I found all of the characters to be believable primarily because of their flaws. 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. Ruby has an illicit relationship with a married man that ends with her having a child that she gives away. Both women have sisters that are more like strangers than family and strive to overcome this estrangement. Ruby and Brownie’s letters reveal the hardships both women suffer when dealing with their families and family expectations. It is a story of self-discovery, family, forgiveness, and second chances. Overall, though, it was a good story that made me want to read more by this author, even without the Goodnight Moon hook.Goodnight June is much more than a homage to Goodnight Moon. It was interesting, but not terribly exciting. Goodnight June is somewhere in the middle of that continuum–it wasn’t boring, but it was predictable. Obviously I don’t pick that well because I know there has to be interesting and exciting adult fiction. I don’t read a lot of adult fiction, because much of what I have read has been boring and predictable. Through these letters, June learns the story of the friendship between her aunt and Margaret Wise Brown, as well as more about the origins of Brown’s Goodnight Moon.

Her aunt has left her a scavenger hunt of sorts, asking June to find classic children’s books in the bookstore to find more of the correspondence between Ruby and Margaret. While she’s going through the store, though, she discovers letters written between her aunt Ruby and author Margaret Wise Brown.

June has to make the difficult decision of whether or not she can keep the store open. She answers the call to go home, though, to settle her aunt Ruby’s estate, which includes Ruby’s bookstore, opened in the 1940s. June is an uptight business woman who has been ignoring her past and her family. Goodnight June is a novel that imagines a friendship between Goodnight Moon author Margaret Wise Brown and the aunt of the title character, June. When I saw the book Goodnight June by Sarah Jio on the shelves at the library, I knew I had to try it out. Goodnight Moon was one of my favorite books to read to my students–the kids loved to point out their favorite items in the room. Who doesn’t love Goodnight Moon? I’m sure there must be some heartless readers who don’t enjoy this classic tale by Margaret Wise Brown, but I’m not sure I want to know those people.

Goodnight june by sarah jio