A North Carolina teen gets a fresh start at a new school midway through her junior year.When June and her best friend are caught with alcohol at their private school, it feels like the end of the world. Sent to live with her Oma, who teaches at a girls boarding school in Virginia, June is furious with her parents for separating her from Jess, whom they consider a bad influence. With Jess, June felt unstoppable, confident, worldly, and seen, whereas her overbearing parents only saw delinquency. But as she settles into life in Virginia, June begins to learn who she is on her own thanks to her reserved but supportive grandmother, a tightknit (and sober) trio of new friends, and a film photography class she unexpectedly loves. Contemplative yet matter-of-fact prose chronicles the development of June's sense of self, grounded by photography assignments that literally and figuratively offer opportunities to see the things-and people-in her life in new ways. June's complicated feelings for Jess-and subsequent questioning of her sexuality before coming out as bisexual-are compassionately and authentically written, as are her tense exchanges with her parents. Most characters are presumed White; Kitty, one of June's new friends, is queer and implied Korean American.An atmospheric meditation on connection and identity. (Fiction. 12-18)

Gr 9 Up-June has recently been asked to leave her prestigious high school after a drunken school dance appearance with her best friend Jess. For the second half of her junior year, June will be living with her grandmother four hours away and attending a new, all-girls school. June, who has built her life around her friendship with Jess, feels lost and unsure on her own. Even as she begins to fit in with her new classmates, she has lingering questions about her own identity, her feelings for Jess, and how to reconcile the person she used to be with the person she's becoming. This novel does a good job of illustrating complex teen emotions, especially the precariousness of growing up and wanting to fit in despite not yet being sure where you belong. Topics broached include teen drinking, defining one's sexuality (the story includes lesbian and bisexual characters), and repairing a toxic friendship. June's actions can be frustrating at times, and not everything is resolved at the novel's end, but teen readers will likely find this uncertainty relatable. June and most other characters' ethnicity isn't stated, though the cast includes characters who are Asian and Black. VERDICT Fans of Julie Murphy's Ramona Blue and Nina LaCour's We Are Okay will enjoy this introspective, emotional novel. Mary Kamela, Kenmore West H.S., Buffalo, NY