Book Review: Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

[Shiloh Adlar]

Title of the book: Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index
Author: Julie Israel
Genres: Young Adult

This book was given to me to read for one of the book challenges I recently participated in. I was not expecting much to come from it, but I also did not read anything about it. I did the unthinkable. I judged a book by it's cover. (Oh no Shi! You did not!) Yes, I did. :hides:

When I finally started reading this book this afternoon, was I in for a huge shock. I seem to have this thing lately of picking up books or having books recommended to me that somehow remind me of my brother, this one however, probably came the closest to any of the other books I've read so far. At the very beginning, the reader finds out that Juniper's sister is no longer alive, and she is now living in her shadow, having people tiptoe around her always worrying about saying or doing the wrong thing. This is something I related to very much. As the story continues, Juniper finds something that has been left by her sister and she goes on a sort of scavenger hunt to understand more about it. But within all of this, Juniper is also learning lessons for herself, how to deal with loss and grief and also about friendship and boundaries.

Needless to say, this was another book I could not put down, and I read the entire thing in about three hours. It's a page turner, and as the mystery continues to pile upon mystery, the faster those pages turned. This is a 5 star book by my rating, and a highly recommended read especially for those who may be dealing with some sort of loss in life. There are plenty of ways to keep a memory alive and the reader along with Juniper has the opportunity to witness and experience them.