by Jojo Moyes
Published: 2019
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Genre: Historical, Women's Fiction, Kentucky
Hardback: 400
Rating: 5
Goodreads | Website
First sentence(s):
Listen.
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.
My two-bits:
I can really appreciate these traveling librarians right about now. With closed libraries these days, I miss library visits.
Really felt the love of Kentucky and of books in this story.
Also, the small town feel and friendship formed made this a cozy read.
* part of Reese's Book Club 2019 (here)
* part of ibc book club (here)
