Junonia

Yay for beach reads! I reviewed Lexie a few days ago, and now we have another pre-teen girl on the beach story. Alice is quietly thrilled on the way to her family’s regular beach vacation; she’s going to be ten. Double digits is important. But when she arrives, she’s horrified to discover that everything has changed. The Wishmeier’s grandchildren, who are older than Alice but always include her, won’t be coming this year. Helen Blair, the interesting artist, isn’t coming. Her mom’s college friend Kate, who is always focused on Alice during their visits, is bringing a new boyfriend and his six year old girl.

Alice struggles to overcome her disappointment and unhappiness with the situation, but it’s hard, especially when show more Mallory, Kate’s boyfriend’s daughter, turns out to be a difficult and unpleasant little girl, who is even more unhappy than Alice. As Alice starts to see the adults around her in a new light, she slowly learns to give up some of the things she wants and see others’ perspectives.

This story was beautifully written and illustrated, but I don’t see it having a wide audience. Although it perfectly captures a just-ten girl’s outlook, it is very slow-paced and focuses on Alice’s gradual awareness that the adults in her life aren’t perfect. Alice’s frequent daydreams about a goddess of the sea she has created called Junonia after the rare shell she longs to find will have a lot of kids setting down the book.

Verdict: This will be loved by a few children, but not widely popular. I’ve already bought my books-for-small-audiences for the year, so I will probably pass on this one, even though it’s a local author.

ISBN: 9780061964176; Published June 2011; ARC provided by publisher at ALA Midwinter show less

When you turn 10, you're ready to learn to cope with disappointment, to withhold judgement, to exercise empathy and compassion, and to celebrate your newer, more mature outlook on life. Iow, lots of lessons here. But none are actually taught: Henkes' genius is that he's subtle, and lets the reader watch the events unfold. Neither the reader, nor Alice, actually realizes that the events are learning opportunities; they just become wiser.

Just before her tenth birthday, only child Alice Rice and her parents arrive on Sanibel Island for their annual vacation. Usually surrounded by many fellow vacationers, the cottages are quieter than normal this year. As family friend Kate arrives, but this time with Ted and his melancholy daughter Mallory in tow, Alice feels the comforting sameness shift like tides beneath her. As Mallory pines for her mother in France, Alice feels the first pangs of adolescence. As with previous books, Henkes’ intuitive understandings of how children’s feelings and rich internal world shine. Line drawings by the author begin each chapter. Recommended. (25)

The ocean has always been a place of solace for me, water baby that I am. The same can be said for a young girl named Alice, whose family goes to a beach house in Florida every winter. Each year, Alice celebrates her birthday while on vacation, and this year is especially special: She’s turning ten years old, double-digits! She’s excited beyond belief, but that emotion quickly tapers off as she realizes that this year won’t be the same as previous ones. First, some older kids can no longer come on vacation due to a heightened course load at school, then her favorite artist gets stranded due to a snow storm. To top it all off, her favorite aunt shows up—but with her new boyfriend and his five-year-old brat, Mallory. This will show more definitely be a summer for Alice to remember, but will those memories be good ones or tarnish her love of a place she’s always loved?

Kevin Henkes has a beautiful way of writing. His sentences are so precious, so descriptive, that I just wanted to scoop them up and let them sit on my tongue to melt like drops of sugar. He’s good at creating a picture with words that evokes the perfect image in the mind’s eye. He’s best-known for his picture books, especially KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON, which won the Caldecott in 2005, along with several other prizes. His art in JUNONIA is whimsical and light; in the finished product, the illustration that begins each chapter reminds me of a pen-and-ink drawing, and each image is bursting with images of a beach vacation.

The heart of JUNONIA is very delicate. There isn’t a lot of action in this short middle-grade novel. Alice is very introspective for a girl her age, which some readers in the 7 - 12 demographic might have trouble relating to. They might get bored and put the novel down. At the same time, the book has a soothing quality to it destined to appeal to readers who get scared by a lot of big events and not knowing what comes next. On top of that, Henkes sneaks a powerful lesson into the pages of his book about the power of sharing, as well as the way everything changes, but not always in a bad way. Alice does a lot of growing up in this book, which ends on just the right note. show less

There is something about Kevin Henkes novels that I can't quite put my finger on... but I think if I read one without knowing who wrote it, I would be able to identify it as his. The main thing I think is that he is a master of expressing the emotions of children. How they feel. What sparks those feelings. The other thing is that his books are never highly plot-driven. It's more like we just step in and see a segment of the protagonist's life. There is a starting point and and ending point, but the books always seem to be much more about the way the main character feels and interacts with others than it is about plot elements.
In Junonia, Alice (9, turning 10 during the book) goes with her parents on an annual vacation to a beach in show more Florida. When she gets there, she finds that several of the things she looks forward to every year will be different (or non existent) this year. A new girl, several years younger shows up, and Alice must deal with her too. The book is about all of these things, but what it is really about is how Alice feels and reacts to things.
It is a lovely book. show less

Adult Reader Reaction: This is a rich, beautiful story. The descriptions draw you into the story as if you're standing right there with Alice. It is a quiet book that won't appeal to all readers, but don't mistake it for a "girl book." Alice's thoughts and emotions are universal. This has the potential to be a comfort book for preteens.

Pros: Vivid descriptions and a realistic cast make for an engaging summer vacation read. This could be particularly powerful for kids who struggle with change. Alice offers a road map that might help.

To read our full review, go to The Reading Tub®.

Many people will call this a "quiet" story, which is usually a euphemism for a boring story. Not much happens in Junonia. A girl named Alice goes to Florida with her parents for vacation. She turns ten. She's disappointed that her mother's best friend comes with a new boyfriend and his annoying six-year-old daughter. She hopes to find a rare junonia shell. Yawn.

But Henkes does sort of amazingly capture a ten-year-old's voice. Alice's small moments of joy and despair hit me as true. I kinda felt transported back to being a little girl myself. It was pretty great.

So I enjoyed this book, but I don't know if many kids will. It's a hard sell because there's hardly any plot and it's not particularly funny or unique. But it's a very show more well-written glimpse into a child's inner world. show less