Book Review: June Baby

June Baby by Shannon Garvey is a novel that resonated with me on a deeply personal level. Let me know if you’ve read it, plan to read it, or have any book recs. And don’t miss today’s writing prompt.

Jun 27, 2026

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June Baby by Shannon Garvey is a melancholic novel about dealing with grief when it is tied up with nostalgia and longing. It’s for those readers who don’t always need a fairy tale ending but enjoy an ending that feels like a true and realistic beginning. Though potential readers will also want to note that there is some suicidal ideation in this novel, multiple deaths of loved ones, infidelity, and discussion of abortion.

The novel begins with Ruth’s father sending her to Block Island after her mother dies of cancer when she’s seventeen. He sends her there to stay with Diana, a woman her mother knew when she was younger, whom Ruth doesn’t know. The two form a bond that lasts a decade, until Ruth is called back to the island for Diana’s funeral when she dies from cancer. From there, we learn bits and pieces of Ruth’s past nine summers on the island with Diana and Diana’s nephew, Charlie, who also visits her there every summer.

As Ruth confronts her grief of Diana’s passing, she also confronts her grief of losing her mother at a young age, feelings of resentment toward her father who shipped her off, and her unresolved feelings for Charlie, all while struggling to make ends meet. In all facets of her life, Ruth is struggling to understand the threads that tie together who she is and how she wants to reconcile her precarious past and future, which offers an intensely emotional and introspective ride for the reader.

At Diana’s funeral, Ruth learns of Charlie’s intention to marry someone else, right after she decides to tell him that she wants to be with him for good. And then she receives Diana’s last wishes for her, which sends her into a tailspin of self-doubt and uncertainty about what she’s doing, or should be doing, with her life. Meanwhile, she also gets tangled up romantically with an old friend on the island and learns more about her mother’s past with Diana, all while Charlie is being indecisive about how he feels about her, which makes her continue to question everything else she thought she knew about her mother, her past, her future, and herself.

Full disclosure: I empathized with the main character in this novel in ways that most readers may not be able to, as my mother passed away when I was in my early twenties, a few weeks shy of my college graduation, when I was also waiting tables and considering what to do with my future without my college boyfriend who was making not-so-subtle plans to move to China without me, all while living in Florida and visiting beaches as a way to cope. While other readers may be able to sympathize with losing a parent at a young age or getting caught up in the confusion that nostalgia can bring while you’re grieving, or struggling to figure out their pasts and futures, it almost felt like this book was written specifically for me, and I’ve truly never felt that way about a book before. As I was reading this book, Ruth’s reluctance to commit and believe in a path forward for herself, let alone with anyone else, as she’s struggling to survive, all while dealing with such monumental losses, hit me right in the gut. In so many ways, this novel made me feel seen and granted me some space to reconcile a few things.

Admittedly, Ruth’s intense melancholy and indecisiveness, as well as her affinity for Charlie and treatment of Louis, might not make sense to some readers and might even frustrate them. But for me, it perfectly captures what it actually feels like to go through such intense loss and longing and uncertainty during pivotal moments in life, all at once, when things seem bleak but there are still different paths to choose from and glimmers of hope left if you’re looking for them.

I also appreciated the scenic details in this novel, as they made me feel like I was on the beach again, somewhere in between an unplanned vacation and day-to-day living. And I found the dialogue to be engaging, as it highlighted each character’s nuances and personality well.

Overall, I would recommend this novel to those who want to get lost in a story that will remind them that looking back doesn’t always need to keep them stuck in the past, or present, and that it’s okay to want a realistic, authentic ending without passionate romance. The ending of this novel is for those who are okay with choosing themselves and their future, even when it’s messy and they’re scared, and even when they’re still holding onto memories of those they have loved.