Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index

By: Julie Israel

Narrated by: Abigail Revasch

Funny, warm, and moving, Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index is a contemporary YA novel about loss, how deeply we can know others, and making our own happiness; perfect for fans of Sara Zarr and Jandy Nelson’s The Sky Is Everywhere.

Sixty-five days after the death of her older sister, sixteen-year-old Juniper Lemon discovers the break-up letter addressed to “You” Camilla wrote the day she died. Juni is shocked—she knew nothing of this You, and now the gaping hole in her life that was her sister feels that much bigger. She’s determined to uncover the identity of You and deliver the letter. Maybe that would help fill the hole, even if only a bit.

But what Juniper doesn’t expect is that in searching for You she will unearth other notes and secrets—and that may be just what she needs to sort out her own mess.

Critic reviews

"Heartwarming . . . A well-told story of teen struggles and grief that will resonate with readers."—School Library Journal, starred review

"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."—Publishers Weekly

"Genuine and satisfying. An earnest debut about coping with loss and trauma."—Booklist

"A poignant slice-of-life story. Readers watch Juniper deal with her grief and learn positive ways to cope with difficult situations. This moving, debut novel will appeal to fans of realistic fiction."—VOYA


"Things that will make you fall in love with Juniper Lemon's Happiness Index:
– The most excellent Bicycle Race sing off the world has ever seen (++)
– A beautifully woven story of grief and friendship and secrets (+++)
– Characters that you can't stop thinking about for moments and days and weeks after you close the book (+++) x ∞"—Rachael Allen, author of A Taxonomy of Love and The Revenge Playbook

I'm in love

I went into this book with no expectations . I had no idea what it was about. I'm not one for YA as a whole but enjoyed it a lot.
I was disappointed to not know who YOU was. if this is turned into a movie please let us know.

I almost missed the point!

Read the authors q&a to understand everything. It's a good book! I want to listen to it again!

A Nice Read

This book is certainly an emotional roller coaster, it was a sweet story about dealing with grieve and how far you will go to prove that you are sorry .. I liked Juniper and she is a very good character in my eyes, the romance was cute and smooth that I was falling in love along side with them .. the ending was what kind of what ruined the book for me, there could be a much better ending to this .. but all and all it was a nice read :)

The Narration was very good and it was very emotional and dynamic ..I really recommend this audiobook

Tears, tears, tears

Although it made me cry... more than a few times, I really enjoyed this book. It follows the way Camila's death affects her sister, Juniper, in an interesting way. I only wish the author had explored the family dynamic a bit more deeply. Also, I did feel some of the dialogue was too polished and poetic for casual conversation, otherwise, no complaints from me!