The Plot In 5 Sentences Or Less: The past year has been rough for Leah as her family deals with tragedy and her friendships are changing at school.  As the summer begins, she finds that she and her best friend Tess have drifted apart, leaving a hole in her life.  Luckily Leah soon meets a curly redhead girl her age named Jasper who is new in town.  The girls become instant best friends, but Leah discovers that Jasper’s life is full of  hurtful secrets. As each girl grapples with the broken parts of their lives, they realize that being a true friend is neither simple nor easy.

My Take:  This book convincingly portrays a friendship between two girls who are each grappling with pain.  The story is less of a thrill ride and more of an unfolding of the characters as the reader gets to know each of them.  I was most interested in the sense of co-dependency that forms within moments of the girls’ meeting.  Each senses in the other something that they are missing and that they desperately need and want. This urge is so powerful that at times they end up hurting the other person.  I knew from the start that the friendship between Leah and Jasper would not be smooth, but I definitely enjoyed the bumpy relationship between them.  Highly recommended to girls around the age of 11 – 13.

One Interesting Note About The Author: Ms. Snyder lives in Ormewood Park in Atlanta which is the setting for “My Jasper June.”