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June Average
Hi, my name's June McCarthy. I'm 13 years old and I'm (wait for it) AVERAGE! Average height! Average Weight! Average width! Average grades! Average everything! Is there anything worse than being average? I wish there was something unusual, or even weird, about me. A big nose, out-of-control hair, bizarre clothes or a mean stare would do. I mean, everyone has their own speciality. My friend Mia can stuff two bags of marshmallows into her mouth at once. Now that's talent! Me? I can't seem to find a special quirk that'd give me a ticket out of Averageville. Maybe the world's just not ready for me, yet...
102 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 26, 2018
“June Average” by Kate Walsh
The first thing to say is, June Average is anything but; anything but average, I mean (now I’m talking, or should I say writing, like the narrator, June.
If you want to take a wild, rocky, journey through the madcap mind of an intuitive, intelligent, quirky and humorous thirteen year old girl, then this book fits the bill.
There are wonderful views on weighty topics, such as bad days, Bananas (my favourite chapter, but I’m biased here, I love bananas), and the nature of time. June likes the way ‘Mother Nature announces curfew and pulls a curtain across the sun’. (p. 31)
There is insight unusual for one so young–and don’t forget, the author was only thirteen herself when she wrote this book– (but then I remember my own daughter, around that age, maybe earlier, sometimes she would say things that made me take a step back and think, wow, you’re intelligent- but then secondary school and peer pressure intervened and sadly that part of my daughter vanished into the fog forever; I miss that little girl more every day–happily, the adult version is still going strong). But this book brings back some of those unique, breath stopping moments. Ah, how quickly it all goes.
But back to June Average: there are moments of unusual insights such as when June asks ‘Are we slaves to the times we live in with inventions?’ She says ‘...every time you hand over money to buy one of these (the latest gadget), you’re handing away a small part of you’. (p.46). Anyone care to argue with that? Didn’t think so.
And then there’s the all important issue of soup and stew (I love stew), but it’s being used here as a metaphor for human nature and experiences, no less. It goes something like this: the more stuff you pack into the water (veggies, soup and so on) the more flavour and depth and the more tasty the stew will be (no argument from me there). Well, human nature is kind of like that, the narrator argues, the more people you meet, the more experiences you pack in, the more interesting a person you will become. ‘So really, we're all big pots of stew’ (p. 49).
Another way June reminded me of my thirteen year old, all those years ago now, is her fear of porcelain dolls. ‘Their eyes are all glassy. And scary. And evil’. (p.60). Those are exactly the reactions our daughter had to dolls that were bought for her as presents or the ones my wife used to collect.
I think this book deserves another edition. For two reasons. One, I would change the cover; not the title, I get why the character is called June Average, because at thirteen, she thinks she’s average, whereas we all know there is no such thing as an average thirteen-year-old (but if you give it to kids as a present, which I intend to do with my copy, after this review, will they get it?). But I think the cover should show a girl walking down her street with her best friend, Froggy. Froggy is eating peanut butter (her favourite) and June is munching a banana (her favourite threat, except for chocolate), beside them is June’s pet dog Phenylalanine, –yes, I said Phenylalanine– but Pheny for short, because it sounds better than ‘laxative-effect’ (p. 12).
My second suggestion (sorry author), is to put in black and white sketches; one in each chapter. Or colour, maybe, if the artist is skilled enough. I loved the sketches in the Famous Five for instance, when I was about seven. It keeps a story in the memory and enhances the world the words create. That would immortalize June and her friends forever in that wonderful world of the thirteen year old the author has created here, where the most important thing in the whole wide world is your friends, your street and your school and house; happy days.
Funny quotes from June Average:
‘Sure, we weren’t as pleasant as a murder of crows’, (the Sour Lemon’s; a group they formed).
‘Many twelve year olds babysit sixteen year olds, yet the sixteen year olds are the ones that get paid’.
‘What do you get when you cross a daisy with a kangaroo? A flowery jumper!’.
‘Those plantation guys from history did a lot of fixing and settling’.
‘I had double science after lunch. Pure lethal. Not the chemicals– the teacher’.
