This moving novel, told from the point of view of an awkward* 14-year-old girl in 1987, may remind readers of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which it references once in passing. That’s not to say that it’s derivative — it most certainly isn’t — but it is a powerful book about love, discrimination* and misunderstanding, with a young female narrator, set in the early years of the AIDS epidemic*.

    June Elbus is the goddaughter of her beloved uncle Finn, a celebrated artist who is dying of AIDS. As one of his last acts, he decides to paint a portrait of her and her sister, Greta. Once he dies, she learns that he was in a committed relationship with a man named Toby, who seeks her out, even though her family blames him for Finn’s disease. Eventually they become close friends — she often sneaks into New York City from Westchester to visit him. Somewhat reluctantly*, she begins to share memories of Finn with Toby, who has secrets of his own.

    The book is too complex a story to recap* here, but along the way, Greta, a gifted singer who had been June’s close friend and is now a mean older sister, struggles with her own insecurities*. Their mother, Finn’s sister, deals with her own lost opportunities.

    Then, once the painting’s existence is leaked to the press, it becomes a focal point for much of the storyline. Because of Finn’s fame and the fact that he hadn’t produced any new works for the past eight years, it is suddenly extremely* valuable.

    Both the book, its Kindle version and Chinese version are available on amazon.cn.(SD-Agencies)