Six More Months of June

April 15, 2024
Spring of senior year takes an unexpected turn for two best friends in small-town Michigan when new friendships and romances begin to bloom. Mina Stern and Caplan Lewis have been best friends ever since Mina taught Caplan to read in fourth grade. Their friendship has survived high school, despite the separate social circles they inhabit in their senior year. Quiet and academically gifted Mina keeps to herself, self-conscious about the attention she gained after her father died when she was 8 and the panic attacks that subsequently plagued her. Meanwhile, outgoing class president Caplan is captain of the varsity soccer team and "everyone's favorite person." With prom and graduation approaching, Caplan draws Mina into his friend group, and Hollis Cunningham, his girlfriend, plays matchmaker for Mina and skater boy Quinn Amick, who's recently developed an attraction to her. Once Caplan sees Mina with Quinn, however, he begins to realize his feelings for her may have evolved beyond friendship. The complex characters (who explore angst, unconfessed love, the bonds of friendship, and letting go of that which is not meant to be) and the discussions of trauma and mental health add meaningful dimensions to a somewhat pedestrian friends-to-lovers romance. The author alternates Caplan's and Mina's first-person perspectives with each chapter, so readers experience the story's events from both points of view. Major characters read white. A solid romance debut that sensitively explores personal growth. (Romance. 14-18)

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