This book left me completely speechless. MetroSource wrote "not since To Kill A Mockingbird have I read a piece of fiction that captures the view of a young person." While reading the novel, I found this absolutely true. Brunt's novel portrays June's personality so vividly and I couldn't help but fall in love with her character. Her personality made me want to meet her, for someone so young her mind was so complex. “I stared hard, trying to find a pattern. Thinking if I kept looking hard enough, maybe the pieces of the world would fit back together into something I could understand.” When I finished this book, I sat there wishing there was a way I could read it over again for the first time.

this was a very lovely book! i especially enjoyed the writing. it had such a nice flow to it and at times it sounded like out of a fairy tale, which suited the narrator's dreamy personality. june was a very unusual ya main character, too, which i liked as well. my favourite thing about this book was greta's and june's relationship though. it was complicated but also quite relatable and i kept rooting for them to find each other again! still, their relationship with their parents could have been explored a little more, and when i'd finished the book i still felt like greta had more secrets and troubles that weren't explained. she was my favourite character and she would've deserved it. june's crush on finn is something that i've never read about in any book ever! and while it made me a bit uncomfortable, i thought it was very well written and made for an emotional, sweet, and pure coming-of-age plot that makes you wonder about different aspects like obsessing over the idea of someone, jealousy, what it takes to feel understood, and all the different kinds of love that are out there. i'm giving 'only' 3 stars because the story didn't surprise me, and because it just took me too long to read it as i wasn't super motivated to pick it up again. and also, i don't think i'd read it again. i would still recommend this book though! of course it's very sad but the writing alone is very lovely already, and i expect lots of people would enjoy it. it's one of those ya books that aren't really for teenagers, or like not just for teenagers.

If I had to choose one word to describe this book, I would go with brave. The author doesn't shy away from hard, painful, or uncomfortable issues. Very well-written and enjoyable despite that. Relateable characters. Even more impressive when you know it's a debut novel. I thought a lot about my own sister as I read this book. It made me wonder how things might be now if I had chosen to act differently years ago. Thanks, Mal, for recommending it.

Buckle up, this is going to be long. Oh my, did this book make me FEEL. All kinds of feelings. I was so angry right from the beginning, when Toby couldn't attend the funeral. Angry at June's mom for making Finn choose. Angry at Greta for how mean she was (stick with me on this one). Angry at the world that allowed people to die just because they were gay. Somehow also disappointed in June for not sticking up for Toby that Saturday night. I understand why he forgave her but I also understand why she didn't forgive herself. What I loved most about it was how real it all felt. The characters and the story itself were complicated and complex. And maybe I felt so angry because the real world doesn't work like a fictional one. Yes, June could've stood up for Toby but would that have made anything better? The characters in this book, especially June, were confronted with a lot of difficult decisions and the one I think is the right one might've been the wrong one after all. I also liked that Greta was so much more complex than it seemed. At the beginning, she was just a mean, nosey older sister but then became so much more than that. And just as I was angry at her for the way she acted, I also desperately wanted to hug her and for her and June to talk it out. I was so happy when they were finally able to be honest with each other and put aside their differences at the end. Oh yes, the ending. It's been a long, long time since a book made me cry like this. (Side note: My dad walked in on my sobbing during the last few chapters and I just said "someone just died" and he was like "...yeah, I thought you looked a bit emotional"). Somehow I didn't expect it to end this way, even though I probably should've. It was inevitable. What I also liked was that this wasn't the end-end, you know. There are a few more pages after Toby's death that really tie everything together and those last pages made sure I didn't leave the book crying but with a mixture of sadness and hope for June's and Greta's future. Lastly, I want to talk about some of the reading group questions that my copy had at the end. The whole tragedy of June and her family being estranged from Finn and Toby is the fault of her mother because her attitude is so short-sighted and selfish. To be honest, I don't know. I think the mom was probably the only character that didn't grow on me in the end. All I could think about was how she made Finn choose and didn't even let Toby attend the funeral. What kind of person does that? (A homophobic one, I suppose) But I wouldn't necessarily say she was the sole reason. She was hurt by Finn and she also thought Toby was the reason he was dying. I can't really blame her for not liking Toby (had that been true) and it would've been Finn's responsibility to clear his boyfriend's name. BUT I still don't like her. Finn is portrayed as an endearing, kind and caring uncle but he placed and unnecessary, selfish burden on June, making her feel responsible for Toby and his welfare after his own death AND he did June an unkindness by bringing Toby into her life: it would've been better to allow her to move on and rebuild her other relationships Probably. I don't know. I loved Finn, mostly because he was so loved by June and Toby. And seeing this from June's perspective, I'm glad he did what he did. But from the perspective of an outsider (and an adult), yes, he probably shouldn't have. I get that he wanted June and Toby to know each other, his two favorite people, and it was probably the best thing that could happen for Toby. But for June? I don't know. I think, however, that SHE is glad to have met and befriended Toby so I will say that no, Finn did right. It wasn't a kind decision but he thought that June and Toby would both benefit from it and had the best intentions. Lastly: the book would not have had the same impact if Finn had died of another illness Again, probably. And I saw some reviews criticizing exactly this, saying that if Finn had died of cancer, nobody would care about this book. Maybe that's true but I think it's a pointless argument. Books are great books BECAUSE of the topics that they're about. AIDS is an integral part of the story, just like the characters are, that's the intention. Obviously it would've been different without it. So, long story short: I loved it. I think this is a book I will think about for a LONG time.

