After MONTHSSS im finally done with this and it really dragged. The story was great when it was just historical fiction but the magical realism was very flat and the story would have been 5 stars without it. it was unnecessary and felt like it was written in as an afterthought. it was written really well but God, I do not care about Minnie and her weird ass prophecy that didn't even matter. The story would have been better if everything stayed exactly the same except the Minnie prophecy was something of Junie's own mind.

This book was a fantasic debut. I was surprised to learn that the author is from Alabama and that Junie takes place in Alabama. This story was beautifully, heartbreaking. I enjoyed the supernatural element of the story. Set Pre-Civil which I have not read before. Junie deals with the greif of loosing her sister. She is also a house maid to the McQueen's daughter. When the chances of a courtship happens, Junie may or not fall in love with the Taylor's coachman. I loved the author's writing style. I cannot wait to read another book by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! I don't typically read nor enjoy historical fiction BUT this one really kept my attention. probably due to the magical realism elements! It really kept me engaged in the story! It was such a deep and moving story. ALSO the COVERRRRR! I loved it. I did only give it three stars because it was a little boring/slow at times but that could just be a me thing because I feel that way about most historical fictions.

Junie: A GMA Book Club Pick by Erin Crosby Eckstine is a powerful, atmospheric debut that mixes history, grief, and the supernatural into a gripping coming-of-age tale.

Set in 1860 on an Alabama plantation, the novel follows 16-year-old Junie, who’s been enslaved since birth and haunted by her sister Minnie’s death. When guests arrive and threaten to uproot her life, Junie’s desperation drives her to perform a ritual that literally raises Minnie’s spirit—from beyond the grave. With help from Caleb, she confronts plantation secrets, racial power, and the definition of freedom.

Junie has been enslaved since she was born, working for her master’s family and tending to Violet, the master’s daughter. Mistakenly, Junie feels as though Violet is her friend since she taught her to read and write. But one night, Junie accidentally awakens the spirit of her recently departed sister, Minnie, and now must fulfill her wishes so she can cross over to the other side. Things start to worsen at the plantation when the wealthy Mr Taylor comes to visit and is rumored to be interested in courting Violet. Desperate to stay, obligated by Minnie’s spirit and wrapped up in Violet’s secrets, Junie must decide what the best course of action is for herself, even if it means leaving behind those she treasures most.

I really loved this book and Junie’s story. I’m not a fan of magical realism but I didn’t mind it in this story. The characters were flawed and the story had plenty of complexity to it to keep me guessing what direction Junie’s life was going to go in. As many books written during the time of slavery, it exposes the harsh reality of being a slave and having little to no control of their lives.

Thank you to @netgalley @ballantinebooks @randomhouse for a #gifted early digital copy of this book. This is also a @gmabookclub pick.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. This book will be a classic, I am certain! Wow! I am speechless. This was beautiful and has stayed with me over time. I highly recommend this to everyone! It was that fantastic! Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this beautiful book.

This book was beautiful and tragic. The characters were real and had such depth. I appreciated the growth of some of the characters, as well as the true nature of other characters revealed over time. The supernatural elements not only amplified the story, but also seemed to pay homage to some of the traditions that have been erased over time. I also appreciated the authors note and felt this truly rounded out the story.

This story was so well done and I really enjoyed it. I enjoy reading from this author and I'm looking forward to the next book. The plot was really well explored and I enjoyed the overall story. The characters were great and I was able to dive myself into this book. It was well done and I highly recommend.

Overall this one did not work for me. The magical realism element ended up taking me out of the historical context of the story rather than making me feel more a part of it. I know so many people really loved this one, and I seem to be in the minority. If you love magical realism and historical fiction, I think this could work for a lot of readers.

Such warm storytelling! The author’s love for these characters is absolutely contagious. It’s not often that I fly through the pages of a historical fiction, but this book had me hooked. The pacing is spot on. There was always an unanswered question or mini mystery compelling me to keep reading.

The portrayal of slavery felt a little off at first. It seemed rosy to the point of being unrealistic. As I continued to read, I realized that the depiction of slavery changes as Junie matures. Junie is young and, in some ways, sheltered. The book becomes darker as she more fully understands the reality of her situation. Because Junie is so young, the novel sometimes skewed a little YA for me, especially in the beginning. That said, one of the more interesting aspects became watching the storytelling grow up alongside Junie.

