The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

5 stars.

Age Recommendation: 17-Adult

Contains some mature material.

If I had to describe The Unmaking of June Farrow, it would be literary fiction, mystery with a splash of magical realism. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book. I received this book from a subscription box that generally sends out fantasy, which is my preferred genre. Surprisingly, given that I don't gravitate towards literary fiction or mystery, I really loved this.

June Farrow knows that the women in her family are stricken with what she calls "episodes." The rest of the world sees it as a type of degenerating mental illness. June's grandmother says it's like living in two places at once. When June starts seeing visions of people not there, a red doorway in the middle of fields, and a phantom horse running through her flower farm, she knows that she's starting the episodes as well. But what are they and are they truly just in her head?

Upon the death of her grandmother, she is given a photograph and a message that leads her to believe that perhaps there are more to these visions than she thought. And that perhaps she truly is in two places at once. A decades-old murder, the disappearance of her mother, and an old friend who seems to know more than she's letting on sends June on a time-bending journey.

Adrienne Young is a beautiful writer that focuses on characters first, allowing the characters to drive the plot rather than the other way around. There are so many things that June doesn't understand about what is happening to her and why, and that frustration is palpable. The reader feels it. I came to understand the people that are the source of June's frustration, initially feeling indignant towards them but coming to understand why they acted the way they did. That's the mark of a writer who knows her own characters. You can come to love characters not because they give you want you want, but because you come to realize why they aren't.

A lot is packed into a relatively mid-sized standalone novel, but it doesn't feel overwhelming. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. This is my first Adrienne Young book, but if this is what to expect from her, I will be picking up more.