Review: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May & June - Robin Benway

Where I got it: ARC from the publisher
Rating: 5 stars
Cover Rating: 4 stars (I really like the colors and how April is red. Very eye-catching!)
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: August 3, 2010
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: 282 p.

April, May and June were three normal sisters, at least they thought they were until their parents divorce. Now they seem to have recovered special powers from when they were youngsters. April can now see the future, May can make herself invisible and June can read everyone's thoughts. These special powers have April and May freaked out, but June thinks she can use her powers to her advantage to gain friendships at a new school. When April starts seeing trouble in the form of red flashing lights and her sister's face she knows something needs to happen so she can save her sister. April's vision aren't always that clear though and she may need her sisters' help more than she could imagine.

I don't even know where do begin to describe how awesome this book is. I loved the three sisters and how different they were but what a great relationship they had. The dynamic between the sisters was just amazing, you could taste the sibling tension in the air. They fought, they loved and most importantly they (more or less) stuck together in all their glorious weird-ness. The fact that they had special powers was a nice twist to this otherwise "realistic fiction" novel. This book talked about a lot of things that kids have to go through; divorce, changing schools, having parents move really far away, and puberty-like superpowers. Robin Benway manages to make these teen girls very easy to relate to despite the fact that most of us do not have incredible mind powers. The girls still had to cope with ordinary things like school work and boys, parties and making friends. I loved how this story was told in alternating viewpoints from the three sisters and how they told it like they were telling you about it not writing it down. Near the end the alternating got a little less personal than in the beginning. When they first start switching who tells the story they say things like "April always makes the whole thing sound so dramatic in the beginning." which gives you the feeling that you are all hanging out and they are telling you about "this one time when we first moved here." This was just a really excellent book and I will certainly be buying a hardcover soon(it's very attractive). Each time the viewpoint switches, the page begins with the sister's name and a quote they will say in the up-coming part. I really enjoyed this and the quotes often led me to read the next chapter just to see it in context. The only thing I wish there was more of would be the girls' childhood. I feel like we got a quick glimpse at it and then abandoned it. I mean I don't feel like we missed out on anything, I just think it would be nice. If you weren't excited about this book, get excited because it's definitely not one to be missed. This book certainly goes in my top 5 of the year, it was just fantastic from start to finish. The alternating viewpoints kept the story fresh and exciting, the romantic tension made you uncomfortable and your head fuzzy, and the superpowers made you wish you could come down with a case of them. So go buy it now, because I declare this a must read.

First Lines:
"I hate being the oldest. I hate it because I'm the one who has to experience everything first. And even if I haven't my sisters still think I know everything. Which I sort of do, but that's not the point."

Favorite Lines:
"Of course his name was Chad. Of course it was. Nothing sounds douchier than Chad."