Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Published by Harlequin Teen 2011
Paperback 322 pages

Thank you so much Harlequin Teen Panel for providing me with a copy of Saving June!

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.

Recommended to: Any one that enjoys contemporary and lots of emotional hardships that can make you examine your own life. 

Saving June is a wonderfully written emotional book. I really believed every moment of it, nothing was forced, everything flowed so well. The plot was very summer-y, a road trip! I personally feel that road trips provide so much for a person examine. First off, you're in a car/SUV/van or whatever, for a long time with other people. Second, you have plenty of time to think and a place away from everything to do it. It's really the perfect setting, as it was for Harper. She had space and air to think and breath away from everything going on in her life. She really had a wonderful setting full of awesome "side trips" that helped Harper through her journey. 

However, the most important part of Harper's journey were the two people with her, Laney and Jake, both of whom I loved! I loved Laney, their friendship was a tad cliche with her being a beautiful rich guy magnet, and Harper in the background. That said, I really liked Laney she was fun and was such a true friend to Harper. Their friendship felt so real. They always stuck up for each other, were so loyal, even when the situation/comment was kind of legit. In the end I loved them and everyone should have a friend/friendship like Laney and Harper. Jake was a little different but I liked him immediately. One of my favorite things about him was the music. Now, while I love music I'm not a person who goes searching for it. Yes, that means that I'm one of those listen to the radio on the way to school and work and buys songs that way. A lot of my friends want to kill me for that and drag me to a mosh pit. Anyway I loved the music aspect that Jake brought to the book. I was surprised I liked it so much because I'm not that into music, but I really enjoyed it. I also liked the way Jake was protective of Laney and Harper, it was very suttle  but showed he cared. Overall I really liked these characters, they were easy to relate to and like. 

Now there were some minor things, and minor *SPOILERS*, that I didn't really like or felt satisfied with. In the beginning of the book the relationship between June and Jake seems more than what it turns out to be. At first I thought it may be romantic or at least a deeper friendship than what it turned out to be. In the end Jake even says when they're spreading June's ashes that he didn't know her that well. It just seemed a little weird to me because he drove across the country with Harper and Laney, whom he doesn't seem to like in the beginning, for June. Yet he doesn't really know her or have a super deep friendship with her. I mean, I guess he kind of did since he made her some mixes and introduced her to his friends, a few times. And what was with Gwen really liking her and being upset about her if she only met her a few times. Like I said this is a minor detail, but it did leave me a little unsatisfied. Another thing was the sex, I don't mind sex in YA books because it's a real life situation, but I felt that it happened because they were both feeling bad and needed to feel something so they used each other achieve that. I don't know it just didn't feel right to me, they didn't love each other and that's fine because, hey it happens in life. At the same time they kind of used each other, also happens in real life, yet their relationship was more than strangers and less than a couple. Maybe the in-between-ness bothered me, the fact that they seemed to be trying the goods before a serious relationship or using each other to feel something.  Maybe it was that I liked their relationship before, I knew they were going to before they did, but I didn't want them to because I felt that would taint their relationship. Either way I just didn't like it. *END SPOILERS*

So I know the things I didn't like seemed longer than the like but that's because there's only so many things you can list and discuss about things you like. I also feel the need to explain why I didn't like things because other people may have different thoughts and opinions. Overall this was a very enjoyable well written book that's a great read!