by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Dial Press, Random House, NY 2012
June Elba is lonely at age 14. Her best friend is her uncle
Finn Weiss, her mother’s brother as well as a famous painter. Finn dies of aids
much too young and June befriends a stranger named Toby, Finn’s partner for most of
his adult life.
June is stunned she never knew of Toby’s existence until
Finn’s death. When Finn moved back to New York from England, years before
(after leaving because his father couldn’t accept he was gay) his sister,
June’s mother, would only allow Finn to be a part of her and his niece’s lives
if Toby was kept a secret.
So when June visited Finn (as she did regularly), Toby
couldn’t come home.
Toby was even more lonely than June. Their time together was
special and short as, of course, Toby also had aids. Like June's mother and Uncle Finn, June had once been very
close to her older sister, Greta. But Greta was jealous of June’s special
relationship with Finn and treated June poorly because of it. (We are our parents children.)
This is a story of family jealousy, judgment, and poor
communication. It is also a story of growing up lonely and shy but true to
yourself. And, learning that that’s okay.
The writing was quite good. The characters are authentic and
the story very real. I rate this book a B+. I didn't give it an A, because it is a little slow paced
but mostly because the mother’s poor decision and father’s willingness to go
along (Finn and Toby’s too) ticks me off!