The author’s note really put words to much of what I was feeling as I read. She intended to show the enslaved characters as complete people with loves, interests, ambitions, etc. Therefore, she makes a point to give them some joy even in hard times. I think she 100% nailed what she set out to do. This is both a heartfelt and entertaining debut.

Junie is 16-years-old and enslaved by the McQueen family on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama. She serves Violet, reads voraciously, and explores the nearby forest. Junie also grieves the death of her older sister Minnie. So, when Minnie's spirit asks Junie to complete three tasks, Junie must decide if she'll comply. She also must decide what she will do with Caleb, the slave of Violet's beau. Is Junie able and willing to uncover truths, open her heart to love and pursue liberation at all costs?
The author wrote this book as a tribute to her ancestors. It's partially a biography but also speculative fiction. Her goal is to give readers a look at the life of an enslaved person who considers pursuing freedom. As Junie and Minnie discuss, “And who says I wanted to be free? That I wanted to go off from the plantation with you forever?” “Everybody wants to be free, Junie. Nobody deserves to live their life like we do.”
I enjoyed the book for the most part. I didn't care for the fantasy parts at times. And some of the "happy" ending is too sweet for my preference.
The book does tell an important story and is a valuable asset to the literary world.

5 engaging stars
“Junie squeezes Violet’s hands, the same pale, soft hands she’s held as long as she can remember. There’s an untold story in their grasp, one that takes them in wagons and on steamboats to the unknown. They’d hear the great music, see the great sights, maybe even make it all the way to France like Violet has always wanted. They’d be the adventurers in the books they’d grown up reading together. It is a good story. But… she knows it isn’t hers.”

I immediately became invested in this book’s nuanced characters who had strong emotional relationships. The dramatic plot always moved along. At times it was sad, but as Eckstine writes in the end notes, “That’s the beautiful thing about fiction; sometimes you get to create hope where it doesn’t always exist.” Often one can guess where the book is going. I loved that the author surprised me a few times. Even at the end of the book I noted, “Oh no. I did not see this coming…Exciting. It’s been a long time since I read such a gripping book.”

I appreciated that different perspectives were shared. Some enslaved people had too many ties to their home to try to escape.

Make sure you read the Author’s Note at the end of the book. Erin Crosby Eckstine writes that she wrote Junie “intending to create a well-rounded and human portrayal of an enslaved characters, someone I felt I’d rarely seen in literature.” She succeeds. The author “spent a lot of time with this story, thinking about the reality that people had lived their entire lives as slaves, meaning they experienced a full spectrum of human emotion and conditions under these horrific circumstances.” Junie herself is based on Eckstine’s great-great-great grandmother, Jane Cotton.

Junie would make an excellent movie. It deserves a wide audience. “See all the beauty you can, my sweet sister.” Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was definitely a slow burn, but worth it! There were quite a few twists in the last half of the book, that put a past and present into perspective for both the characters and the readers. I was pleased with the character development, as I really did not like Junie in the beginning. Her entire family continued to call her carefree (careless) and I agreed with them. I found myself questioning if Junie fully understood the risks she was taking or if she was just selfish. However, a lot happens during the year this book takes place and this forces her to grew as a woman, friend, granddaughter, cousin, and sister.

I questioned the Minnie/haint potion of the book, thinking perhaps it was all in Junie's head, but it turns out it was not deeper than what it was. Sometimes, I think ghosts/magic realism can be a cop out to wrap up a plot, but think this was well done and not overused. I also really enjoyed some of the characters, especially Caleb and Muh/Granddaddy. The book is left slightly open-ended to the point where a sequel could fit in quite easily and wonder if the author intentionally did that.

Finished Junie this morning & really enjoyed the time I spent reading this story 🩷

@erincrosbyeckstine thank you for writing & sharing such an important story 👏🏻 the author’s note too 🥺 & the book’s stunning cover 🫶🏻

4.5 stars rated up
Junie had been in my NetGalley approvals for quite some time, but I am a moody reader and for some reason, I kept passing it up. Our book club selected it for our May pick. Unfortunately I had issues and didn’t read the book in time or go to the discussion but I’m really glad I read the book. Despite our book club having mixed feelings, I enjoyed this book.

