Hey, June

by Cree Nomad

When 17-year-old June wakes up alone and confused on a hill after-well, she can't really remember-she quickly finds herself unable to leave. While exploring the boundaries of her new reality, people from her life arrive, reintroducing June to memories she's forgotten. When it becomes clear that something bad has happened, June must come to terms with everything left unsaid before time runs out while making a monumental stay or go.




In Cree's debut novel, a story of loss, grief, love, and everything in between is woven together with threads of Métis Cree storytelling and teachings to craft a narrative celebrating life. With this Indigenous story from Indigenous hands, Cree aims to introduce a new look into death and the beyond through characters you can't help but count as new friends.

Genres: Fiction, Indigenous, Contemporary

172 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[freddie Asante · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. It’s painful in a good way. It forced me to confront the grief I didn’t even know I was holding. No matter what I was doing, this book called to me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Now that it’s done, I want to read it again. Words cannot express the feelings that awoke within me

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel's depictions of grief are wonderful, thoughtful, and steeped in culture in ways that had me crying. I also just loved the round dance scene THAT WAS SO GOOD.

That being said, a lot of the other elements of the novel are weak and it even is more so a 2.5 stars for me. The dialogue's often awkward; I couldn't imagine my teenaged siblings talking like this. The setting is generic, I really don't know anything about the small town or the high school they go to, which in a YA story, I do expect those elements to have some of their own character to them. (The cafe does get some detail which is nice.) The high school life in particular was odd (though I love how the novel handles anti-native racism in school settings, again, it's just lack of any other details that makes the actual school as an entity generic), and as someone who was a high school athlete and is currently a high-level athlete, the treatment of athletics in this novel was KILLING ME. It's overly simplified and at one point I'm pretty sure it's literally just straight wrong? Spoilery thoughts on that:

Matt is supposed to be on track for a football scholarship, I have no idea how. There's no mention of how he's gotten attention in a small town, what kind of travelling or programs he's done so far to get that attention, and it's a big moment when he gets into one pro-run camp, so I'm assuming the guy's done no club play and so no higher level camps? That being said, I wasn't a football player, I'm just extrapolating from the sports I play and the university tracks I know.

Sarah, at least, we get to see training and a small sense that she is a good sprinter, but again, no like realistic sense of how she's on track to get a scholarship. Neither of these athletes mention target schools and what level of competition their target schools have.

And I literally threw the book down at the throw away line of June winning silver at "Nationals." One training scene where it's admitted she's behind even another runner at her school isn't enough to make it realistic for this character to win at "Nationals." And I had to double check because my next thought after that was "Nationals doesn't exist?" And far as I can tell I was right, high school track and field caps out at the provincial level (had to doublecheck cause again, not my sport, and Idk I was ready for track and field to be the odd one out and actually have a nationals for schools). Club athletes (that is those who additional training with a club outside of high school) enter times to get into the separate national championships that's run outside of the school system.

TLDR; if you're serious about a sport and want to be competing at a national level/elite level in Canada, you're in a club. None of these characters are.

Sports and sports-life being depicted so weirdly is just a giant turn-off for me, even if it was technically only a subplot (abet the major one since it involves three characters). My jock heart just got thrown out of the story every time it came up.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you want to cry? Do you want to leave the pages of your book year stained ? Do you want to be kicking your feet bc of romance? If you answered yes to any of the following this book is for you (even if you said no this book is for you read it or else). Hey, June is heartbreakingly beautiful I never wanted to let June go. I will be recommending this book until the end of time (sorry not sorry)

Ps. Read books by indigenous authors !!

[Cassadie Squair · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hiccup cried through a lot of this book. The writing was so well done and the message was beautiful. I will definitely re read this and recommend it to everyone.

[Katie Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful book! Cree Nomad made me feel all the emotions 😭 I'm still thinking about that powerful ending ❤️

[June Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally had time to come back and finish this one. Cry count: 5

Reading this novel made me feel as if the author was putting so many of my lived experiences into words. It specifically resonated with me because the protagonist is an Indigenous kid named June, who has to navigate life, loss, love, grief, and trauma. Beautiful, poignant, and extremely relatable. I would recommend it if you want to laugh at niche Indigenous jokes/references in one chapter and then bawl your eyes out in the next.

[Nesrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the storyline was muddled by too many featured characters for such a short book. I wish we could have gone more in depth into Junes relationships with her family and friends, Cousin being one I especially believe deserved a bigger storyline. This is a book focused on what feelings the reader is left with, rather than the logistics of the plot. Though the characters were one-dimensional, it's a beautiful story on death and grief that I think is well-suited for a YA audience!

[Clovermine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really know how to review this one.

It follows the June and the people closest to her as they find a way to move on. It bittersweet and full of grief and a bit of hope. I liked it.

[Melissa Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly written, very moving. I’d say more but it’s hard to see through my tears

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

let it be.

[Signey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, but also so very heartbreaking. Incredibly written and so moving. Just make sure you have a box of Kleenex next to you if you want to pick this one up.

[Chelsea Boehme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book made me cry more times in 200 pages than in the rest of my life combined. Simply the most gorgeous, heartbreaking read. I absolutely loved it.

[Cleo · Rating 3 out of 5]

very heavy on monologue and dialogue.

charcters don't have a lot going for them, very one dimensional and tropy, everyone fits a mold

June's dad was very well written

every interaction began to feel the same after halfway through the book

if some of the visits were replaced with Lu, Sarah, and Matt visits then those character would be fleshed out more

for a debut novel it was decentish

[Rachel Gasseling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top read of the year for me!!
Did I SOB through this book? Yes. Yes, I did. As a native women who wrote her masters thesis on native women in 21st century literature by gosh I wish this was published sooner to include. June is a deadly warrior. There was so much packed within this story that was so powerful and beautiful about being native. The language, culture, embracing and being…all of it was so beautifully written. Truly a marvelous read and would highly recommend.

Also finishing and looking back at the cover…made me cry again.

[Cec · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more, and it was good, but it's clearly a first-time book. I think the authors' next few projects will get better. I'm Metis, and I love reading indigenous books and I want to give props to this young indigenous person for getting something published that's amazing! I know the story is about grief and all these reviews, and even on the authors' instgram page, they have videos or mentions of them crying through the whole book. I didn't cry once because I didn't feel connected to any of the characters enough personally. They all felt 1 dimensional, I wish we could have fleshed out some characters more. Also, it took me a while to actually finish it, I finished it in 2 hours, but I started it bacn in December of 2024. I was honestly thinking I DNF if because I was having issues getring into it.Overall, I would recommend this to people, but I would let them know some of the issues I felt and I'd still support and read the authors other works in the future!

[Neptune · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book thinking “no I won’t cry, this book won’t hit me all that deep” but oh how wrong I was. I felt such a wide range of emotions while reading this book it was astonishing. The author had me smiling and giggling on one page and then full out sobbing the next. Hey, June will make you sit down and think about all the people that love you and all the people that you love and how your death would impact them or how their fealty might impact you. Think book shows how fragile life is and why we should cherish it and all the memories we get to make and all the people we meet along the way. I could not recommend Hey, June enough and I will be thinking about this book for a very long time. Cree Nomad is an insta read author in my books now.

[Maureen Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an important book. For non-Indigenous readers including myself, it sheds a light on the present day impacts of residential schools/ the sixties scoop on Indigenous youth and families. The characters are figuring out their futures following high school while also navigating the layered complexities of their identities, families and situations. This book manages to capture grief while maintaining hope, covering difficult topics while still feeling like a captivating read. It touches on the challenges for Indigenous people to connect with traditions while also living in a colonized society and facing racism. It’s rather beautiful and I imagine puts into words common life experiences for some Indigenous people.

[Bonnie Timshel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey June is a beautifully crafted story. The first chapter is a little disorienting and confusing but this matches the main characters state of mind so just stick with it. I felt like a ghost watching over Junes shoulder as we walked through her memories and met important people in her life. While this is a story about grief and loss, it is ultimately a story about love. All the small moments of love we experience with friends and family that make life worth living. Crew Nomad manages capture the complex beauty and pain of being human. I truely believe that this book has something for everyone.

