i wish i could remember where i heard about sarah jio's goodnight june. ifi did, i would avoid their recommendations in the future. okay, that sounds harsh, but this book was corny like hallmark movie corny. the whole time i was like this would never happen in real life. in the end, it just got ridiculous and everything cleaned up way too nicely.
i decided to read goodnight june because i had read its story centered around margaret wise brown's goodnight moon. i was not sure what the premise was exactly but anything involving this classic children's books deserved a read. in the author's note, jio explained that goodnight moon is her family's favorite and due to this she began to research brown's life. based on what jio learned about brown, she felt the the two were kindred spirits. jio explained that there is no information about what inspired goodnight moon and so goodnight june is her fictional background for the beloved classic. (and in all honesty, i am unsure of brown would have found this charming. i just read on wikipedia that she was engaged to rockefeller jr. and had a relationship with john barrymore's ex-wife. this would have been too low-brow for her.)
spoilers alert! but don't worry, you will be happy you read my version versus the actual book. unless you love hallmark movies, then stop here and read it.
goodnight june opened with june anderson, a thirtysomething, new yorker, in the hospital due to anxiety and stress. her work was the primary cause of the stress, she worked in finance on foreclosures. she had no real life other than her job. she also has no real family. she no longer speaks to her sister (we don't discover why until the last half of the novel but you know it's because she stole away june's fiancé) and her mother was a single-mom that liked to party so she kind of resents her.
june's aunt ruby passed away, which she had no knowledge of. this seemed a little ridiculous to me since ruby practically raised june and her sister, giving them some kind of stability. how did she not call of check up on her in this modern age of technology?!?! anyway, ruby owned a children's bookstore in seattle, bluebird books, and left it to june. june flew to seattle intend on selling the store. however, june met a man, gavin and discovered via a quasi-scavenger hunt that ruby was bff with margaret brown wise and helped inspired goodnight moon. with this new knowledge and love, june decided to keep the bookstore but then is faced with the new dilemma of the store being foreclosed.
i enjoyed reading about june on her little scavenger hunt. i also enjoyed the correspondence between ruby and brownie (brown's nickname.) i, especially, enjoyed how the letters were hidden in first edition books alluded to in the letters. it also made realize that brown is more than just the runaway bunny and goodnight moon and that i have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to he works. i must add the operation sisterhood got a bit preachy and redudent. and towards the end, the goodnight moon suggestions from ruby seemed a little ridiculous, ie "there should be a phone to demonstrate the connection between the inside world and the outside world" or "instead of porridge you should consider the word 'mush'". i also how did june not noticed that the inside of bluebird books looked like goodnight moon, especially she it was her sister's favorite. the first mentioned of those green and yellow curtains, i knew where this story was headed.
if the story was just the letters and june saving the bookstore, i would have enjoyed it the story. however, there were other subplots that were just absurd.
first, gavin. amy needed a love interest but seriously one that told her i love you after three weeks?!?!? if i man did that i would be on the first flight back to seattle. and then the fact that he still owned a business with his ex-fiancée?!?! which isn't that bad but as a means to help out june he offered to turn his restaurant next door into a joint cafe with the bookstore. can he stop mixing business with pleasure?!?! gavin though sweet seemed too perfect, too perfect. i mean when when june becomes a mom (yes, just wait for that story!) he was all ready to settle down and be a family! he broke off an engagement and now wants to play house??!? did not seem realistic! the only thing i liked about how was his ability to make pasta.
so yes, june became a mom. get ready for this whirlwind story that took place in one chapter. so while reading about operation sisterhood, june thought about her relationship with amy. she was hurt and could not forgive her. gavin got in contact with amy and with the help of june's mom, they finally informed june that amy was pregnant . . . and had cancer!!! i kid you not! so they rushsd june to the hospital where amy was. june forgave amy, and then amy asked june to be her baby's mom when she dies. june said yes and somehow un-iced her heart and started being super affection calling amy, honey. i get it, i always say that sisters can fight like no other but then make up like nothing. but seriously this plot was introduced and cleaned up so quickly and too nicely. oh and i should add the baby was from one-night stand not from june's ex-fiancé. the whole time i was reading, i was like omg this can not be happening. serious hallmark movement moment. and it was so random, it came out of nowhere and then it was tidied up, amy died and june had a new baby, ruby and the story went on to get more ridiculous.
in the letters, ruby revealed that bluebird books was bought for her by her lover. this rich guy anthony that was married with a kid. jio spun the story so that anthony was truly in love with his mistress, ruby. when june discovered this, she sent an email to anthony's daughter, may (yes, their names hold significance, though i would have preferred if it was just as i originally thought that jio was unimaginative). i thought june was an idiot for sending that email because a) what if may fought her for rights to the store and b) why stir up the pass when all parties are now dead. but she visited with may which felt odd and even talked with anthony's widow, like there was absolutely nothing wrong with bringing up her husband's lover. like everyone would be so willing to talk about something that ruined their lives. from this visit, may told june that ruby had a child.
june then went on a search for ruby's child. she posted online to try to find them and even met one man but since he was black, it was not a good lead. also here is probably the best example of how bad jio's writing is, the man was described as a "young denzel washington." i kid you not. no one other character was given a point of reference description. just the black guy.
okay, and here is when i almost stopped reading . . . in the end, it was discovered that june was ruby's baby!!! gasp!! what? yes! and if i was june, i would have felt like an ass for neglecting my mom/aunt all those years. but yes that is what happened in the end.
in the end, the bookstore was saved. based on the goodnight moon connection, june held a fundraiser. the local newspapers feature a story, then the news and even cnn. bill gates and clive cussler (don't know what he wrote) showed up at the fundraiser. but still not enough money. then, june's old boss saved the day! hooray!
goodnight june, was too cheesy to be a great read or for me to recommend. but i mean if you love hallmark movies please check it out.
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