The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Robin Benway

Published: August 3rd 2010 by Razorbill

Date finished: April 14, 2014

Source: I bought it

Genre: Fantasy/fiction/super powers

Summary: I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn't imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.

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.

I picked this book from the LA times Book Festival last weekend, got it signed, then proceeded to read it in order to avoid packing (FYI not the smartest idea). I read the majority of the book avoiding packing but finished the rest on a plane.

Quick Question: Am I the only person that loves being on a plane? Your surrounded by a bunch of people all going to the same place and after you get off the plane you’ll probably never see the majority of them again. Your almost in limbo you could be flying over cities, peoples, something could be happening that affects the whole world and while your on the plane your oblivious, none of it can affect you.

The actual book was really good. I love Robin Benway’s writing to be very unique and funny and this book was no exception. I did not fins this book to be as laugh out loud funny as Also Known As but that could be there was no Roux. This book read similar to a journal/diary to me. You read three very different point of views and each one was unique and had it’s own take on what was going on. I wish there was a chapter or two before they discovered their powers so that we saw more of what they were like. A small sense of it was shown throughout the story but a lot of it was told, instead of shown. For example, April was constantly being mocked by her sisters for being the “smart” one but we never saw her studying or doing anything “smart” sister-ish.

April: April was the oldest sister and I feel like she had to deal with the most. With there mom and dad getting divorced responsibility was thrust upon her and then when she began to see the future that responsibility was amplified.

May: May was the middle sister and often felt invisible, when she discovered her power it was invisibility. May had to deal with a lot and didn’t know how to deal with what was going on. When her parents announced they were getting divorced, she dealt with it by getting drunk. She reacted the same way later in the book also. I really enjoyed May’s POV I wish there was more from it.

June: June was the youngest and couldn’t wait to grow up and experience the things she had seen in movies.  I found June’s POV to be very winey. She was constantly complaining about her sisters and thinking she should have been in charge. I understand she didn’t want to be treated like a baby but the way she decided to accomplish that was very immature.

Verdict:

3.5 stars