‘It’s a pity exercise is good for you’.
‘The neckline of any top must reach the bellybutton’.
Review by Roy Hunt
The first thing to say is, June Average is anything but; anything but average, I mean (now I’m talking, or should I say writing, like the narrator, June.
If you want to take a wild, rocky, journey through the madcap mind of an intuitive, intelligent, quirky and humorous thirteen year old girl, then this book fits the bill.
There are wonderful views on weighty topics, such as bad days, Bananas (my favourite chapter, but I’m biased here, I love bananas), and the nature of time. June likes the way ‘Mother Nature announces curfew and pulls a curtain across the sun’. (p. 31)
There is insight unusual for one so young–and don’t forget, the author was only thirteen herself when she wrote this book– (but then I remember my own daughter, around that age, maybe earlier, sometimes she would say things that made me take a step back and think, wow, you’re intelligent- but then secondary school and peer pressure intervened and sadly that part of my daughter vanished into the fog forever; I miss that little girl more every day–happily, the adult version is still going strong). But this book brings back some of those unique, breath stopping moments. Ah, how quickly it all goes.
But back to June Average: there are moments of unusual insights such as when June asks ‘Are we slaves to the times we live in with inventions?’ She says ‘...every time you hand over money to buy one of these (the latest gadget), you’re handing away a small part of you’. (p.46). Anyone care to argue with that? Didn’t think so.
And then there’s the all important issue of soup and stew (I love stew), but it’s being used here as a metaphor for human nature and experiences, no less. It goes something like this: the more stuff you pack into the water (veggies, soup and so on) the more flavour and depth and the more tasty the stew will be (no argument from me there). Well, human nature is kind of like that, the narrator argues, the more people you meet, the more experiences you pack in, the more interesting a person you will become. ‘So really, we're all big pots of stew’ (p. 49).
Another way June reminded me of my thirteen year old, all those years ago now, is her fear of porcelain dolls. ‘Their eyes are all glassy. And scary. And evil’. (p.60). Those are exactly the reactions our daughter had to dolls that were bought for her as presents or the ones my wife used to collect.
I think this book deserves another edition. For two reasons. One, I would change the cover; not the title, I get why the character is called June Average, because at thirteen, she thinks she’s average, whereas we all know there is no such thing as an average thirteen-year-old (but if you give it to kids as a present, which I intend to do with my copy, after this review, will they get it?). But I think the cover should show a girl walking down her street with her best friend, Froggy. Froggy is eating peanut butter (her favourite) and June is munching a banana (her favourite threat, except for chocolate), beside them is June’s pet dog Phenylalanine, –yes, I said Phenylalanine– but Pheny for short, because it sounds better than ‘laxative-effect’ (p. 12).
My second suggestion (sorry author), is to put in black and white sketches; one in each chapter. Or colour, maybe, if the artist is skilled enough. I loved the sketches in the Famous Five for instance, when I was about seven. It keeps a story in the memory and enhances the world the words create. That would immortalize June and her friends forever in that wonderful world of the thirteen year old the author has created here, where the most important thing in the whole wide world is your friends, your street and your school and house; happy days.
Funny quotes from June Average:
‘Sure, we weren’t as pleasant as a murder of crows’, (the Sour Lemon’s; a group they formed).
‘Many twelve year olds babysit sixteen year olds, yet the sixteen year olds are the ones that get paid’.
‘What do you get when you cross a daisy with a kangaroo? A flowery jumper!’.
‘Those plantation guys from history did a lot of fixing and settling’.
‘I had double science after lunch. Pure lethal. Not the chemicals– the teacher’.
‘It’s a pity exercise is good for you’.
‘The neckline of any top must reach the bellybutton’.
Review by Roy Hunt
August 13, 2016
Really enjoyed this typical teenage book, although I'm much older than the intended audience! It was fun, the characters easy to identify with and very engaging. We've all been there and appreciate the humour, stress and drama.
August 25, 2014
Such a great book to help children understand that it's okay to be average. I recommend it for all middle school age children!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews