I love magical realism. I do not love time travel. Admittedly, I should have looked into Adrienne Young’s The Unmaking of June Farrow (Delacorte Press 2023) beyond the magical realism and North Carolina setting BEFORE selecting it for my BOTM box, but I did not. This novel has overwhelmingly positive reviews so take this for what it’s worth.
Despite being well-written, The Unmaking of June Farrow was painful to get through – namely because I felt deceived. I wanted small-town North Carolina, magical realism, maybe a familiar or two, some sweet romance, etc. Instead, I got a convoluted curse/magic system that makes no sense, a horse that could have had a larger role if Young had leaned into a bit more, and a couple of lukewarm romances or wannabe romances. Oh. And a big part of the plot is told through memories of a time traveler traveling from a time before the time the “before her” traveled before. Yeah. I said what I said.
There could have been more tension between 2023 June and 1951 June – in particular between Mason and Eamon – but it’s all just blech.
This one is a no.
I still ranked it high because I think this is a me issue – this just isn’t something I should have read.
A Girl Named Tommi 