Saving June

After 16-year-old Harper’s outwardly perfect older sister, June, commits suicide just before graduating from high school, Harper decides to steal her sister’s ashes and scatter them in California, where June had dreamed of going. Harper’s best friend Laney is up for the road trip, but they have no way to get there from small-town Michigan. Enter Jake, a surly boy Harper met at June’s funeral, who insists on driving them cross-country. Each adventure along the way—a protest in Chicago, a mosh pit fight at a concert in Flagstaff—brings equally prickly Harper and Jake closer together. But when Jake finally reveals why he agreed to take Harper to California, things blow up. Harper’s sharp-edged voice, as she struggles to come to terms with her grief, is a strong point, though her self-absorption can be wearying. Music plays a prominent role in Harrington’s debut novel: the characters constantly debate the merits of classic rock and punk bands (multiple playlists are included), which will delight music lovers, but sometimes upstages Harper’s emotional journey. Ages 14–up. (Dec.)