The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by Daven McQueen
- Publisher: Wattpad Books, 2020
- Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
- Format: Paperback (eARC)
- Page Count: 304 pages
- My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
This was an intense book. I laughed, I fumed, and I sobbed. Upon finishing, I had to sit back to compose myself.
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones is a complicated story on race, friendship, and family told in the simplest way possible. Complicated because being Black in America was and is never easy. Simple because McQueen made the characters relatable and covered just one summer – Ethan’s summer of 1955 in Ellison, Alabama. We feel the confusion of a Black teen who was never taught the concept of race experiencing racism. We see the amass of positive energy in the supportive Juniper, and wonder why non-Black people cannot all be like her.
“I can apologize for the people in my town,” [Juniper] said in a low voice, “but I can’t change them. The best I can do is try to make things okay while you’re here.”
Ethan and Juniper embarked on Project Invincible for a memorable summer. The free and passionate soul introduced Ethan to beautiful places in Ellison as they planned activities to enjoy their time together. Along the way, Ethan’s aunt and uncle were also learning and making efforts to stand up for their nephew. I would like to think Ethan’s stay at Ellison made many people better individuals.
“The way I see it, you know, people are like the different paint circles on a palette. You’ve got your reds and blues and greens and yellows, and you need all of them to make a painting. But around here, they don’t see it that way.” – Juniper
Whether Ethan and Juniper’s relationship was purely platonic or tinted with romance, we cannot know. But one thing is clear: what Ethan and Juniper had in the summer of 1955 was beautiful despite everything else, and the friendship was as rich and pure as can be.
[Juniper] was looking at him more earnestly than Ethan had ever seen her, her eyes at once gentle and fierce. He could tell, in that single gaze, how much she cared.
Everyone needs to read this story, regardless of age and race. In The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones, we see change and we see hope. But most importantly, we see injustice and unfairness that weren’t supposed to be there in the first place. And fight against them. [13 Mar 2020]
I received an e-ARC from Wattpad Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
