me love them. I think it's the fact that we get to learn so much about a small amount of characters, as we are with them for their entire journey. I felt like this with The Disenchantments as well. These books always make me want to go on a road trip with my friends. I just want to get my license, and GO.


Anyway, back to the book. I had a love-hate relationship with Jake and June. They aggravated me to the max with their some of their comments to each other and to other people, but they also made me smile and laugh. I related to both of them in different ways and yet am so opposite from them in others. I liked Laney a lot and found her to be a fantastic third character. She wasn't just a comic relief. She was complex and had her issues as well. All three of them had their dysfunctions and those were the things that made me love them. They felt like my friends when I put down the book, and that's a feeling I can never get enough of.


Although the book started out a bit slow, and had some parts that irritated the crap out of me, all in all it was fantastic and beautiful and I can't wait to see what Harrington comes up with next. There were some wonderful lines in this novel that I want to make into artwork! Thank you to HarlequinTeen for the copy of this beautiful book!

Happy reading,
~Kristy