Goodnight June

Goodnight June, by Sarah Jio
Series? No
Publisher: Plume
Date: May 27, 2014
How did I get this book? free from the publisher for my honest review
My Rating: 4 of 5 stars
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I absolutely love books-about-books, so when I first heard about Goodnight June I knew it would be right up my alley. When June Anderson inherits her great-aunt Ruby's children's bookstore, she travels to Seattle to settle the estate quickly and return to her high-power, high-stress banking career in New York. But when June finds a letter from Ruby with a cryptic reference to all the secrets the bookstore holds, her plans begin to change. As she tracks down a string of correspondence between Ruby and Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon, June finds herself on a path to discover the inspiration behind the classic children's book.

I absolutely adored all the bookishness in this novel -- the love for the written word and brick-and-mortar bookstores gave me a major case of the warm and fuzzies. This part of the story was so well done and really shines as its strongest element. However, you should be aware that this book falls pretty firmly in the "chick-lit" category -- as much as I hate that term, it really does apply. While the mysterious origin of Goodnight Moon is at the core of this novel, the rest of the story is about an unhappy, stressed out woman making big changes in her life -- there's family drama, work drama, and a love interest -- you get the idea.

I am totally fine with a degree of predictability in these types of stories, but I must admit I saw a pretty big twist coming from a mile away. I am usually completely awful at figuring anything out ahead of time, so I was definitely disappointed to not have that element of surprise. Despite some weaknesses, I still loved reading this book. From the first page to the last, the bookish love pulled me in and wouldn't let me go. It was a pretty fast read and if I had more free time, I could have easily read it in a weekend. I think it is perfect for summer or beach reading, particularly if you like books-about-books. And if you  fondly remember reading Goodnight Moon as a kid, I think you will enjoy it even more.

My own memories of Goodnight Moon were fuzzy, so I borrowed it from the library to re-read and am so glad I did. Having the original story fresh in my mind and beside me for reference as I read Goodnight June really made the descriptions in the novel come to life.

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