3 out of 4 stars
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The Skye in June by June Ahern is a young adult book about the MacDonald family and their life in America. Cathy and Jimmy MacDonald leave their family, friends and beloved Scotland behind to make a better life for themselves and their four daughters. However, life in America is not the golden ticket Cathy and Jimmy had hoped for.
Annie, Maggie, Mary and June MacDonald are sisters whose childhoods unfold in San Francisco during the 1950s. Being immigrants from Scotland, each girl faces challenges as they learn to navigate school, American slang, and the changing times of America. Cathy and Jimmy are both devout Catholics and try to bring their daughters up with strong religious beliefs, but as the girls grow they begin to question and rebel against their Catholic upbringing.
The story focuses on the youngest daughter, June, a fiery girl who has special powers. As early as the age of three, June shows signs of speaking and seeing angels, predicts events that have yet to happen and can communicate with the dead. Cathy, June’s mother, at first dismisses the young child’s abilities. But as June grows older, Cathy begins to believe in her daughter and even reveals secrets of her own. Her father Jimmy, however has always believed June was a pagan baby and verbally abuses June when she exhibits her abilities.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when young June befriends their downstairs neighbor Mrs. G. As a young child, June becomes fast friends and soul sisters with the elderly neighbor. Mrs. G can sense the supernatural abilities June possess and takes her under her wing to teach her how to use her powers. They spend countless days together in Mrs. G’s garden learning how to communicate with angels, using tarot cards to reveal the future and sense the aura and emotions of others.
June and her sisters struggle their whole lives to obtain their father’s approval and as the girls go through school and enter adulthood, the family begins to break apart and become distant. Secrets, lost loves, family bonds and heartbreak are major themes in this story.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. At first, the storyline is a bit all over the place and several day-to-day activities of the MacDonald family are drawn out a bit too long. However, as the story unfolds I became hooked. I liked the way the author expanded all four sister’s personalities throughout the story. I also enjoyed the way Ahern brings depth to Cathy and her past, allowing the reader to experience multiple sides of the Cathy’s character. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a good fiction story to dive into or who enjoys stories with a supernatural theme.
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The Skye in June
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