I don't often give 5 star reviews. This one got me. Excellent YA with a 1980s backdrop. Brooding, thoughtful June is reeling from her favorite uncle's death due to AIDS. Her uncle, she thought, was the only person in the world who "got her." She finds a kinship in his partner as they grieve Finn together.

The characters were realistic and lovely. The writing was excellent.

What also got me was the realism of being a teen on the fringe. June prefers to be alone and immerse herself with her medieval play in the woods (June, just wait--Renaissance Fairs will be right up your alley by the 1990s!). Her powers of observation understand the teen culture; she just doesn't want to be part of it. Her older sister Grace is more popular, but it's interesting how the author chose Grace and June to be mostly removed from school friends and focused on their interactions at home. Grace is envious of June's relationship with Uncle Finn.

Another truism that I found in this book that there are those things that you piece together as you get older at your own rate. Your depth of understanding increases as you really think about things. You go from blatant acceptance of the appearance of things as true when you're young, and then you have to break through the denial piece before you can really comprehend how everything fits together.

Absolutely loved this one!