Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

May 22, 2017
Juniper “Juni” Lemon, 16, is struggling with the death of her older sister, Camie. Using a method that Camie taught her to see the good in life, Juni writes down the positive and negative things that happen during a given day on numbered index cards. When Juni finds a breakup letter her sister wrote to an unknown “you,” she decides to track down the mystery paramour to deliver the note. But things go awry on the first day of school when Juni loses index card #65, which marks the number of days since the car accident that killed Camie and carries Juni’s deepest secret. Israel’s debut novel sensitively examines loss, survivor’s guilt, and how one girl attempts to rebuild her life. The index cards help readers keep track of Juni’s healing amid a found-object art project, new friendships, and a blossoming romance. Israel handles the long, painful process of negotiating grief gently and realistically while cleverly interweaving the light mystery of “you’s” identity throughout, keeping readers guessing as Juni steps closer to finding closure. Ages 12–up. Agent: Susan Hawk, Bent Agency.

April 15, 2017
Every day, Juniper writes about the positive and negative aspects of her life on an index card to cope with the hole in her life left when her sister, Camilla, died.The two white sisters were driving home from a party on the Fourth of July when the crash occurred. Now Juniper is back in high school and has to face--or hide from---her friends. The discovery of a breakup letter in Camie's handwriting addressed only to "You" and the loss of one of her index cards send Juniper on a two-pronged mission. She resorts to dumpster-diving to find the card from day No. 65 with the help of local white bad-boy Brand and tries to figure out who "You" could be. Along the way she manages to channel her energy into an art project that helps her deal with her loss, but not before she interferes with the lives of several people by trying to fix their problems. Israel's debut is pretty standard fare, full of well-worn tropes of high school life as background to Juniper's first-person story of personal growth: bullies; distant parents; a guitar-playing, reckless love interest; a gay friend; there is even a school dance and a summer beach party to wrap things up. Wound into the familiar narrative is insight into bringing closure to grief and the reality of untold, unknowable secrets. (Fiction. 12-17)

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Starred review from May 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-It has been 65 days since Camie died in a car accident. Her sister, Juniper, has been coping with the aftermath of the event. She can't find happiness and struggles with former relationships. Juniper then discovers a mysterious letter from her late sister addressed to "You" and begins a mission to learn who the intended recipient is. While on the path of mourning, Juniper wrestles with her sadness, guilt, and identity in a world where her sister doesn't exist. During the search for "You," Juniper crosses paths with other classmates, who unexpectedly change one another's lives and expose secrets. Themes of loss and emotional growth resonate throughout this novel. Told from Juniper's point of view, the book recounts events on a day-to-day basis, and the narrative is peppered with lists, poems, notes, and letters. While friendships and love interests arise, the emphasis is on Juniper's ability to deal with loss. Israel brings together a diverse cast of characters with problems to which many readers can relate. The added mystery of the letter entwined within the plot will make it easy for readers to become invested in the outcome. This heartwarming work will appeal to fans of Cori McCarthy's You Were Here. VERDICT A well-told story of teen struggles and grief that will resonate with readers.-Melissa Poole, Clemson University Library, Anderson, SC

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2018
Since her sister's death, Juniper Lemon has kept a daily "happiness index"--a practice inspired by Camilla's optimism. When Juniper loses index card #65, her frenzied search through school Dumpsters inspires an art project involving found objects, leading to connections with lonely classmates. With sweet romance, light mystery, high-school social shenanigans, and memorable characters, Israel's debut is conventional YA realism in the most appealing sense.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2017
Every day since her older sister Camilla's death on the Fourth of July, sixteen-year-old Juniper Lemon has recorded notes about positives and negatives of her day in her "happiness index"--a practice inspired by her sister's sunny optimism. The novel opens on day sixty-five: Juniper begins junior year grief-stricken and resentful of the awkward looks and silences from classmates, including her now-distant best friend; and she discovers an undelivered breakup letter written by Camilla, addressed only to a mysterious "You." On day sixty-six, Juniper realizes she's lost happiness index card #65, and a frenzied search has her sifting through school Dumpsters with unexpected help from cute bad-boy Brand, who takes a special interest in the quest. Instead of her card, Juniper discovers in the Dumpsters inspiration for an art project involving found objects, several of which lead her to connect with lonely classmates. As multiple story lines interweave and backstories (including the full truth about the car accident that killed her sister) unfold at a measured pace, Juniper's ongoing searches--for card #65, for the identity of "You," for ways to fill the Camilla-shaped hole in her life, for meaning in found objects and negative space--cohere into an insightful rumination on loss and survivor's guilt. With nuanced emotional growth, a sweet blossoming romance, light mystery, high-school social shenanigans, and an eclectic cast of memorable characters, Israel's debut novel is conventional YA realism in the most appealing sense. katrina hedeen

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)