Junie is 16 years old, living in the south before the civil war. She has been a slave since she was born. Her sister has recently passed away and Junie is struggling with becoming a woman, the loss of her sister and other family members and her own future. She is the personal maid to the estate’s daughter Violet. She believes her and Violet are truly friends. The master brings a young man and his family to the home to court his daughter. Junie and the coachman, Caleb, begin a friendship that transitions into more. In the meantime, things at the estate are heating up. Junie is being visited by the ghost of her sister, she brings up horrid things that have happened to her family at the estate. Junie is unsure of her future and longs to set her family free.

This book was based loosely on the authors ancestry. I could feel so many emotions in this book. This is a beautifully written debut book. The characters, specifically Junie, but even some of the other characters had depth, emotions and personality. I looooved Junie, she was headstrong, compassionate and kind. I gave off half a star because I wasn’t particularly fond of the ending. I wanted so much more!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an advance reader copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since hearing the author speak last summer....I had been anxious to read this one. Will recommend to most of my readers because it is a powerful story. The book has it all, characters you won't forget, a storyline that will pull at your heartstrings, and even some magical realism. All of that combined makes it a book that transcends genres and appeals to many different readers!

Description
Sixteen years old and enslaved since she was born, Junie has spent her life on Bellereine Plantation in Alabama, cooking and cleaning alongside her family, and tending to the white master’s daughter, Violet. Her daydreams are filled with poetry and faraway worlds, while she spends her nights secretly roaming through the forest, consumed with grief over the sudden death of her older sister, Minnie.

When wealthy guests arrive from New Orleans, hinting at marriage for Violet and upending Junie’s life, she commits a desperate act—one that rouses Minnie’s spirit from the grave, tethered to this world unless Junie can free her. She enlists the aid of Caleb, the guests’ coachman, and their friendship soon becomes something more. Yet as long-held truths begin to crumble, she realizes Bellereine is harboring dark and horrifying secrets that can no longer be ignored.

With time ticking down, Junie begins to push against the harsh current that has controlled her entire life. As she grapples with an increasingly unfamiliar world in which she has little control, she is forced to ask herself: When we choose love and liberation, what must we leave behind?

Junie is a powerful and emotional story.
Junie is a teen girl who is enslaved on the Bellereine plantation in Alabama. She becomes friends with the masters daughter Violet.
Junie has a sister who passed away, Minnie, and she believes it was her fault. Junie talks to Minnies spirit throughout the novel.

There are a lot of elements to this powerful story. Definitely recommend if you like historical novels and even if you don’t (I typically don’t.)

Also the cover is absolutely beautiful!

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine's. Junie herself was definitely the highlight for me - she felt real and complex in a way that kept me invested throughout the story. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well the ghost elements were incorporated. Instead of feeling tacked on, the supernatural aspects genuinely enhanced the emotional journey and added this perfect layer of atmosphere that kept me turning pages.
The middle of the book did lose me a bit, though. There was just SO much happening all at once. New characters, additional plotlines, unexpected twists - individually interesting, but together it was a lot to keep track of. I found myself having to backtrack occasionally to figure out how everything connected, and the main narrative thread sometimes got buried under all the extra stuff going on.
By the end, though, Eckstine pulls it all together in a way that felt satisfying. The conclusion circled back to what I loved about Junie as a character and delivered the emotional payoff I was hoping for. While not perfect, this book definitely deserves four stars for its memorable protagonist and the skillful way it blends ghostly elements with genuine human drama. If you enjoy character-driven stories with a supernatural twist, Junie is definitely worth picking up!

Somehow this was an uplifting beautiful story of a young girl enslaved and serving a rich family in Alabama. Told through Junies voice, you see her grow up adjacent to her master’s young daughter Violet. Through reading and poetry they find beauty in their young lives. Junie is also grieving the loss of her sister and begins seeing her ghost in odd places, as though she is asking Junie to finish some mysterious quest. Deeply moving book about a young woman surviving of a life of slavery during a civil war and uproar with the ability to read, write, love, honor, and remember those she loved.

A soon to be classic, mark my words. This will never leave my mind.

A beautiful story of redemption, forbidden love, friendship, family, and freedom. Nothing connects with my old soul like historical fiction, and this one exceeded expectations.

Truthfully, my expectations were not very high at the beginning, and I almost wanted to DNF… but I’m so glad I didn’t. This has got to be one of the most painfully raw stories I have ever read.

My heartstrings were pulled at continuously. This is such a phenomenal story, a true masterpiece. There’s not nearly enough words to describe the love I have for this story. I will never stop recommending!

Highly recommend reading along with the audiobook—it’s fantastic and makes everything impossibly better!

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾!