Sunday, August 15, 2010

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Title: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Author: Robin Benway

Pages: 281

Rating: ***1/2

Summary (from Goodreads): Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!

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, unshakable 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.

Review: If you have sisters, older or younger, you will totally be able to relate to this book. It was a cute, quick read about love, magic, and of course, sisterhood.
Since I myself am the oldest of three girls, I could relate the most to April, but I found that these three sisters mirrored my sisters and I quite well--maybe it's a birth order thing. April is protective, motherly, and yes, a bit bossy--key trademarks of the oldest child. May, being the middle child, just wants to disappear--and does. June, the youngest, wants people to like her and be popular--the fruity, shallow wishes of the baby. The powers they have also relate a bit to birth order--April is able to look out for her sisters' futures, May disappears, and June can read minds.
The plot of this book, thinking back on it, isn't that deep, and yet it sucked me in. The first half of the book is really the girls getting used to their powers, the second half is when the real "action" kicks in. Of course, the ending is quite predictable, but it's cute.
As in Audrey, Wait!, the writing is very real. Nothing wordy or fancy; I felt like this book was taking place in real life. The characters speak normally and as if they are simply talking to each other, not having a written out conversation. The only thing I worry about this is the possibility of it aging--in a few years, slang will be different. Will Robin's books not be as popular when the speech is no longer modern?
All in all a good light read. I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Audrey, Wait!, but it is still worth checking out.

Recommended for: Sisters

I could have sworn I reviewed Audrey, Wait! on here, but apparently not. Check it out on Goodreads or Amazon!!

1 comment:

  1. Only, like, seven days till Mockingjay.

    You've read books I've never even heard of.

    Okay, you'll be recieving my book probably beginning of September, a little later than expected, I pushed the release date back again. I promise though, the editing is pretty much done, copyedits, reciveing the edits, you know? I promise you the book will be their September at the most.

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