June Bug by Chris Fabry is a novel written from the perspective of a 7 year old girl and tells the story of how after living and traveling around the country for 7 years in a RV with a man she believes to be her father, sees herself in a Missing Person poster at a Walmart and then determines to find out about her family. At nearly the same time, an event takes place in the town of Dogwood, West Virginia where she had come from which forces John Johnson, the man who has been taking care of her for these 7 years to go back and confront both his past and do what he knows is best for June Bug. He was a military veteran who had won a Purple Heart but blamed himself for the death of his best friend during fighting and had given up on life until circumstances brought him and the little girl together. The author has done a superb job of creating the appealing, lovable character of June Bug and her relationship with Johnson. There are references to Christianity in the book but they are subtle and realistic. This book will definitely tug at your heartstrings and I thoroughly enjoyed it. About halfway through this book became oddly, jarringly, the and patronizingly Christian. Oddly, the story is sold as a re-telling of Les Miserables. Though there are some similar moments, the focus on the Christian views makes it a far less universal and moving story. It's less that the characters are Christian, which would totally work and more that the language is preachy and weirdly minimizes what could be complex characters. All the 'good' characters have taken The Lord into theirs heart and even a cameo by a grumpy seemingly mean person will include a reference to them having lost their faith. It's awkward.The book is an easy read, the story somewhat promising -- I actually felt compelled to finish it besides being annoyed at the clunky simplicity of the second half. I also didn't have another book. Maybe good for vacation. So I have it 3 instead of 2. There is also a quite strange commercial for Walmart that runs through the second half of the book. The author really really loves Walmart. It's like product placement on TV - I wondered if he had been paid - I've never seen it like this in fiction before.
What do You think about Junikäfer Flieg (2011)?
A good read. From the time she found her picture on a poster until the end
—mark
Briefly, I would describe this as a bittersweet page-turner. Loved it!
—crettig1
