Junie

Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

I thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful tribute to a family legacy!

This is a debut novel by Eckstine and I really hope to read more by her in the future! This is a pre-Civil War Historical Fiction Novel.

Junie has been enslaved since birth. Existing on Bellereine Plantation, she serves with her family as a maid and a cook. She has become a close friend to Violet, the master’s daughter. The two girls enjoy poetry and reading, a gift Violet gave Junie. At night Junie roams the woods, filled with guilt and loss from her sister Minnie’s death.

When guests arrive from New Orleans, everything changes. There is talk of marriage for Violet and Junie’s world is upended. In her desperation, Junie awakens the spirit of her sister. Lies are uncovered with haunting secrets. Junie’s anchor becomes Caleb, a coachman brought by the visiting guests.

So many things go wrong, there is threat of war, and Junie has her own secrets and dreams to contend with. She is faced with the most difficult decision of her life.

This was such a beautiful tribute to a family legacy. It is based off an ancestor of the author. The story is so well written, the characters are just meticulously developed and so relatable. This was heartbreaking and astonishingly wonderful at the same time. I wanted more.

The details in the characters and setting give the reader an intimate connection to slavery and the characters living through it. It isn’t painted completely negatively; they are portrayed with hopes and dreams and it’s just beautiful. Junie will stay with me as a favorite character. 5/5⭐

I would love to Thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books/Penguin for the wonderful opportunity to review a copy of this beautiful book.

• On a side note, I did purchase a copy of the audiobook and it is also so wonderfully executed. The narrator does an excellent job giving voice to the individual characters and enhances the overall experience of the book. Also a 5/5⭐