Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Published: Nov. 22, 2011 by Harlequin Teen
Received: from NetGalley
Pre-order through Amazon: Saving June

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. {taken from goodreads.com}

This book kept popping up on my radar.  I had added it to my to-be-read list awhile back, and was eager for it's release.  Then I heard about bloggers getting early copies and this intrigued me to get my hands on it even faster.  When NetGalley sent out their latest email listing this book as an option to read for review, I spent no time requesting my copy.  It wasn't until Carla began reading it, and tweeting about her reactions to the book that forced me to stop what I was doing and begin reading it.  Certain people know when a book will sit well with me, Carla being one of them.  Her suggestion alone hyped up this book for me, and what a pleasant reading experience it was!

The story starts out by bringing the reader to Harper's sister June's funeral.  We learn that June is just a few years older than Harper, and has suddenly taken her own life, leaving Harper and their entire family in shock.  No one understand why such a beautiful, optimistic girl would do such a thing.  Harper, especially feels guilty for not seeing the warning signs, and doing something before it was too late.  With such a heavy topic, such as death, on your pallet, one may think this is going to be a very heavy read.  However, that is not how I felt while reading this story.  Harper's character is confused, rebellious, and closed off from any emotion.  Since we're seeing it all through her eyes, she doesn't allow the reader to fully comprehend the emotional depth of what it may feel like to lose someone so close to you.  As the story progresses, the reader begins to fall apart, right along side Harper.

On top of all the guilt, Harper knows she must do one last thing for her sister, take her ashes to California and spread them across the ocean -- the one place June always wanted to go, but never got the chance to.  It is Harper's best friend Laney who is there to support her, and take this adventure with her.  But they don't go alone.  A mysterious boy that once knew June, takes the journey with them.  Harper is pulled to Jake and doesn't quite understand why.  Is it June that makes her do this?  Jake has the ability to get under Harper's skin and royally piss her off.  He's arrogant and such a music snob.  Two characteristics that would normally push her away, but underneath all that Harper realizes that Jake is just as broken up over losing June as she is.  The two connect on this trek across the U.S., in search of California, and hoping to set June free, once and for all.

I loved the music element that played such a huge part of this story.  Since Jake's character is heavily centered around music, we're constantly being introduced to classic bands.  As their journey stretches out across the highway to California, we get to listen to mix CD after mix CD, right along with them.  It's the music that really hit home for me in the soft moments of Harper trying to grieve the loss of her sister.  I found myself really connecting to Harper.  She was angry more than anything and hated what her world had become.  She was tired of everyone always asking her, "are you ok?" and she really despised those who didn't understand her own pain.  I think that is why I really fell for Jake, because he was the last choice to understand her sorrow, yet he was the perfect person to console her in those deep, dark moments.

The story has a slow pace in the beginning, but once they get on the road, and Harper really starts to deal with her new reality I felt myself very engaged in the book.  I didn't want to put it down until I finished.  I needed to know what happened once they made it to California, and how on earth you'd ever be able to come back from such a monumental trip like that.  If you're on the fence about this book because it deals with death and loss, I urge you to give it a try.  It's not your typical sobfest read.  It has real elements and raw emotions that get inside your head, really make you think.  I love when books have the ability to possess something tangible, something we can reach out and grab.  Thank you Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book, I will definitely be purchasing my own copy when it is published.

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