Review of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, And June by Robin Benway

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review of The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, And June by Robin BenwayThe Extraordinary Secrets Of April May And June by Robin Benway
Also by this author: Audrey, Wait!, Going Rogue: an Also Known As Novel, Emmy & Oliver
Published by Penguin on 2010-08-03
Genres: Family, Fantasy & Magic, Girls & Women, Siblings, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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five-stars

April, the oldest, can see the future. May, the middle sister, can disappear. And June, the youngest, can read minds. At the time of their parents' divorce, the three sisters recover these strange and magical powers from their childhood, powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls must come together to save the day-and their family. But in the process they learn that there's one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.

April, May, and June Stephenson are sisters with magical powers. April, the oldest, can see the future, May goes invisible, and June, the youngest can read minds. The girls must decide what purpose they will use their powers for. Full of humor, wit, and sibling rivalry, Robin Benway’s sophomore novel is made of win. I really enjoyed The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June on both a superficial level and a deeper level.

On the superficial level, I loved that there was a main character named April. I love that she is the oldest of three sisters. Mainly this is because my name is April and I have two little sisters as well. I just don’t see a lot of YA books with my name as the main character, and well small things like that make me feel awesome. I mean, don’t you get all excited when you see a protagonist with your name?

As for my deeper level joy, what I enjoyed was that The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May And June by Robin Benway was a contemporary with a fantasy twist. I am hesitant to call this paranormal or fantasy, as it takes place mostly in a contemporary setting. There aren’t any vampires or creatures, just girls with extraordinary powers. To which I say yes. I love it when something new is brought to the genre. Not gonna lie, I do get all vampire-d out, all magical creature-d out from time to time, so it’s nice to have a little break from that.

I’m also a fan of relationships in books when they are healthy. Guys, The Extraordinary Secrets Of April, May And June by Robin Benway passes the healthy relationship test. There’s no manipulation or any of the chances your YA Boyfriend might be a creeper signs in The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May And June. Totes awesome. Also, there’s not just boyfriend-girlfriend romantic relationships. There are family relationships (no, gross, not like that!). The girls, April, May, and June acted just like real sisters. They fought over stupid stuff consistently. There was sibling rivalry. However, in the end they have each others’ backs. Sort of like with my sisters. HURRAH relating!

Furthermore, the icing on the cake that is The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June is the wit. This book is full of humor. I love how the girls would engage in sarcastic banter with each other and also with other people. Being the dork I am I laughed for like 15 minutes over the part where May is talking to her tutor and she goes “they should invent a paper iron, to keep your papers flat.” Her tutor Henry responds, “They did. It’s called a folder.” I mean, that wasn’t exactly how the exchange went but it was hilarious, especially if you imagine it to be deadpan.

With great characterization, romance, and hilarious dialogue, I would say Benway’s sophomore novel is a keeper.

Other Reviews of The Extraordinary Secrets Of April May And June:

Chick Loves Lit
Dreaming In Books
The Hiding Spot

five-stars
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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

  1. Awesome, I've been looking for a book like this! Thanks for the review and bringing it to my attention.

  2. This sounds like something I might enjoy. Thanks for the review.

  3. I've been seeing this book around and didn't really know much about it! Glad I read your review because it sounds really good!

    -Jamie at the Broke and Bookish

  4. you already told me I should read this, and your review definitely makes me want to pick it up! Sounds awesome.

  5. I keep seeing this book and wondered if I should pick it up. I'm looking forward to reading it now.

  6. Natalie (Mindful Musings) says

    Sounds good! I'll have to keep my eye out for this one. Thanks for the review! 🙂

  7. Unfortunately I don't think I will EVER feel the joy that comes with finding a character with my name. I'm glad you did though! This sounds pretty good, I'll keep my eye out for it.

  8. Am I the only one hoping that knowing book bloggers who are wirting books will mean my name might pop up a bit more in boks?;)

    This sounds really fun and you're hitting all the right notes for me (no stalkers and funny, can it be possible?).

  9. LOVE all of the reviews I'm reading for this book. So glad I got to read it, too.

  10. Eden the StorySnoop says

    This one is in my stack to read–after seeing your review, I think I'll move it closer to the top!

    On the StorySnoops site we call this 'realistic fiction with "implausible situations"', since it's not quite fantasy, but not quite COMPLETELY real-world either.

    I'm looking forward to diving into this one 🙂

  11. This sounds a little less 'serious' than I was expecting, but from your review I'm sure I'd really like it.

    Have to say though, whenever my name is used in a book it's for an airhead or a biatch. But if I ever find a book with a smart or interesting Lauren, I'll be psyched!

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