Customer Reviews

June Bug

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

June Bug has spent her life driving the back roads of America with her dad in an old RV, often staying in Wal-Mart parking lots at night. Their nomadic existence is happy, but when June Bug walks into a Wal-Mart one day and sees her own face looking back at her from a missing child poster, she learns that there are secrets her father has never shared with her.

That discovery fills her with questions and ultimately sends them both back to Dogwood, West Virginia where June Bug finds answers and her father finds himself. June Bug's voice is almost too mature for a 9-year old girl. But, her narration is compelling and sprinkled with rich, wonderful details and observations. Full of strong, often delightful, characters, this is not a predictable story and it's certainly one that you will be reluctant to put down.

I've seen this novel compared to Les Miserables, and I have to agree with that comparison. John is the Valjean character: a good man who has had his share of difficulties. Mrs. Linderman takes the role of the Bishop, presenting John with something valuable to help him start a new life. Little June Bug is Cosette, rescued from a tragic situation to become a beloved daughter.

A lovely, enthralling story. Christian without being preachy. Definitely recommended.

Plot/Storyline: 2 1/2 Stars

With an interesting twist on the child abduction theme, June Bug is a watered-down tale of a girl who has been kidnapped, but never suspected it until she saw a "Missing Poster" with her face on it. This is a feel-good novel without much basis in reality when it comes to the main plot.

There are some very tense moments included that do keep the storyline rolling along. Also, the backstories for characters like the sheriff make for some interesting reading.

I really just had a problem with the main premise of the book. It's hard to pinpoint without giving away spoilers. I can say that the actions taken by June Bug's father both in the past and the present are simply unbelievable. The actions taken by Sheila, someone June Bug and her father meet in their travels, are also pretty far out there. Basically, one minute she is wondering if he is a child molestor or worse, then, just because she sees him teaching the kid to ride a bike, she decides he is the world's most wonderful father, except for when she thinks that it is okay to give a lecture on how much the girl needs a mother, which, frankly, sounded like she was looking for a proposal.

There was an underlying message that a father could not raise a daughter alone. I found that to be a very sexist message to pass on in this day and age. The ending was so forced and unrealistic that I was left feeling as though I had read some kind of fairy tale as opposed to a book about real people.

Character Development: 3 Stars

June Bug was a pretty well developed character right up until the end of the book. In the end, she just took events way too `in stride' for me to even imagine. Up to that point, she was immature and precocious in turns as you would expect from any child her age.

The father was far less developed and remained an enigma througout the novel.

The Sheriff was a well-rounded character that evoked plenty of empathy. However, again, his character fell flat in the end.

The grandmother was my favorite character. I cried for her at one point during a scene with her daughter. I wish there had been one more scene from her point of view in the end so I could have found out more about her feelings. I wondered if the author avoided that on purpose as I didn't feel condoning the others' actions would have fit into her personality.

Writing Style: 5 Stars

This was some of the best writing I have seen from a child's viewpoint. Mr. Fabry had June Bug's voice reaching out to the heart of the reader. Amazingly, he was able to switch to the adults' voices easily without breaking the flow of the novel.

The dialogue was excellent. I especially enjoyed the wonderful metaphors contained within this story. Even June Bug's metaphors fit her personality. This gave the descriptions a wonderful flavor.

Editing/Formatting: 5 Stars

Both were of professional quality.

Rating: PG for light Adult Situations.

It's rare for me to find a book that captures my attention with a single sentence:

"I believed everything my daddy told me until I walked into Walmart and saw my picture on a poster."

And it's even more rare for me to find a book that not only lives up to its potential but also surpasses my expectations. It's books like June Bug that touch my heart and remind me why I love a good story.

For as far back as she can remember, June Bug has driven around the country in an RV with her dad. There's never a destination, only an adventure to where the road leads. At night they park at Walmart. During one stop at Wally World, June Bug pauses to look at the Missing Children posters hanging at the entrance. To her astonishment, she sees a girl named Natalie who looks just like her. This discovery starts June Bug on a journey of discovery and truth. If this man in the RV is not her father, who is he? And where is her family? From the very beginning, this book captured my imagination. I fell in love with the characters, cared for them, and felt their joy and pain.

This is the second book I've read by Chris Fabry. Last year, Dogwood mesmerized me and became one of my favorite books of all time. I liked this one even more. And I'm not the only one. This book was nominated for a Christy Award this year. I read about 25 fiction books a year. This is the first one I've rated a 5 out of 5 in the past three years. I can't wait to read Fabry's newest book coming out this fall.

June Bug is a 9 yr old girl that travels the country in an RV with her dad. For the most part she enjoys her lifestyle although she occasionally wishes for sleepovers with friends and other 'normal' girl things. One day she sees a missing child poster in Walmart that looks just like her and she begins to wonder more about her past and why they're always on the move.
About this same time, a car belonging to a woman whose daughter disappeared 7 years ago is pulled from a lake in West Virginia. The missing toddler's grandmother has never given up hope and law enforcement brings someone in for questioning based on a tip.
The two story lines are woven together to create suspense and one is left guessing until nearly the end as to how the two are connected. This book has well developed characters that make errors in judgement and a great plot that doesn't have a cookie cutter ending. The cover says June Bug is a retelling of Les Miserables but I've not read the novel to make a comparison. I recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a crime drama (without gory details) with family relationships and an occasional reference to Christianity mixed in.

With all of the books out there to choose from, spend the money and time on this one! The story pulls you in from the very first page and holds you hostage until the last one. The relationship between June Bug and her father will warm your heart, and make you hope your own children feel the same about you. Plus the mystery of who is June Bug and where does she belong, will keep you with a feeling of sadness, but also one of truth. Just a wonderful story!

