Book Review: The Truth About Ben and June
This story was absolutely heartbreaking!!! As a non-married, non-parent, I found this a little hard to relate to on a personal level. But even so, I felt so deeply for each of the main characters. This story deals with very difficult topics, so please see the content warnings at the end of this review.
We follow struggling couple Ben and June as they navigate their lives and careers as new parents. Both of them feel extremely isolated from each other, but neither is able to confront the issue head-on. That is until June goes missing and Ben has to figure out what the heck happened. Why would June leave without warning? Had something terrible happened to her?
This story alternates from Ben's perspective to June's, which is usually a format that I'm not a fan of. However, in this case, it was extremely effective. This format allowed me to empathize with both characters and helped the mysteries within the story to unravel gradually. Without reading each perspective, I could see how one or both characters could become extremely unlikable. With both perspectives included, I felt the opposite effect.
One very specific interest of mine is reading books that relate to or weave in other art forms and stories, and The Truth About Ben and June did this beautifully. Alex Kiester managed to weave in professional dance, as well as the Greek myth of Medea.
There are some difficult topics covered in this book. Please see the content warnings here: death of a parent, cancer treatment, postpartum depression/anxiety/psychosis, suicide ideation & attempt, alcohol consumption, anger resulting in violence, and hallucinations.
Book Summary:
A heartfelt debut that explores the complexity of a modern-day marriage when a new mother vanishes one morning and her husband must retrace events of their recent past to bring her home.
Love isn’t something that happens to you; it’s something you must choose every day.
From the moment Ben and June met in a hospital waiting room on New Year’s Eve, their love has seemed fated. Looking back at all the tiny, unlikely decisions that brought them together, it was easy to believe their relationship was special. But now, after several years of marriage, June is struggling as a new mom. At times, she wonders about the life she didn’t choose—what might have been if she hadn’t given up the lead role in a famous ballet to start a family. Feeling like a bad mom and more alone than ever, she writes to her deceased mother, hoping for a sign of what she should do next.
One morning, Ben wakes to the sound of his baby and quickly realizes that June is gone, along with her suitcase. As Ben attempts to piece together June’s disappearance, her new friends mention things he knows nothing about—a mysterious petition, June’s falling-out with another mom, her strange fixation on a Greek myth. The more Ben uncovers about June, the more he realizes how little he actually knows her. And now the only way to bring June home is to understand why she left.
Told through alternating perspectives of husband and wife, The Truth About Ben and June is a witty and wise page-turner about life’s many crossroads and a heartfelt reminder that we create our own destiny.