THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!THE USA TODAY BESTSELLER!
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter.
Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike … kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home.
Fans of historical fiction will fall in love with this bestselling novel’s:
more
Though set in the 1930s, this true-to-life story of a courageous young woman of the Kentucky Appalachians offers a timely message about bigotry, racism, and society’s treatment of women. Cussy Mary, a WPA pack horse librarian, has a genetic blood disorder, methemoglobinemia, that causes her skin to appear blue, and thus she’s shunned as “colored” by the white citizens of her community. Musical prose filled with vivid description drew me into the story, but Cussy’s determined optimism kept me there. A beautifully written and hope-filled novel!
Oh, this book! Not only a tale of the book woman but a story of poverty, prejudice, and perseverance.
This book touched my heart. Cussy Mary’s life is hard! Yet she is one of the most giving, kind-hearted people. Many of her patrons accept her despite her blue skin, many others are filled with prejudice and hate for her.
I was very interested in the pack horse librarian program and enjoyed the author’s notes.
There are some very difficult parts in this story but I highly recommend reading it.
Such an interesting time in our country’s history..resonates to today’s issues with divisiveness. Great characters!
I love historical fiction because I always learn more about different aspects of history and enjoy reading a great book. This one gives you both. I loved learning more about the Pack Horse Library Project and the blue-skinned people of Kentucky. Cussy Mary Carter is 19 and the last of the blue people in Troublesome Creek. Cussy believes that books are important to the hill people, so she takes on the sometimes dangerous job of traveling to take materials to her patrons. She also has to deal with the prejudice she encounters as a blue-skinned person. It is a beautiful story of strength, love, and the power of books!
Cussy Mary Carter is a Kentucky Pack Horse Librarian and delivers books and magazines to people living in the secluded, poverty-stricken sections in the mountains of her state. Known as the beloved “Book Woman,” she is loved and cherished by her clients. By her town, however, she is scorned and treated like a pariah. The reason? Cussy is a “colored” living in the 1930’s. But she is not black. She is blue, the last of a rare race of people, originally from France, who carry a recessive gene. Due to their isolation from the rest of the state, they have intermarried, therefore allowing this recessive gene to express itself. Cussy is deeply hurt by this hateful shunning, not understanding why skin color makes such a difference. She finds comfort in her books and in the people on her route.
This is a lovely and valuable book! However, the prejudice expressed throughout the book is sometimes quite difficult to read. I learned a lot about an obscure but important part of history, too. The characters are beautifully and tenderly crafted, and sensitive issues are handled with sensitivity but truthfully. This book is a valuable read. You will love Cussy!
Kim Michele Richardson has written a fabulous book about 1936 Kentucky and the Pack Horse Library Project. This was something I had never heard of until recently and reading her words about the main character, Cussy Carter as she delivered books on her mule to the poor, poverty stricken people of mountainous Kentucky made me feel as if I was there. This story, although fiction, was based on the true story of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky, a family whose ancestor carried the gene that caused this congenital condition.
Cassie was known as “Book Woman” to her eager patrons who were starving for food and for the books she brought them. She was more than a traveling librarian to them; she became a friend, confidant, a helper in any way. She was their link to the outside world.
Cussie experienced much heartache in her young life. She was a victim of prejudice and cruelty by the townspeople and other women. She had no friends so her job and her patrons were very important to her. It was amazing to me how she was almost always positive.
There is so much more to this story and I loved it all except for the end. It brought tears to my eyes and made me angry for the absolute injustice of it all. It ended with hope for the future, but I wanted so much more for her. I gave it 4.5 stars.
Based on the actual WPA librarians of 1930s rural Kentucky. Historic fiction. Inspires the reader to want to know more.
This book is fascinating from beginning to end. The Fugates, the discrimination they suffered, the Pack Horse Library, the poverty the mountain people suffered at that time, miners, even the mules’ behavior, all in one marvelous story. Historical Fiction at its best!
great book
Historical Fiction, 2019. This was our book club read for this month. It was a delight, a gritty story about Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project. Troublesome Creek is a real place. The fictitious librarian Cussy Mary Carter was one of the Kentucky blue-skinned people. It is a story of human resiliency, courage and dedication. Cussy confronts dangers and prejudice as old as the Appalachias. A story that shows how important a good mother and father are for children to develop the necessary strength to survive. I highly recommend this novel. It is a wonder!
This is a fascinating book. When I first started reading it and discovered that Cussy, the main character, had blue skin, I had to google this to see if this was real, and discovered it was. Much of the book revolves around the difficulties she encounters as a result of her blue skin. As a result, we learn much about racism and prejudice in Kentucky during the mid 1930’s. We are vividly transported into the world of rural Kentucky in Appalachia where memorable characters emerge at each of book woman’s library stops along her route. The author uses their language along with physical details to convey the immense difficulty of their lives to the reader. Cussy is a young woman who’s life we enter and experience her joys and hardships, her pain and strength, as we watch her grow throughout the story. There are so many layers to this book. I highly recommend it.
Arguably one of the best books I have ever read! A fictional telling of historical events, and of real life genetically challenged people; the librarians on horseback, the racial prejudice against people of color, poverty, and a society determined to keep women in their place. I loved every minute of this book.
It was Historical Fiction at its best! I learned about the people in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Kentucky and their Library Service to very out of the way areas. I found the characters to be fascinating and very well written. I highly recommend this book!
A part of history of which I had no knowledge. Fascinating.
This book is a good read that takes you into the depths of Kentucky life with coal mining, poverty and prejudices . The surprise was learning about the “blue” people of Kentucky, something I had never heard of despite decades of working in laboratories.
Was unaware of these women ( some men) in history. Great I insight into our country’s problem with poverty
Could not put it down!!
I learned a lot about the pack mule librarians of Kentucky and methemoglobinemia as a rare inherited medical condition. I liked this book because it was so different from the usual books.
excellent story, superb prose, touching, and informative about the “blue people” of Kentucky. I highly recommend!!
A perfect book for book groups.