A Million Junes

Didn't grip me, couldn't connect with the characters or the lore. Sort of magical realism, sort of romance, sort of wimsy, not enough of either.

i get what people don't like about her writing i think, but this one had a good plot which bumped it up to 4 just barely

ghosts and evil spirits and whatnot


- “it shows us the things that hurt us. Over and over again,. And then it takes the thing we love most”. - “I dont understand”. - “It poisons us”, he says, “And the people we love.” - “And what do you tihnk will happen if you end it?” - “It will be satisfied. it will go away.”

4.5 stars

𝐌𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐠. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝.

My soul is destroyed.

If you could only see see the amount of markers I placed down 🥲 If you asked me now, 50% of those pages should be all considered works of art all on their own.

I don't think I can choose a favorite quote or moment because each of them feel so special in the grand scheme of the story... I mean, thats the point of the book, isn't it? Every moment is special on it's own and it deserves to be remembered ❤️

What surprised me is that the story itself doesn't really move forward that much, it feels like it takes place in such little time, but all those memories make it feel like you are moving backwards while still slowly crawling forward.

I have to say I was lost almost all the way till the end, because you don't get much explanation on to how all the magic happens and I am a need-to-know kind of person. But that didn't take any of the magic out of the story.

If you like sad books with happy endings, romances that happen to be fiction, and quotes that make you reconsider your way of living? This is your book 🍒

PS: Please do tell me where I can find a Saul, because I need someone like him in my life, thank you.

Came to A Million Junes from Henry's breakout adult novel [b:Beach Read 52867387 Beach Read Emily Henry https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589881197l/52867387.SX50.jpg 67832247]. Wow, girl has Daddy issues, doesn't she? Both books feature larger than life but often absent fathers who are revealed to be much different than the idealized vision the heroines have at the start of the books. I'd have to read more of her backlist to see if that's the theme in all of her stories, but the commonalities among these two books was striking. Other than that, the two books couldn't be more different. A Million Junes is imaginative YA magic realism, with the emotions dialed up to 11, forbidden love, and girl power (loved June's BFF and wouldn't mind reading about her college adventures). Probably something I would have appreciated more when I was the YA target reading age, but I'm glad I checked out this example of her earlier work. If you also found your way here via Beach Read, you will find the banter and the family dynamics somewhat familiar. But if you are put off by coywolves that steal shoes, cherries with magic healing properties and white balls of light that help you see past events and experience the thin veil between our world and others...well, you might want to choose a different book.

I really loved this book. The last chapter left me with tears in my eyes. I'm going to have to read it much more slowly in about a month or two soo I can soak up everything. Also, it really reminded me of Strange the Dreamer.

Loving this book also highlights something I've been trying so hard to avoid. I need to stop reading predominantly romance novels. Of the books I've read this year, I have enjoyed most that ones that aren't pure romance. But for so long romance is all I read and a part of me doesn't want to let that go.

Someone pinch me, please, because I honestly don't believe this book is real. Full disclosure, I started reading A Million Junes with the thought that it was yet another contemporary novel. I was worried about “bad boy” Saul, as he was touted in the first part of this story, and certain that this would turn into the type of book where a wonderful female character would turn into a simpering mess at the hands of a boy. Oh, was I wrong. I'm pleased as punch to let you all know that this book shattered all misconceptions I had, and left me completely speechless. Emily Henry can write magical realism, oh yes she can. I'm in love with this book, and I don't care who knows it.

First off, let's talk about the characters. I love flawed characters. Girls like June, who feel realistic in all the things that they do and say, make my heart soar. June isn't even attempting to pretend that she's perfect. She doesn't love school, or get amazing grades. She's not the edgy outcast who stands out without trying to. June is about as normal a high school kid as you can get. For that alone, she had my heart. Then, I started to find out about her past. About her loss, and the weight of it heaped on her shoulders. I met her best friend, and fell in love with their dynamic. Then, we both met Saul and time just stopped. For all my snap judgments about him, I am so sorry. Saul is not a cliche. He's just as real as June, and the two of them together had the power to completely enthrall me.

Better still, is the fact that this book doesn't skirt around any of the realistic aspects of what June is dealing with. Her family as it was now, her family as it was then, the perfectly imperfect way that her father met her mother. The way that June will be going through the day completely fine, and then be hit by a sudden onslaught of feeling and reminder that her father is still dead. It's never easy to read a book that deals with the death of loved ones, but A Million Junes turns this into something that is relateable and real. My favorite quote was one that was traded between June and Saul during their painful memories of their lost loved ones: “I'm useless, but I'm here.”

I could gush on, endlessly, about the beauty between these pages. This book rushed on, pulling me into the magical world that only June and Saul had access to. It touched on the importance of family, of loving yourself, of finding someone who you can just be you with, and so much more. It made me smile, it made me cry, and it made me feel like I was more myself than I had been in a while. A Million Junes was a book that I wasn't expecting to love so much, but it snuck up on me. I'm so glad it did. This is so very worth your time.

I loved this book. The writing is beautiful - the magical realism helps and so much to the story. I had a bit of a problem with the ending - can't really put my finger on what it was about it. I laughed and cried - all the things. Looking forward to reading more by Emily Henry