Book Review-Tell the Wolves I'm Home

I'm back to reading physical books, this time I picked up Tell the Wolves I'm Home. June Elbus' uncle Finn is dying of AIDS and wants to paint a portrait of June and her sister Greta.  They sit for him every Saturday, even after the picture seems done, until one day they receive the news that he has died.  June is heartbroken, he was her Godfather and the only person who seemed to get her.  June is an introvert while her sister is an extrovert.  They had been close at one time, but now Greta seems to be annoyed with everything June does.  Finn used to take June to art and cultural places in New York. At the funeral the family sees a young man sitting apart in the parking lot.  June's mother is upset, it turns out that he was Finn's partner and widely believed to have given Finn AIDS.  Shortly afterward the family receives the portrait and June receives a package from a strange mailman containing Finn's favorite teapot.  It turns out that Toby, Finn's partner, has sent it to her and he wants to get to know her.  This is the start of a strange, but healing, friendship for June and Toby. The book is told from June's point of view, which is interesting because as an adult, we can figure out some things before June does.  June is an interesting character, at once brave enough to be different from her classmates, but still vulnerable to her sister's actions. I liked the book because the characters seemed very real and the emotions true-love, grief, happiness, tenderness, compassion. Tell the Wolves I'm Home By Brunt, Carol Rifka 2013-06 - Dial Press 9780812982855 Check Our Catalog In this striking literary debut, Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal in 1987 as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don't know you've lost someone until you've found them. …More Complimentary Reads The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving By Evison, Jonathan 2013-05 - Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 9781616203153 Check Our Catalog After a great loss, a teenager with muscular dystrophy and his caregiver venture out in a hair-raising road trip across the American West, in this lively, soulful novel by the author of the "New York Times" bestseller "West of Here." …More The Hollow Ground By Harnett, Natalie S. 2014-05 - Thomas Dunne Books 9781250041982 Check Our Catalog "A grand achievement, a story fierce in its honesty about family love and betrayal." --Maureen Howard, National Book Critics Circle Award winner …More Schroder By Gaige, Amity 2013-10 - Twelve 9781455512126 Check Our Catalog Attending summer camp as a boy, Erik Schroder--a first-generation East German immigrant--adopts the name of Eric Kennedy, a decision that will set him on an improbable and transformative journey. …More Want to see all the staff picks?  In Encore (our catalog) search for HPL Staff Picks. To sign up for this, or any of our newsletters, check out our Newsletter sign up page.