#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE WITHERSPOON X HELLO SUNSHINE BOOK CLUB PICK“A great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together.” —Reese WitherspoonFrom the author of The Last Letter from Your Lover, now a major motion picture on Netflix, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of … their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.
The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.
Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic–a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.more
Firstly, I have to thank some very dear book buddies for recommending this novel to me. And then my quandary. How on earth was I going to review this book with its words of utter perfection? To say The Giver of Stars is beyond marvellous would be fitting. But no…what I really want to convey is this standalone novel didn’t reach my expectations by a long shot, it literally surpassed them. Even though the beginning was a tad slow, Moyes’ way with words pulled me in and she didn’t let me come up for air until the last minute of a story which isn’t just unforgettable, it is eternally engraved in my heart. I laughed, I cried and gosh…how could an author possibly make me feel as if I were alongside her characters, cheering them on and watching them grow was for me, phenomenal.
The story. Here we have so many contrasting characters that I often wondered how Moyes would be able to bring these unique women together, give them that deserved harmony I was hoping for. But her narrative finesse with so many unexpected surprises meant that I couldn’t help but fall head over heels with each and every one of her ladies. Determined to spread the word against every possible barrier imaginable, they could only do their best. Their hard work is triumphant, saddening, heartwrenching but more importantly, learning to value friendship and being tolerant in every possible scenario thrown at them under such harsh circumstances is what I truly think the author wanted her readers to understand.
Thoughts are told in third-person. I learned how they felt, I lived their fears, and how could one not mention that laid back humor subtly entwined with men who were simply perfect and with others who I would have gladly strangled. The setting is between a post-war period. A small Kentucky mining town cut off from the rest of the world where a woman’s place is at home rearing children, where she has no voice or opinion.
Changes begin. This book is about going full out, making a difference and damn the consequences because hey, these women are prepared to stand up for their rights come hell or high water. And believe you me, high water there is.
Racism, poverty, love, hate and the wonders of a marriage gone wrong from the ‘I do’. Every imaginable circumstance is covered with dense descriptive writing which never ever bored me, which literally kept me stuck to the pages. Read this book! You will not regret it for a second.
One of my favorite quotes: “I’m English, Bennett. We’re not built to be . . . hospitable.”
I loved this book and the characters.
This is a wonderful book with amazing characters. The only thing I didn’t like about it is that the ending is… well, too happy. Everything else about the book seemed so realistic, but then everything turns out way too perfect in the end. It didn’t match with everything else that happens in the book, although it leaves you without the sense of loss you would’ve felt if everything didn’t get magically resolved.
Wonderful historical book. Great characters, well written.
I would classify this book as historical fiction and informative about the “horseback librarians” who traveled over rough terrain in the mountains of Kentucky getting books and magazines to the poor. The main purpose was to promote reading and education. This was based on a real federal program from 1935 to 1943.
Love this story of friendship and group of brave women.
This book started with a strong prologue, but fell a bit flat afterwards. The build up to this story of traveling librarians was rather slow, but thorough. You really get a good impression of how the small community dynamics work, how the mountain people take care of their owns, what status the women and colored people had in that period of time… The ending was a bit anti-climactic, because of the sudden change in speed. Too many things happened in only 1 or 2 chapters time and felt a bit rushed/ a summary of facts, so different than the securely sculpted outline previous part.
But in general this was a good decent read.
a small after thought: As an open minded person, it pains me a little that the mentality towards women and colored people, described in this book, hasn’t changed much in some parts of society..
It is sometimes not until I read a book about books that I realize how truly great they are. Books have the ability to do so much for people. I loved the traveling librarians in this. The women were strong, and sassy, and inspirational. LOVED IT!Jojo Moyes
I loved this book. The characters are wonderful. You really get to know them. It gives us some history of Kentucky in the mid 30s and how courageous the women were to go up against the establishment.
This is an inspirational story based on actual events and the women who initiated and endured real risks to life and limb to bring literacy to the hard-working people living in the backwoods of the mountains of Kentucky. This team if women not only set-up and maintained a free mobile library for the mountain folk in their region-they did it on horseback.
An Englishwoman meets and marries an American during the Depression and discovers a hard way of life in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. To escape her loveless marriage, she becomes a horseback librarian, a program President FDR begins in an attempt to educate the poor. There she finds a place to belong and lasting friendships are born. I loved the depth of this story and the heartache Alice Van Cleve had to bear on her way to an HEA. Ms Moyes tells a gripping story set during a rough time in our nation’s history. Others have mentioned a similarity between this and The Book Woman but I found it very different. The only shared thing was the Horseback Librarian Project. Ms Moyes moved me to tears more than once and I know this story will remain with me always and remind me of the deep resilience of the human spirit that can withstand so much. Ms Moyes is an excellent storyteller with a unique way of weaving a story of friendship and a commitment in helping make others’ lives brighter.
Also read The Library Woman of Troublesome Creek. This was a topic I knew nothing about and I found both interesting and inspirational.
Loved the story based on a historical program supported. by Eleanore Roosevelt. Steadfast women carrying books up in the hills of Kentucky. Full of heroines and villain, too.
Really enjoyed this story and found the historical setting so interesting! Never knew about the librarians on horseback
Excellent. Well researched historical novel.
It so similar to another book about the blue librarian who ran a route in the south that was based on a true story.
This is the story of Alice Wright – a British girl who marries an American and moves to a small town in Kentucky. She quickly realizes that she doesn’t quite fit in. Her husband isn’t the person she thought she was marrying, and she is treated like an outsider right from the beginning. At a town meeting, a local woman says she wants to start a traveling library, and Alice thinks this might be just the thing she needs to start to gain the trust of her new town. Soon a group of 5 women become the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
As the story develops, Alice’s marriage starts to fall apart. Her father in law constantly tries to get Alice in line and soon blames the head of the library – Margery – for being a bad influence. Alice’s father in law works his status in town to try to get Margery in trouble and the library dismantled. The women of the library ban together to fight for what they believe is right and become a force to be reckoned with.
This was a great book. I am a huge Jojo Moyes fan and this book did not disappoint. I found myself looking for opportunities to run errands just so I could listen to the book. I really liked Margery – she was firey and fierce. And I saw that it is based on a true story, which made it even better. The book explores love, friendship, relationships, hardship, and true grit. And of course – above all – it is about the love of reading and how important it is the encourage books.
Enjoyed it!
Jojo Moyes
THE GIVER OF STARS
Very moving — I loved the sisterhood of horseback librarians, sticking up for each other and challenging the corrupt mine-owner and the restrictions of “woman’s place” and working, despite danger, to help others. I cared about these women and the men who supported them and their work. (I confess to a few tears, not a common reaction for me these days). It started a bit slowly, but I’m glad I went back to it for a second look . . . another book with some moral ambiguity in the resolution — I suspect I’d have had more trouble debating right or wrong when younger.
Never realized before how I take the public library for granted. This story set in Kentucky about the brave women who delivered books on horseback in very rough conditions was for me very inspiring. Easy read.