The Giver of Stars: Reese's Book Club (A Novel) Paperback – February 22, 2022

I am a former librarian, now a library school professor, and have long been fascinated by the women who in the 1930s-40s traveled on horseback to deliver books to customers who were too far from the library to be able to use it. They were the forerunners of today's bookmobile librarians, who do the same thing.These women were courageous, dedicated, and devoted to their profession and to their service. They went to towns and homes where no one else would go. They brought education, information, and entertainment to the people they served, including people that had mostly been forgotten about, discarded, or discriminated against.Moyes has done extensive research to create the story of one group of these women, who ran one of the first groups of librarians on horseback in the Appalachian Mountains. Her characters are well-rounded and realistic, appealing to the reader, who gets involved in their lives immediately. But they are not always well-liked by everyone in the communities they serve, and face those are hostile to their service and the people they deliver books to. They also faced physical hardships--the roads they travelled were impossible for anyone not on horseback, and even barely passable for those who were.As Moyes described these women, their lives together, their families, their loves and tragedies, their incredible strength and determination, I was so caught up in their stories, that I read slowly in parts, just because I wanted to enjoy every well chosen word and every well crafted scene. This is a book that you are likely to stay up all night with because you just cannot put it down. Moyes' other books are quality reading, but this one surpasses all others.Who would I recommend this to? Well, librarians of course! Especially to those librarians who are dealing with censorship, banning, hostility and harassment from their communities, and loss of their jobs if they do not knuckle under and purify their collections. Then I'd suggest it to people who want to know about the history of the Appalachian Mountains regions, and the people who lived there. And people who love romance novels who are outside the standard canon, mystery readers (I didn't figure out the central mystery until I finished the book and immediately went back to the first page to read it again! Then it all made sense!), women who like "woman's lit," book club groups who want something meaty to dig into for lengthy and deep discussions, history buffs who want a well researched view of a time and a place, fans of Moyes, and just about anyone who likes a well written story that echoes in their memory long after the book is finished. This one is the newest addition to my Top 10 of All Time List, and I'm betting some of you will feel exactly the same way. And no, it's always okay to go from the last page of a book to the first page, and start it all over again, cause it's so good. This title also joins my list of two that I also read front to back and front to back again. The first one was Linda Howard's "Mr. Perfect", a book you should never read in public if you have a laugh as loud as mine. The second was Lisa Gardner's "Perfect Husband," which wasn't so funny, but which has one of the most horrible villains I've ever read, and again, one that I didn't guess until Gardner revealed him. Two broken people work together, trying to heal both of them.Just remember, don't start Give of Stars when you have to get up early the next day--you'll certainly be dragging if you do--spoken from experience!

I found so much to like in this book. The historical context - the WPA's rural mobile libraries program - is fascinating. The characters are well drawn and interesting; I cared about them all and was eager to follow their stories. The writing is strong and propelled the story beautifully. I spent time in the mountains of West Virginia, and so really enjoyed the author's evocative descriptions of the mountains and hollers of Eastern Kentucky - her sense of place was sure and clear. OK, so she confused shotguns and rifles a bit, but that was the only "off" note. All in all, it would have been a solid 4-star review, except for the pacing. The book moved fine until around the 2/3 mark, at which point it seemed, to me at least, to slow to a crawl. I felt I was plodding through the pages, and found myself skimming trying to get to the point where something happened. Then, almost out of nowhere, I found myself in the middle of a procedural/courtroom drama. Which was actually good, because the story picked back up at that point and started moving again. From that point to the end, I stayed just as engaged as I had through the first part of the book. So a mixed bag for me - great beginning, part of the middle, and end - maybe a surer hand with the editing and a 20% cut in length would have done the trick.

Actually had never heard of the traveling library. It was a great story about women connecting and sharing. They learned about their strengths and weaknesses as they forged through.Already passed it on, no pic !

I read this book because it was my turn to be moderator at my book club. I was surprised that it was yet another book about the hill people of that region. (We had read HILLBILLY ELEGY a few years ago, and most of the people in my book club did not believe that such an ethos existed. A short time after that we read EDUCATED, and again the cultural separation of the "survivalist' communes was hard for people to grasp. It was hard for me as well but for very different reasons. My first marriage had been to an eastern Kentuckian that was from the 'hill ghetto' of Detroit -- a 'ghetto' that is not confined to a specific area but spread across the Detroit sprawl. Culture shock for a young lady from the Big Sky, the wide, friendly, beautiful vistas of the high plains of eastern Montana. But also a very good and strong education that I needed to experience.)Once into the book and realizing what I was going to be reading, my first thought was "how did this young English author get onto this 'other place?' Not only that, she portrayed it so well. Yes, the southern Appalachia area is beautiful, but it is also harrowing at times when you meet the mountain people who live daily lives separated from others to a large extent and who have very different attitudes and beliefs than those outside their space. It is also part of the southern Bible Belt and Moyes depicted that wonderfully well. The hard part for me was dealing with the 1937 Christian ethic that was overrun by a patriarchal brutality that was devastating to the women of the culture whether they played by the rules or not. All of this Moyes included and gave the story such a reality, I was curious about her contacts and her immersion into this culture.Not having read any of Moyes's other works (which I will) I was impressed with the solidity of her characters and the expression that she gave to the culture. What was the appeal for her to dig into this culture and find it worthy of creating a story? I still am not sure, but I loved her strong women. I loved her weak women who became strong. Was she Alice? Many of her women were brave and self-sufficient inside this culture of abusive, overbearing, weak men. And her good men were wise and purely good and sometimes unsure of themselves.Moyes's characterizations were excellent. Her exposition of the devil of the mining business (and incidentally, of the corporate sharp practices ) was spot on. The WPA project for bringing books and a desire for education a strong part of the storyline.

I loved the characters, the concept, the historical information that I had never been aware of. This book covered so many bases. The relationships between the women. They way they grew from the important work that they did regardless of the weather or other threats. I highly recommend this book. One of my all time favourites.

Great characters, you feel like you know them. Their struggles feel humbling and their bravery remarkable. Great writing littered with heroines

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Not only does the plot captivate with its intrigue, but it also serves as a valuable testament to the lives of women – encompassing not only those who defy convention, but all women – in Eastern Kentucky during the 1930s.The narrative intricately weaves the personal journeys of two main female characters with the lives of other women and men residing in a small, rural corner of the world. Here, local norms often take precedence over laws and common sense.At its heart, this is the tale of the pioneering Baileyville WPA packhorse librarians – all of them women – and their arduous struggle for acceptance and recognition within the local community. Ultimately, it is a narrative that underscores the profound significance of reading in human lives. It acts as a binding force, creating a parallel realm that fosters emancipation, respect, and righteousness.Undoubtedly, a genuinely enriching read

Excelente libro si ya disfrutan las historias de Jojo Moyes tienen que leerlo

This book kept me completely entertained from start to finish. I could picture each character and relished putting them in a movie set in my head…. It would make for a wonderful movie.Ship of brides had similar strength of story and richness of characters. You are amazing Jojo Moyes