Review: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, & June

by Robin Benway

August 3rd 2010

282 pages

From Goodreads: Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!

I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.

Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?

April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other. Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood. 

My Thoughts: I simply could not put it down! I finished it the same night I started reading it, it was THAT good! Named after the months they were born, sisters April, May, and June are about as different from each other as three people can be. Not only do they share the unbreakable bond of sisterhood, but after their parents get a divorce and they move, they discover that they each have some pretty amazing secret abilities.

 April, the oldest sister, is definitely the most responsible of the three girls. She is the "perfect" sister. She gets good grades, is very health conscious, she's a safe driver, and most importantly she watches out for her younger sisters, and tries her best to keep them safe while also nagging them about being on their best behavior at all times. When she finds out that she can predict the future, she is shocked by some of the things she can see. Especially when she starts to have visions of her and that punk boy at school going on dates. He is sooo not her type!

May, is the middle sister. She took the divorce the hardest, and the only thing she wants more than her big escape to Paris someday, is to be able to spend more time with her father who now lives in Houston. May is very witty, sarcastic, anti-social, and usually just wants everyone to leave her alone, so it's really no big surprise when May discovers that she can turn completely invisible. Literally.

June, the youngest of the three is entering her Freshman year of High School. Since she is starting a new school she wants to start a new life. She wants nothing more than to be popular and she'll do almost anything to get to the top of the social ladder. She's bubbly, carefree, and when she finds that she is able to read people's thoughts, it gives her a huge advantage in gaining popularity. But just because she can read what people think, doesn't exactly mean she can always see the whole picture.

Overall it was a fun read, I loved each character and their unique persona's and I loved seeing their abilities come together in the end to avoid a potential disaster!