a million junes // emily henry

published: 2017

pages: 391

read: 1/22-26/2019

rating: good read. loved it! too many jacks to count! 

book: 9 in 2019 

SYNOPSIS
In their hometown of Five Fingers, Michigan, the O'Donnells and the Angerts have mythic legacies. But for all the tall tales they weave, both founding families are tight-lipped about what caused the century-old rift between them, except to say it began with a cherry tree.

Eighteen-year-old Jack “June” O’Donnell doesn't need a better reason than that. She's an O'Donnell to her core, just like her late father was, and O'Donnells stay away from Angerts. Period.

But when Saul Angert, the son of June's father's mortal enemy, returns to town after three mysterious years away, June can't seem to avoid him. Soon the unthinkable happens: She finds she doesn't exactly hate the gruff, sarcastic boy she was born to loathe. 

Saul’s arrival sparks a chain reaction, and as the magic, ghosts, and coywolves of Five Fingers conspire to reveal the truth about the dark moment that started the feud, June must question everything she knows about her family and the father she adored. And she must decide whether it's finally time for her—and all of the O'Donnells before her—to let go.

MY THOUGHTS

SHORT VERSION:

good read. i really liked it but its not until now that i sort of have my Jacks in order. 
(Jack is a family name and if i remember correctly, there are 4. once they start going into the past it was a bit of a doozy).

LONG VERSION:

i checked this out last year when i was in the middle of the rut. and it just sat there and sat there and i kept renewing it until i finally gave up and returned it. 

in anticipation of her new book coming out sometime this year, i figured i should read this one. 

now I'm kind of glad that i waited to read it. i don't think i would have enjoyed it as much the first time i tried to. 

i really like Henry's writing. her imagination is amazing and i can confidently say that i will continue to read as she writes.

anyway, i really did like this book. 

and can i be honest...it wasn't until bookstagram that i really noticed the kinds of reads there are....like for example, i know there's mystery and chick lit and things like that but other than that...i never really thought about the category books fell in if they weren't in the common ones. so i guess it wasn't until i read a comment calling this book magic realism...that i really started to think that that's what it was. 

i don't know. 

its weird. i know. 

but....i think going into this book knowing that that's what its called or what some would call it kinda helped me out. 

i guess that's why i understood this book a bit more than her first. 

or not even understood but was able to read it with more attention and understanding. 

.....

either way, i really liked this one. 

i really liked her first book. 

i cant wait to read her next book (already placed it on hold at my library). 

i love how it's about a person discovering not only themselves but their family history. 

how its about fixing whats been programmed to be broken simply because of a past that she's only a part of because of family but has nothing to really do with her. 

i love her friendship with (im a horrible person and want to say this is her name but its been so long ang augh! so sorry!!!!!) Hannah. it's so refreshing to read a story about a friendship so deep like theirs and i absolutely love their love story. 

i LOVED that friendship. 

i loved how she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she knew she had to do.  

i just loved this story so much!

basically, if you love getting lost in stories that are a bit more magical, then i recommend you read this. and her first. and possibly her next!

as always, spoilers below. 

thanks!

#lesreads on IG

SPOILERS

ahm, since its been a while, i won't drag it and ill make it fast. 

essentially Jack (ill call her June from here on out) is not allowed to be friends with Saul Angert because it's just bad family blood. but she runs into him at the fair and to get away from him she goes into the mirror house thing that she hasn't gone into since her father passed away. 

but she still runs into him. 

(he acts like he didn't know who she was then but he knew all along). 

Saul being there is a sort of shock because he left town to go to school and no one expected him to ever come back. 

he comes back because his father has Alzheimer's and he's basically the last one in the family that can help him. 

(let's make it quick) 

June's great grandpa's (or something like that because there are a lot of jacks) story is that he is traveling all over the world trying to find the perfect place to plant his cherry tree and will never settle until he does. that's when he ends up in FF. he plants the tree owns the land and then shit happens between him and The O'Donnells that causes the O'Donnells to keep the property (honestly, it was money but also mostly 100% pride). 

essentially what happened...the O'Donnells son (I think his name is) Alex, fell in love with his daughter. 

there was already a bit of bad blood because of the whole land thing...but anyway, they're at this waterfall thing when they both decided to jump in and start over just them two when he comes up but she doesn't. (i cant remember her name. UGH!) 

Alex rushes over to jack's property but its already too late. she has passed away. this enrages Jack and he beats the living crap out of Alex. i think to the point of death. 

and that's what started the curse and pushed the feud even more. 

so now, after June's dad's death, she is now getting these "visions" (for lack of a full blown explanation) and she's starts piecing the story together. (they're these little dandelion flower kinda things. every time she touches one, she's transported to a new memory.) 

she's really in search of her father but this is what's she's getting; she's getting the history of their families.  

the pink ghost that in her room: is the woman above who was with Alex and passed away. 

the black ghost that she only sees when something bad is about to happen: is Alex. 

this is how she learns the beginning of the family curse and how her and Saul are finally able to break it. (kinda like a rebirth. like a baptism of some sort.) 

there's a lot more that i left out and this is just the basics of it (even if i did get the names wrong) but definitely read this book if this seems like something ya'd like!

ahhh!!!