REVIEW: GOODNIGHT JUNE, BY SARAH JIO

 

 

 

 

A story that contains many of my favorite ingredients, Goodnight June: A Novel takes the reader to the 1940s through letters between Margaret Wise Brown and a woman named Ruby Crain, a bookstore owner in Seattle.

We first connect with June Andersen, a financial whiz working for a bank in New York. She is great at her job, but is beginning to suffer from high blood pressure and other evidence of stress.

And then, serendipitously, she inherits her Aunt Ruby’s bookstore, Bluebird Books, and goes to Seattle to settle the estate. Initially, she plans to sell the store, but it takes very little time before the memories of childhood moments in the shop with Aunt Ruby sweep over her and she is suddenly immersed in book love again. But then June discovers that the bank is about to foreclose on the store and she must pull out all the stops if she wants to save it.

Her discoveries of the letters between her aunt and Margaret Wise Brown are like a wonderful bonus, and become part of a literary scavenger hunt. Could the letters help save the store? And will the hunky restaurant owner Gavin help her make the decision about what to do next? How will a five-year breach between June and her younger sister Amy affect the choices she makes?

The secrets, the hidden treasures, and the wonderful settings of one of my favorite cities swept me up into the story, while all the unexpected surprises and moments kept me reading. The obstacles were like real frustrations in my own life, and I was rooting for June as if my own future happiness depended on it. Keeping bookstores alive in the future is a theme that many book lovers can relate to. There were sad moments, losses, and sister reunions. This story will go down as another favorite read. 5.0 stars.