*Received free from NetGalley* 
 I absolutely loved this book! Review to come... 
 It seems lately that more often than not, when I see a book I think I'll really like, I end up being disappointed. Thankfully, with Saving June, I wasn't. 
 Saving June is narrated by Harper, a sixteen-year-old girl whose sister, June, has just committed suicide. June's dream was always to go to California. After June dies, Harper decides she is going to steal June's ashes and take them there to put her to rest where she most wanted to be. She is aided on her mission by her best friend Laney, and the mysterious boy June had been secretly friends with, Jake. 
 First I want to start with the writing. It is such a relief, no, a GIFT, to read something so well written for a change. Ms. Harrington has Harper's voice down. There are no wavers, no interruptions. It's wonderful. She also sounds very much like a typical teenager. 
 The story line was so touching. I loved watching how Harper was able to come to terms with what her sister had done. How she was able to start to deal with how all of it actually made her feel. 
 Harper's character, like I mentioned above, was very well drawn. I felt like I was experiencing everything with her. The one thing I didn't realy like and what made me unable to give 5 stars, was really, Harper herself. As much as I could identify with her, feel for her, I didn't really like her. She was very cynical, very angry, very immature at times. I understand this, and I was actually pretty fine with her being this way. 
 Sometimes books have main characters we don't actually like, but that don't necessarily take away from the enjoyment and the experience of reading the story. Sometimes storis just call for an unlikable MC. That's what it was like for me reading this. There were just times when Harper really got on my nerves, especially with how she treated those trying to help her. She would think to herself: "hey, I probably shouldn't treat him/her this way." But then she'd do it anyway. That made her lose some sympathy points in my book. Plus, she was always comparing how she was the bad daughter to how her sister was the good daughter. This rang a bit too cliche for my liking, to be honest. Also, I really didn't believe she would just jump in a car with a guy she barely knew to go to California. 
 Harper's best friend Laney was fun. I enjoyed her character. It was okay with me that she was the obligatory "wild" best friend. With Harper being so sullen (naturally, not just because of her sister's death) the story really needed someone like Laney to lighten things up a bit. 
 Jake. Well, what can I say about Jake? I really liked him. He wasn't so much the "bad boy" that seems to be the norm these days in YA novels, but he was a bit of a mystery. There were only so many things Jake would let us know about himself. He's had a tough life, so some of his attitude is understandable. I didn't agree with what he kept to himself the whole trip, but I guess I can see why he did. 
 This book was a great story of self-discovery. I really enjoyed reading it, even through the tough parts. It wasn't so much sad as it was eye-opening. 
 I would definitely recommend this book to other who enjoy reading realistic YA.