[Mariah Shaaaawanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew …this book was a hard one to get through. I literally had to stop reading for 2 months and I just jumped back in to finally finish the last few chapters. As an indigenous person this story hit really hard. Every character reminded me of someone I know and the things they would say. It was so real. Beautifully sad. It makes me think about all the friends and family who’s already passed on in my life and how much I will always love and miss them and that I could talk to them anytime I need to or want to. Grief and trauma is a big part of our culture and this book takes you through every part of that. This story will stick with me forever and I will recommend it always to my people.

[Mika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered "Hey June" on TikTok through a content creator I follow. As soon as it became available, I rushed to order it and was instantly captivated by its representation. The beautifully poetic passages left me in awe, and as a Native person, I deeply resonated with its themes. I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, laughing and crying throughout the entire book. Although it's a shorter read, I wished it could have been longer due to how engrossing it was.

[Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book was very humbling for me. All the ways I thought I understood grief, I still had things to learn. The gentleness of June’s dad. The conversation between June and her dad about Aunt Jamie. The final convo with Arnie. Change is inevitable, and I’m changed from this book. Letting go is powerful and not as easy as I thought. There is huge comfort in knowing that letting go isn’t easy. Hey, June has given me comfort in letting go and grief. Mársı chogh

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book about grief, letting go and issues Indigenous youth deal with daily. As an Metis person, this book resonated with me deeply and had me crying all throughout the 188 pages. The lessons intertwined in the book were powerful and thought-provoking. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those who have experienced grief as the lessons about Kiyâm is something we all need to sit with more.

[Alaniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how many lines I highlighted on my kindle. I will definitely buy the physical book as I feel like it is a book I could reread when I'll need to again.
As Innu, there are so many things I could relate to... grieving, relationships with cousins, thoughts about indigenous history... I was also happy to read the language and compare it to Innu language. All the words were similar and I could understand them.
I laughed, I cried, but in a good way. Tshinashkumitin Cree Nomad.

[Jennifer Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this 4.5 stars if it would let me. It is a great book. It has a native storytelling feel to it in the present chapters. The chapters set in the past had me binge reading. I’m in fact I binge read the whole book because I really enjoyed it. I was waiting for something really satisfying to hit and the end and having some doubts but when I got to the end Cree Nomad nailed it. I am really looking forward to the next book!

[Lexi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the first non-academic books I've read that just "gets it" — and by "it", heh, let's just say, the prairie NDN experience. It felt like talking to a friend, or being told a story by someone I've grown up with. I cried multiple times.
Unfortunately, the text is heavily plagued by elements of fanfiction-style writing — vernacular, cliches, sentence structure, etc. Overall a very touching work.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even through the tears, I couldn’t put it down. Both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Dealing with grief feels so bottomless but Cree Nomad has revealed the bottom and the way out. We hold onto so much throughout life but after reading Hey, June I feel so much lighter, knowing that what I’ve felt, I was never feeling alone. An amazing debut novel from an author who writes from the heart.

[emii :P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried and I grieved and I cried some more. As someone who has lost lots of people dear to me it makes me wonder if they ever sit around listening to me say the things I wish I said. Such a beautifully written book 💜🪽 Combine this with the indigenous culture interwoven through the FMC and the rest of the cast, you will be devastated by the end

[Reisse Myy Fredericks · Rating 2 out of 5]

A debut with glimmers of brilliance beneath an uncut narrative shape, clearly inspired by “The Lovely Bones.” Though its slow-burn style didn’t quite land for me, the Indigenous storytelling—linking grief to landscape and myth—was moving. Its brief, nuanced depiction of father-daughter bonds was an under-explored highlight: “If you’re scared, then you just do it afraid.”

[Sam Gremley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be prepared to have your heart broken then healed all at once. Have a box of tissues. Cree Nomad describes the process of grief and the love that is underneath with feelings behind each word. This made me confront the grief I have and it helped me process a lot.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the transitions between timelines and chapters to work quite well. I did find some character dialogue and plot points to be on the cliched side, but the meaning behind each character relationship was effectively conveyed. Closer to a 2.5 star read.