Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I absolutely love these stories, and this one was no exception. This was such a fun, sweet, exciting read! I can't wait to share this story with my students.

I can see what Wells is going for, looking at different kinds of lies and the way telling them affects us. And all of this exploration of lies is leading to June finding her truth. I think it goes too far, though. June lies about EVERYTHING. And the fairy godmother really pushes the suspension of disbelief.

The main character is June and she is just starting middle school with her two best friends, Nia and Olive. At a young age, she has learned it’s easier to tell little white lies to make everyone happy from her parents to her friends to teachers and so much more than being honest with people. This way no one will be disappointed in her.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for June because right from the beginning of the book it seemed like her dad had her life planned out with what he wanted her to do in the future and that was taking over his law practice. He expected June to get the best grades, to plan field hockey, to be on the debate team so that she could follow in his footsteps of attending Howard University. June was struggling with all that, her grades were slipping, she didn’t really care for field hockey and she has no plans on joining the debate team. To say the least, June was spreading herself out too far. Her school work was suffering. I think it was a lot for an eleven-year-old girl to take on. She just wanted to be a kid who could wear what she wanted and to be with her friends with no pressure.

Then one day at the Featherstone Creek Carnival she goes into the Fun House and meets Victoria who just happens to be a Fairy Godmother who knows all about June and her little white lies. She offers June a chance to earn a secret power through two truths and one lie. Victoria wins and this secret power that is given to June is that she will no longer be able to lie. What will happen if June tries to lie? Victoria is trying to teach June not to lie to the ones she loves.

Trying to deal with this new power June struggles because now she is telling the truth and sometimes it’s not what people want to hear so to combat that she knows she will be punished for lying so she creates a secret blog where she can confess everything that is real. June just wants everyone to be happy and she wants to please people.

How long can June do this? She is struggling and feeling overwhelmed, will there be a breaking point? Can she be honest with her parents and her friends? And if she is will they be accepting of her truth?

This was such an interesting read and one that I highly recommend to tweens. As I was reading this I couldn’t help but wonder if my son felt this way and if he was doing exactly what June was doing? He tells me, no but I wonder. I think as parents sometimes we put too much pressure on our kids and they are afraid to say something that could disappoint us.

Honest June is a book that explores the importance of telling the truth and especially being your true self. I think that these are very important concepts for people to grasp. The author did a good job of portraying what it can feel like to be a "people pleaser" at the expense of your own wishes and desires. The stress, anxiety and worry that can come along with disagreeing with someone that you love and want to make proud. The need to feel accepted by friends and concern that if you don't follow along then you will be left behind. I appreciate that the author explored these types of feelings and ways of thinking. However, I was sometimes so upset and disappointed by how other characters reacted when June was telling some truths or expressing herself. I also felt that sometimes some of the message was thrown too hard at the reader. Overall, I'm really glad that a book like this exists. It is nice to see the portrayal of a character experiencing anxiety and panic attacks. It looks like there are to be more books in this series. I'm looking forward to seeing more of June.

I really liked the concept of this book. It was original and something I haven't seen before.
When I first started, I thought June was kind of immature but as the story unfolded and June learned more about herself, I think it was a good idea to portray her as an immature tween.
I was annoyed with the dad for awhile but his reasons seemed valid, albeit a little overbearing.

Fairy godmother bestowing a gift that feels more like a curse? I'm in! June's not a bad person and her lies are not being told for her own gain, but she does lie an awful lot. June believes her lies are making her life easier by stopping conflict with friends and family, but she doesn't see the toll her need to please everyone else is taking on her own mental state. Honest June provides a light take on a more serious subject as our protagonist works to overcome her fears about the consequences of telling people the truth. Sure, there's some fallout as June finds her own voice, but it's not as dire as she has imagined. A good middle grades book.

This is a heavy handed, slow moving story of a girl who can't be honest if it was a truck running her over.

June feels it is better to just make people happy, so she has to sneak her clothes that she wants to wear for school, and change there, so her mother doesn't find out. She takes on too many extra curricular activities because her father feels she needs to in order to succeed. She doesn't tell her friends how she really feels.

And then, after four chapters of this, the fairy godmother shows up and puts a spell on her so she has to tell the truth.

All well and good, but it is in your face what the moral of this story is, and how to get June to come around, that it almost feels as though we are being punished too.

And then the book ends.

I know it is a message that has to be put out there, and I appreciate that this is something that kids need to know, but this didn't work for me, hitting me over the head with it.

June was written well, even if she was always whining about being forced to tell the truth.

<em> Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>