Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Saving June by Hanna Harrington

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Released on: November 22, 2011

Source: NetGalley

Everyone's sorry. But no one can explain why.
Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated. So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going—California.
Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession…and an unknown connection to June. When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs. Except…Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down—again.(From Harlequin)

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I expected a lot of tears when I started reading Saving June. It’s begins in a pretty sorrowful way, the first chapter alone it’s heartbreaking. It’s definitely a story about grieving and coping with the loss of a loved one, in this case Harper’s sister June, but there was a lot more to it than that.

There’s a deep sadness in the background of the story, it’s always there, no matter how many amazing things Harper gets to see and the fun stuff she experiences through the road trip to California, all along you know the purpose of the trip and you can’t keep it out of your mind, it’s like a blanket covering and suffocating, like a big weight on the shoulders, and you feel the same emotions Harper feels after the fun is over, the weightiness comes back filled with sadness and anger.

Harper is definitely a favorite female character, I loved her no bullshit attitude, her defensive and protective personality which made me smile proudly several times while reading this novel. I said at the beginning that this wasn’t a terribly emotional novel because during the road trip there’s a lot of unforgettable moments, laughter and the opportunity to get to know these characters deeply. The writing is real and personal, it draws you into the story and feel as if you’re riding right along Harper and her friends, which were all damaged and intriguing characters but somehow fit together perfectly. Music plays a big part of the story which I loved, it fits perfectly in between and I was happy to see that the author listed the playlists at the end of the novel. This is one of those books that I really wanted to take my time reading, it was a bittersweet story that I didn’t want to see come to an end, I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. There’s something about this story that touches you emotionally in different ways, and it’s one that will leave you thinking about it long after you read it because Harper’s journey is an unforgettable one.