Goodnight June, by Sarah Jio

Sarah Jio is an author who seemingly appeared out of nowhere...the current 'it' girl of contemporary women's fiction.  I remember playing a book swap game on Paperback Swap (yes, I'm a geek; I already confessed to this), and I was given a choice of several different Jio books.  Who was this Jio person, and how could she have all these titles available without me being aware of her?

Well, I now own about 4 Jio novels, which are sitting on my bookshelves, waiting for their turn at bat.  The first one I cracked open was Morning Glory, my opinion of which could be evidenced by the absence of a review.  I wasn't bowled over.  In short, I thought it was sappy and predictable.  But, I detected something in there - some unrealized potential for a great story.  So, I decided to give Ms. Jio another shot.   Enter Goodnight June.  And yes, the title is a play on that famous children's book, Goodnight Moon.  Which brings me to a small confession...

I didn't grow up with Goodnight Moon.  I never read Goodnight Moon.  Actually, I never even HEARD of Goodnight Moon until I was in my 30's.  (Okay, go ahead now and pick your jaw up off the floor.  I'll wait.  All better now?  Good.)  My point in mentioning this is that the title of this book didn't hold any special appeal to me, as it seems to for so many others.  I think there's a whole list of folks dying to get their hands on this sucker, if only for reasons of nostalgia.   I picked it up mostly because it's a bestseller.

Goodnight June tells the story of a hard-edged NYC banker named June Andersen, who inherits her great Aunt Ruby's cozy Seattle bookstore, Bluebird Books.  Although she has many fond childhood memories of the store (and her aunt), the plan is to get in and get out.  That is, pack it up and liquidate it, in as little time as possible.  But, as you may have expected, those plans are derailed when she starts to sift through the boxes of her childhood.

While taking that journey down memory lane, June stumbles across a series of letters between Aunt Ruby and Margaret Wise Brown, author of the aforementioned Goodnight Moon.  The letters depict a deeply-forged friendship between the ladies, as well as some insight into how the famous children's classic came to be.

One of the main themes in the book is the importance of familial relationships - specifically, the incomparable bond shared by sisters.  Sadly, the common sisterly thread shared by the three central female characters in this story is one of estrangement.  Although the issue between June and her sister is probably easily figured out by any casual fiction reader, it still plays prominently in the book.

Of course, there's also the obligatory love interest thrown in, something I'm generally not a fan of.  I'm not sure why authors think that women's fiction simply *must* have that tall, dark, and handsome element.  In my opinion, I think it only serves to cheapen the tale the author was trying to tell.  There was so much meat of a different nature here that it simply wasn't necessary to throw in a bit of Mr. Right.  It reeks too much of that sappiness I previously attributed to a different Jio book.  Thankfully though, it wasn't a case of overkill, capable of ruining the book's appeal, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.  In fact, I may even need to pick up one of those other Jio books soon.  We'll see.