I just finished reading it and am very letdown to have done so. The magic and pull of this story are certainly in the details. Great story telling, Chris Fabry.

An earlier reviewer says he hates the ending. I don't hate it, but I would not have ended it that way. I thought that for the 9-year-old, it was not realistic enough. I can't say more without giving the ending away, and I won't do that.

I will never understand why so many readers re-tell the plot in their reviews. The professional world has already written that for us. We don't need it repeated over and over and over.

June Bug is such a cute little girl character. I am probably one of the few people in world who is not familiar with Les Miserables. That said I did not get any of the similarities to the classic book. Overall I did enjoy June Bug. It is a great story with interesting characters and good plot development.
It is mostly told from June Bug's view but also her "Father" and Shelia (the woman they meet at Wal-Mart) too. June Bug is a touching in part heart wrenching story of a little girl's journey to figure out who she really is and her "father's" journey back home to Dogwood to face his past. I loved Dogwood his debut fiction novel and recommend this book as well.

I read Dogwood last year thought highly of it, and it won the Christy award. So I had relatively high expectations of June Bug. I was not disappointed.
This one had me in tears, so it definitely engaged my emotions. June Bug is a story that focuses on a little girl and her daddy, John. They have been living on the road in an RV for years. One day June Bug sees her face on a missing children's poster in Walmart and all of a sudden her questions about who her mama is take on new meaning. She starts wondering... The story follows the two of them on their journey home to find closure and new beginnings. The narrative is mostly written from June Bug's perspective, but it does switch to other characters along the way. June Bug is an endearing and inquisitive little girl, and I enjoyed her voice.
I actually really liked the ties to Les Miserables, although I would not describe it as a retelling exactly. The flashbacks added beautifully to both the story and the character development. I also enjoyed Fabry's use of language. At one point I read a paragraph out loud to my husband stating that it sounded like the narration of a movie (in a good way). It is written in a way that I could hear it while I was reading it. I liked it, and I would recommend it to others.
[...]

June Bug is Chris Fabry's second adult novel since authoring many children's books. After reading Dogwood, I knew I'd probably read whatever this man wrote. What a writer. In the last few pages of this story as the end of many things is near to the beginning of many more, I cried. My heart broke at the beauty of impossible circumstances finding imperfect resolutions.

The story begins with the red-headed nine year old girl named June Bug traveling in an old RV with her dad and narrating their experiences and predicaments. Broke down in the Walmart parking lot waiting on a part, June Bug sees a computer generated face on the Missing Children's wall in the store which looks just like her, and from that moment on life changes radically for her and her dad.

Invited by a lonely female assistant manager to park and wait for the part in her driveway at her home, since the manager orders a tow truck to take them away, John Johnson and June Bug spend a couple of days with "Sheila" who convinces John to let the girl stay with her while he goes to do whatever it is he feels he must do because she can offer those things little girls need. As much as he hates to do it, he agrees with Sheila and takes off. June Bug's intuition tells her she should go with her dad and she stows away in the RV.

Through the course of this story, we learn some of the background of the girl's disappearance through the eyes of the grandmother, the mother, the Sheriff of the small town where she lived, and through John's devoted but broken spirit.

When we return to the little girl's story, we discover she's terrified of bridges and sings the hymn "I'll Fly Away" over every crossing just to avoid complete panic. We also find she knows all the nuances of her dad's tone of voice in every situation. There is a deep love between them which hovers between mutual respect and a playful relationship. They've been all over the country together, and he's taught her things she could've never experienced within the walls of a school. But soon enough he begins to realize she needs some things he can't really provide. Among those is the truth of who she is.

Brilliantly crafted and sweet and sour all at the same time, we know this special relationship between June Bug and the honorable man she's always known as her father will change. And we dread it in spite of the inherent needs of this clever little child.

Needless to say by now, I'm a huge Chris Fabry fan. Few authors can weave such unique stories with such perfect language and impose their characters upon my heart like this man. Not as beautifully told as Dogwood because of the childlike portion of narration, he creates these noble but hurting manly characters that touch the souls of readers. He handles the observations of the spunky June Bug with precision and accuracy that rings true. (Being the father of nine children might have something to do with that.) The peripheral or secondary characters grab us and create a picture of people who are determined, ugly, sad, and/or detestable.

Chris Fabry is an artist with words. All I can say is: Read his novels.

Chris Fabry is a wonderful wordsmith, he has a way of delving into the culture and mindset of his subjects and bringing them to life. He does that in June Bug as he brings June Bug and her dad to life as they travel (or rather sit in the Wal-Mart parking lot) in their RV. We get inside the mind and life of a 9 year old little girl as she tries to figure out what is going on around her and who she really is.

One day as June Bug and her dad are stranded in the Wal-Mart parking lot waiting for a part for their RV to come in, she sees a missing child poster with an aged picture that looks just like her. She doesn't know what to do with that information as she tries to figure things out. The book is about the journey to truth and it is not an easy road. We see two sides to the story - June Bug and her dad and then also back in Dogwood where a little girl went missing 7 years ago and Grandma and the sheriff have not forgotten.

I loved this story. I was just distracted by the many references on the cover of the book that kept comparing June Bug to Les Miserables. It is called "a retelling" of Les Miserables, so what did I do as I read June Bug? I kept analyzing it and trying to find the similarities as I went. I wish I hadn't read the cover of the book first so I could've just enjoyed the story. I think it does Chris' writing a disservice to compare it instead of just letting a good story stand on its own.