http://www.yash3lf.com/nick-and-june-were-here-shalanda-stanley/

http://www.yash3lf.com/interview-with-shalanda-stanley-author-of-nick-and-june-were-here/

Insightful take on mental illness and small town life. Insightful take on mental illness and small town life.

Nick and June Were here is an amazing story of friendship and the lengths people will go to stand by their friends side.
I was very impressed with this book and the authors accurate ability to catch so much of the mental pain people with this disease go through.
Can't wait to read more by this author!

*** Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of NICK AND JUNE WERE HERE by Shalanda Stanley in exchange for my honest review.***

3.5 STARS 

After a psychotic break, June is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Her best friend/boyfriend, a reluctant car thief hopes his destiny isn’t prison like his father. Neither makes good decisions and the results may be catastrophic.

Writing schizophrenic narrators authentically is difficult, because disorganized thinking is a major component of the condition. Shalanda Stanley capture the auditory and visual hallucinations accurately. I was particularly glad she included June’s childhood with some hallucinations because the mistaken notion that healthy young adults wake up one day with schizophrenia appearing out of nowhere. Stanley was less accurate showing the disorganization.

After a slow start NICK AND JUNE WERE HERE picks up about 25% into the story and I became engaged in their stories. I loved June’s relationship with her second best friend Bethany and appreciated that both Nick and Bethany realized some secrets shouldn’t be kept, even if a friend gets mad. I had more trouble with June and Nick’s relationship because of certain decisions he convinced her to do including sneaking into the hospital. I know I was supposed to root for them, and I did as individuals, just not as friends or a couple. I had a lot of empathy for Nick, poor parental role models, abandoned by both. To me he wasn’t a victim of circumstances but a young man who made poor choices, pushing away help and support.

***mini spoiler***

The ending was satisfying. I was so glad Stanley avoided the love cure for mental illness and criminal behavior.

***end spoiler***

I recommend NICK AND JUNE WERE HERE with the caveat that friendship can feel good but be dysfunctional and ill-advised.