Junie

A Novel

De: Erin Crosby Eckstine

Narrado por: Angel Pean

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • As the Civil War looms, a young girl must face a life-altering decision after awakening her sister’s ghost in this “poignant story of love, family and friendship [that] celebrates the power of liberation” (People).

“An enrapturing tale of survival . . . Eckstine has poured a ton of heart into her characters.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“The richly textured prose quickly pulled me into [Junie’s] treacherous yet magical world.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

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?

©2025 Erin Crosby Eckstine (P)2025 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Junie . . . has such a raw beauty that absolutely captivated me. . . . Junie’s quiet strength comes from the stark, uncompromising truth of enslavement, creating a tension that kept me completely immersed in her world. Eckstine crafts a narrative that is both haunting and profoundly moving, and her prose is wildly vivid.”—CityBeat (Cincinnati)

“The richly textured prose quickly pulled me into the protagonist’s treacherous yet magical world. I was drawn to the story of Junie, an enslaved teenager with a love of books and nature who must navigate difficult truths about her family and friendships in order to survive her times.”—Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

“Propulsive and haunting, young Junie takes on the many burdens handed to her while reaching for the hope she wasn’t meant to have. Erin Crosby Eckstine breathes urgency, wit, and resilience into her preternaturally gifted protagonist. Junie is a lush and immersive story about power, reckoning, love, and redemption. . . . A true beauty of a book.”—Diane Marie Brown, author of Black Candle Women

Insightful, beautiful and thought-provoking

A beautifully written, heart-wrenching story based on the life of a 16 year old African American girl who is a slave on a plantation in pre-Civil War Alabama. This was a story I couldn’t put down and one I know will stay with me for a very long time.

LOVE LOVE LOVE….

Beautifully written with unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, then emotional, then excited! lol….. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Excellent!

I enjoyed the entire book. Narration was perfect. Author’s note at the end was quite interesting.

Hated the Ending

This is a sad tale. The ending left me feeling angry, but I found the novel overall to be un-put-downable.

Captivating Characters

I disliked the slow start in the beginning. But, after chapter two I was captivated. Audio performance made the story much more profound. 8/10.

Seller

What a great story! Wonderful narration and the characters were well developed. You won’t regret this credit.

Very interesting

This book was quite something, and the author's definitely succeeded in portraying what they intented to, in the author's note at the end. This story isn't solely about the physical horrors of slavery. It is about human beings, doing human (good or bad) and inhuman things to each other (definitely bad) both physically and emotionally. How some try to survive, to endure, to exist. The main character is sometimes very annoying, but after reading it, that was also the point too... She was learning, until it was too late, until the choice wasn't hers to make, until she finally did it for herself, with all consequences.

Beautiful

One of the best books I’ve ever listened to because of the continuity, the detail, the emotion, and the persistence of the main character. I thought the narrator did a beautiful job personifying the main character and helping her become so very fully realized and pull at your heartstrings.

Well Told Story

Junie is a powerful read for those interested in stories that blend literary elegance with historical truth. It demands emotional engagement, rewarding readers with a poignant glimpse into a life that should never be forgotten.

Junie

An amazing story, heart wrenching the mid 1800s. It describes life as a slave I could not put this down. I had to listen to it till the end and it brought me to tears again it’s an amazing book.