When Traveling ARC Tours announced that they had an ARC of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June, I jumped at the opportunity to be added to the review list. I read Robin Benway’s debut, Audrey, Wait!, a few months ago and loved it, so I was super excited for this one.
Happily, it didn’t disappoint.
Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?
April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.
Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.
First off, I have to say: This is a really fun cover. I love the way the colors play over the sisters’ faces. After reading the book and learning the significance of certain colors to the girls, I like the mood of the cover even more.
The Plot: The plot of this book was fairly simple: girls discover their powers, girls try to cope with their powers, girls try to handle disaster they know is coming….pretty much what the cover flap reads. There is definitely some extra fun thrown in there, but for the most part, the plot is basically simple. Which isn’t a bad thing. I love to read a book that is clearly telling a story – this one does not get bogged down in a lot of subplots. And while I personally felt the actual plot to be pretty cookie-cutter, the characters set it apart for me.
The Characters: Benway is great at creating multi-dimensional characters. It is something I liked about Audrey, Wait! and something she expanded on in this book. All of her characters, no matter how minor, were fleshed out. Some I didn’t care for at all, but they were rounded characters, so I felt like I at least understood where they were coming from, whether I liked them or not. It takes real talent to show different aspects of a character when there isn’t much page space devoted to them. I especially loved that each sister, no matter how alike the three actually were, had her own distinct personality.
The Writing: Benway’s writing is crisp with nice, snappy dialogue. It was a joy to read – light and refreshing. The only problem I had with it was the multi-character narration. Don’t get me wrong – I actually loved reading the story told alternately through all three sisters, but I sometimes had a hard time following who was narrating/talking at the moment. I really think this just boils down to the sisters’ names though. It is a clever naming trick, and makes for a great title, but the names April, May, and June sometimes threw me for a loop when it came to keeping track of them.
Overall Verdict: Read it! It is fun, it is entertaining, it is pretty much everything you need in a light weekend read. Especially if you are a fan of movies like Juno and Saved! (as I am).
One Comment
I really liked this book. I’ve been meaning to pick up AUDREY, WAIT! ever since I read A, M, & J.