June ist ein bisschen anders als andere in ihrem Alter und der Einzige der das zu verstehen scheint ist ihr Onkel Finn. Er ist ein bekannter Maler und fertigt von ihrer Mutter, ihrer Schwester und ihr ein Portrait an. Viel Zeit bleibt ihm nicht, denn Finn hat Aids und 1987 hat noch niemand ein Medikament gegen diese tückische Krankheit. Als Finn stirbt, sucht sein Freund Toby den Kontakt zu ihr. Dies geschieht heimlich, denn Junes Familien kommt sehr mit dem Lebensstil den Finn geführt hat nicht gut klar. Zunächst weigert sich June die Verantwortung für Toby zu übernehmen, aber in ihm findet sie jemanden der ihren Onkel ebenso vermisst. Was sie nie geahnt hätte ist, dass diese schwierige Zeit ihr ermöglicht wieder einen Zugang zu ihrer Familie zu finden. Schon lange stand „Tell the wolves I’m home“ auf meiner Lesewunschliste und nun nach der Lektüre finde ich auch zu Recht. Die Beziehung von June zu ihrem Onkel mag für viele befremdlich anmuten, weil sie in ihn verliebt zu sein scheint, von daher verstehe ich das einige Leser sich nicht so gut mit der Geschichte anfreunden können. Ich für meinen Teil fand es nicht schlimm, zumal es glaube ich nur darauf beruht, dass June jemanden gefunden hat, der ihre verschrobene Art versteht und sie unterstützt die zu sein, die sie ist. Mit ihrer tagträumerischen Art und ihrer Vorliebe fürs Mittelalter, stößt sie oft auf Unverständnis in ihrem Umfeld. Toby konnte ich zu Beginn nicht wirklich einordnen. Er scheint eine dysfunktionale Persönlichkeit zu haben, aber je weiter man liest, desto mehr Facetten kommen zu Vorschein und man erkennt, dass Finn nicht der Heilige ist, den seine Schwester aus ihm machen will. Manchmal wusste ich nicht wer sich um wen kümmert, June um Toby oder Toby um June. Augenscheinlich brauchen sie sich gegenseitig um mit dem Tod des geliebten Menschen klarzukommen, der zuvor ein Fixpunkt in ihrer beider Leben darstellte. Schwierig ist es nur, dass Junes Mutter ihre Wut auf Toby projiziert und er somit zu einer Persona non grata avanciert. Als anstrengend empfand ich auch Junes Verhältnis zu ihrer Schwester, die durch die Pubertät einen Knacks erlitten hat. Der Tod von Finn und das Gemälde bringt beide wieder näher. Insbesondere da beide daran beginnen herum zu malen, was herauskommt, als ein Käufer viel Geld für dieses Werk bietet. Die Geschichte hat mich auf so vielen Ebenen berührt und das Buch kommt mit Sicherheit auf meinen Re-read-Stapel. Ich wette mir werden beim erneuten Lesen bestimmt noch Sachen auffallen, die mir bei der ersten Lektüre entgangen sind.