A fictional story about correspondence of friends, one a bookseller, the other the author of Good Night, Moon takes us back the 1946 and brings us into the present time when it looks as if the book store will be sold. 

 

I enjoyed reading the letters between the two women.  I also liked how June's aunt Ruby set up a scavenger hunt for her to find the letters between Ruby and Brownie.  I got to know the two women through their letters.  June got to know her aunt better through them also.  I did not expect the ending of the letters.  I was surprised. 

 

I liked that June finally was able to let go of the past.  The ending for that part of her life was rushed.  She found the peace she needed and was able to find her future but it was an easy clichéd ending. 

 

The secondary characters were not always likable but they did add more drama to the story and June's life.  I applaud June for rising about her upbringing but it was a drama for her to live in her life.  She had to make big decisions there so she could move forward.   I am glad she made the decisions she did. 

 

This is a story of sisters, friends, trust, beginnings, and endings and how each affects our lives.  A good read.

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio
Have read many of the authors works and enjoy them.
June Anderson inherits her great aunts book store and this tale surrounds the goodnight moon book by Margaret Wise Brown.
The green room in that book comes to life in this book.
Love the mystery and how they are found, letters from Margaret to her great aunt Ruby and we learn how Ruby acquired the bookstore, her dream come true.
More mysteries, missing child and the connection that's not shown til the end. Love throughout the connection with MWB, priceless!
Reconciliations with family, meeting famous people whose lives were changed by Ruby. She meets the other shop owners and they all become friends as Ruby was with them. They rally to help with the fund raiser to save the shop.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).

Imagine you are a successful thirty-something woman living in New York with a great, but time-consuming, career. You've just been informed that your beloved great-aunt has died and left you her bookstore and that bookstore is in Seattle, Washington. While you're trying to settle your aunt's affairs, you uncover letters that indicate your aunt corresponded with the beloved children's book author, Margaret Wise Brown. Not only do you discover their correspondence, but you also find that your aunt provided information that may have been the inspiration for one of the most loved children's books of all time. What do you do? This is exactly the dilemma that June Anderson faces in Goodnight June.

Sarah Jio has crafted a heartwarming and touching story that imagines a relationship between author Margaret Wise Brown (also known as Brownie) and children's bookstore owner Ruby Crain. This relationship is revealed in hidden letters scattered throughout Bluebird Books. June grew up in this bookstore and loved it as much as she loved her aunt Ruby, but her life is in New York. She arrives in Seattle with the goal of settling her aunt's affairs and selling the bookstore. But the longer she stays in Seattle and the more she uncovers about her aunt's friendship with Brownie, the more confused she becomes about her goals. Can she quit her high-profile job in New York, sell her apartment, and become a successful bookseller? Just when she thinks her decision might be easy, she uncovers another secret . . . her aunt had a child and gave it up for adoption. June now feels compelled to locate this lost child and share her aunt's legacy.

Goodnight June is much more than a homage to Goodnight Moon. It is a story of self-discovery, family, forgiveness, and second chances. Ruby and Brownie's letters reveal the hardships both women suffer when dealing with their families and family expectations. Both women have sisters that are more like strangers than family and strive to overcome this estrangement. Ruby has an illicit relationship with a married man that ends with her having a child that she gives away. June is having issues with her sister and mother and sees the parallels between her aunt's issues and her own, but can she overcome her anger and fears to allow amends to be made? I enjoyed reading about the fictionalized relationship between Ruby and Brownie and it made the author seem more personable. I found all of the characters to be believable primarily because of their flaws. I thought it rather ironic that June spent much of her adult life working in a bank that foreclosed on business after business with little consideration to individual needs or business history, only to find herself in the exact same situation with Bluebird Books and her former employer. The budding romantic relationship between June and her neighboring business owner added the right amount of romance to the story. Goodnight June<?b> offers romance, illicit affairs, a missing child, family trouble, financial trouble, and more. If you have read any of Ms. Jio's books then you'll definitely want to add Goodnight June to your TBR list. If you haven't read any of her books, then Goodnight June is the perfect place to start.

