The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes is an adult fiction novel about a pack horse library in rural Kentucky.
Alice Wright married the hansom American, Bennett Van Cleve, in the hopes of escaping the narrow and oppressive life she lived in England. But small-town Kentucky wasn’t exactly what Alice expected.
Alice feels just as stuck in her new life as she did in her old one. So when a call is put out for women to run a pack horse library, Alice signs right up. The leader of the librarians is Margery O’Hare, a straight shooting, self sufficient woman who doesn’t need a man for anything.
Alice, Margery and three other women soon become tied together as they traverse the hills of Kentucky, lending books and change lives, one family at a time.
The Giver of Stars is the story of these three women and a year of fortune and woe.
I quite enjoyed this novel. I love when a little known aspect of history gets a boost through a great fiction writer. You had me at “pack horse librarian” and I wanted to know more about this effort endorsed by Elinor Roosevelt. And the story didn’t disappoint.
Each of the librarians had a story to tell, even if some shined brighter than others, and each story was about a strong woman who chose to fight for themselves in their own way. I don’t know which librarian was my favorite, I was constantly jumping between Alice, Margery and Kathleen.
There was indeed a little bit of romance in this book but the focus was the love of the land and the love of the librarians for the family they forged. There was the bond between the girls that really kept the story going for me.
Overall, I think this would be a great book for a book club. This one gets 4 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-
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