I read this book for my upcoming book club and I can guarantee there will be a lively discussion. The main character of June Bug is a delight and I can image reading a sequel to this book. The author definitely wove together a story that I had to keep reading to discover the whole truth. On the down side, I did find myself skimming in parts as there were, for my tastes, too many back story details, many that I didn't feel added to my understanding of the character or of the plot. I was also a bit disappointed in the end (no spoilers here!) but can understand why the author chose to end it this way. Overall an engaging story well-worth reading. An okay book. Lots of unrealistic things - JJ given a lot of money. Moe giving Dana money, etc.Johnson, the dad, had a sad childhood. "Some people had parents who encouraged you to walk. He saw success as simply staying down and surviving."pg 57 - "Either God was powerless to do something about the situation or He just didn't care. And the people were just as powerless as he was."pg 93 - "It is a foreign concept to listen to the heart. We settle for consonants and vowels, responding to X's and O's, ones and zeros of speech, nuts and bolts of sentences that tell us nothing about what's inside.pg 268 - "You can only be as happy as you've been sad."Spoiler alert - June Bug, saved from a sinking car by Johnson who raises her as his daughter as they travel around in an RV. Real mother, Dana, a drug addict and the one who put her in the car. Grandmother, Mae, never gave up hope. Enabled Dana at end.June Bug sees her own missing person's poster at a WalMart but keeps it quiet. WM worker, Louise, befriends them. They head back to Dogwood where June Bug (Natalie) reunites with Mae.
What do You think about Dochterlief (2010)?
I really enjoyed all of it except the end...
—olivia