I first heard of this book from Nadia at The Bookish Way of Life. It wasn’t even on my radar because lately, I’ve kind of fallen out of reading books in this genre. But Nadia’s reference to the popular children’s book [b:Goodnight Moon|32929|Goodnight Moon|Margaret Wise Brown|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1400044977s/32929.jpg|1086867] had me immediately curious. Goodnight Moon is very near and dear to my heart, as my daughter and I read it together every single night before she goes to bed. It has been our ritual for over a year now, and we’ve gotten to the point where we recite it by heart and take turns alternating reading the pages. Because this book is special to me and my daughter, I was intrigued by the fact that it was incorporated into Sarah Jio's new novel and I couldn't wait to read it.

June is a successful banker living in New York, but on the inside she’s a very miserable woman. She gets the news about her Aunt Ruby’s passing and that Ruby has left her beloved old children’s bookstore to her. June takes a leave from work to go back to Seattle, thinking she’ll sell the bookstore and tie up loose ends before returning to her life in New York. She wasn’t prepared for what she would find while she was cleaning out her aunts paperwork – letters between her aunt and the author of the popular book, Goodnight Moon. Turns out her aunt and Margaret Wise Brown were close friends and confidants. Their correspondence and friendship quite possibly had a hand in the creation of that famous children’s book and the bookstore may hold more secrets than June ever imagined.

Over the years, June has used her heartache as an excuse to keep her from coming home to visit her beloved aunt or her mom and sister. She grew up in Bluebird Books and has so many fond memories of spending time there with her aunt and sister. Now she is faced with the guilt and regret from staying away as long as she did. As she continues to find these letters and discover more secrets about her aunt’s life, she starts to consider her own life and whether she’s truly happy. Ultimately she has to decide the fate of Bluebird Books and if she is meant to continue her aunt’s legacy or close its doors.

This book is a wonderful story of forgiveness and fighting hard for what you want. There is mystery, suspense, romance, friendships, family bonds – all elements that make a fantastic novel. But it was the discovery of these amazing letters and the unfolding of Ruby’s secrets, along with the setting of the bookstore that captivated me. Sarah Jio wrote a mesmerizing story, woven with just the right amount of suspense and intrigue. I felt such a range of emotions reading this book – it was sweet and romantic, yet heartbreaking and emotional at the same time. When I thought the book was a little predictable (and I was fine with that), the author threw me a curveball and proved me completely wrong. A truly beautiful and heartwarming novel that I enjoyed immensely, and was sad when it ended.

If you’re looking to be swept away into a literary world with suspense and a touch of romance – I highly recommend reading Goodnight June!

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of Sarah Jio's novels, so this was a must request for me when I saw it on Librarything's Early Reviewers program. Sarah Jio always manages to create such vulnerable characters that turn out to have such great strength and courage and Goodnight June is no exception.

 

This book follows June as she goes back home to Seattle after she learns that her great-aunt Ruby has died and left her children's bookstore to June. June left Seattle at 18 to try and find herself and now all she wants to do is get back to her life in New York as soon as possible. Little did she know that there are secrets and mysteries from the past that are waiting to be found.

 

I loved reading the letters between June's great-aunt Ruby and famed children's author Margaret Wise Brown. I loved the way Sarah Jio weaved together the secrets of Ruby's past with Brown's inspiration for Goodnight Moon. I have to say that the main mystery of Ruby's past wasn't that hard to figure out at all. I kept yelling it to June while reading this book. It didn't lessen my interest in this at all though. It also wasn't that hard to figure out what June's sister, Amy, did to her that would make June stop talking to her.

 

I really enjoyed the relationship between June and Gavin. The ending of this book was really sweet and what ultimately happens between June and Amy had me sobbing. This was another captivating read by Sarah Jio that had me up all night. Fans of Sarah Jio's previous work will love Goodnight June.

 

[I received this book from a Librarything Early Reviewers giveaway. The content of my review is in no way affected by that.]