Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Very recently, I decided to revisit one the authors that I used to read when I was younger, Kevin Henkes. I remember reading his mice books, like A Weekend with Wendell and Owen, back in elementary school. Right before middle school, I read his Olive's Ocean and it became one of my favorite books for a month. When I came in possession of Kevin Henkes's Junonia I figured that it was worth a read while I secretly hoped that I could take a nice nostalgic walk down my childhood memories. But more than that, I wanted to answer the question: Can you outgrow your favorite childhood authors?

General summary:
A young girl, Alice Rice, goes to her summer house where she visits every year to celebrate her birthday. There, she learns more about her friends and family.

The storyline of the book was simple and not unlike that of many other elementary reads. And I ended up liking the main character's voice (even though I often found it annoying) because her thought process wasn't that different from mine at the time. The strangest and most unsettling thing about this book was the fact that I found myself connecting more to the older and more adult characters than I did to the main character. I felt myself nodding more at her parents' reasoning rather than her temper tantrums.

Aside from spending the entire book trying to figure out how to say the title, it was more complex than I had initially expected. Some of the parts that I thoroughly enjoyed included:

Alice's relatable child-like moods:
     "Alice felt misunderstood. How could they discuss traffic on the island and the weather at a time like this?" -page 16
     "Alice thought it would be nice if everyone's heads - expect her own - had small windows built into them and she could see what was going on inside their brains." -page 23
     "Alice was angry at her father, Kate, the world. She felt the pull of something beyond her control, something unseen and unfair." -page 33

Her imagination:
     "She was thinking that she was a butterfly. She was wiggling her fingers and toes - fluttering her wings - when she heard a sharp rapping at the front door." -page 19

Her approach to serious issues:
     "Alice decided her perfect, personal god was female. She would live in the ocean because water covered most of the earth, and her name would be Junonia." -page 26

Her interpretation of adults:
     "Alice's parents exchanged a look, and Alice could tell that they were speaking in the secret, silent language of parents." -pages 30-31

By reading this book, I have found an answer to the question "Can you outgrow your favorite childhood authors?" I can concluded that: Yes, you most certainly can outgrow the writing styles of authors you used to read. Although I found the book entertaining, I don't think I would read Kevin Henkes's other books. But I don't think it's because they aren't mature enough but mainly because my reading style has evolved and no longer can truly understand and appreciate this book's style.

Tell me if you have ever revisited the books of your childhood and your experiences!