The story is told from the viewpoint of June, a fourteen
year old living outside of New York City. June is a bit of a misfit and spends a lot of
time alone in the woods near her school imagining she lives in medieval times. She is mourning the death of her Uncle Finn
from AIDS, back at the time when the “gay plague” was raging unchecked and many
feared the disease and those affected by it.
Finn was a successful and well-known artist who hadn’t shown his work in
some time. His last painting is a
portrait of June and her older sister Greta, 16, who is both more popular and
more talented, being a gifted actress. The
monthly Sunday sittings for the portrait at Finn’s New York City apartment were
treasured by June and resented by Greta. June and Greta were extremely close as
younger children, but lately something has come between them. When June becomes friendly with Toby, the
lover who lived with Finn for almost a decade without being acknowledged by June’s
mother, or known by the sisters, this distance increases. But secrets will out, and love has many faces
and forms. Although it reads much like a
very good young adult novel, there is a depth that will be most appreciated by
older readers. Winner of an Alex Award,
which are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to
young adults. 355 pp.
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