Review: A Million Junes by Emily Henry
Synopsis:
For as long as Jack “June” O’Donnell has been alive, her parents have had only one rule: Stay away from the Angert family.
But when June collides—quite literally—with Saul Angert, sparks fly, and everything June has always known is thrown into chaos.
Who exactly is this gruff, sarcastic, but seemingly harmless boy who has returned to their hometown of Five Fingers, Michigan, after three mysterious years away? And why has June—an O’Donnell to her core—never questioned her late father’s deep hatred of the Angert family? After all, the O’Donnells and the Angerts may 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.
As Saul and June’s connection grows deeper, they find that the magic, ghosts, and coywolves of Five Fingers seem to be conspiring to reveal the truth about the harrowing curse that has plagued their bloodlines for generations. Now 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 the O’Donnells before her—to let go.
This book made me cry.
“We both know that pain comes for us all. It's almost a relief. Because if all of us are going to someday lose the people we love most, or be lost by them, then what is there to do but live?”
Beach Read —which I absolutely loved—was my first introduction to Emily Henry. I actually didn’t know she had written anything else until I saw her mention it in one of Instagram stories. So I did what any normal person would do: I added them all to my TBR list, and started requesting them at the library. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d like this book, since I’m kind of going through a modern romance phase, and this is a YA magical realism story. But I was deeply impressed.
Technically, this book is YA, but the topics that it touches on—grief, family, love, etc.—are so universal that I think this is truly a novel for everyone.
First of all, the writing was so beautiful. The way Emily Henry writes about loss is so touching. I don’t want to speak for everyone who’s dealt with losing a loved one, but it really resonated with me.
“Letting go is not forgetting. It's opening your eyes to the good that grew from the bad, the life that blooms from decay.”
But Henry also balances out that achingly beautiful prose with hilarious dialogue between characters. I’m a sucker for some good banter.
I also loved the element of magical realism. The Whites, the coywolves, all the stories that June’s father tells her about the legacy of the Jacks, and the magical cherries have the feel of American tall tales. Of course, without context, all of that sounds really random, but Henry weaves these elements in with the plot so seamlessly it doesn’t feel out of place at all.
This novel has so much going on: There’s the Romeo and Juliet-esque war between the O’Donnells and the Angerts, there’s mystery, magic, a curse, and romance. But while the romance between June and Saul is a huge part of the story, at its core, its a really about the love between a father and daughter. Even though it’s been ten years, June is still reeling from the death of her father. Most of the book is her coming to terms with that, and finding out a way to move on, while still honoring the memory of her father.
“But some people are too alive to fully die, their stories too big to disappear…”
While Henry did an amazing job at creating the characters of June, Saul, and her father, I felt like some of the secondary characters fell a little flat. I’m mostly talking about June’s mother, and Saul’s father, Eli. June’s mother was originally from France, and moved to the United States in the hopes of becoming a dancer, and then she met June’s father. The story does go into how her mother made the decision to move to Five Fingers, but I didn’t really get a good sense of who she was after the death of her husband. Similarly, with Eli Angert, we know that he was a bestselling author, but aside from that, I didn’t really know what kind of a person he was. He felt very detached from the rest of the characters. Maybe that’s what Henry was going for, but it just left me wanting more.
However, it didn’t really detract from what I did like. This was honestly one of the most imaginative, moving books I’ve read in a while, and I’m really glad that it fell into my life.
“We may just be moments, June, but to love a handful of people very well, that’s a good life.”
Content Warning: loss of a loved one, cancer, accidental drowning, grief.