This was such a unique topic, I'm so glad someone took the time to do all the research and put together a wonderful story about topics most of us know nothing about: I had never heard of the Blues of Kentucky before this, and while as a librarian myself I did know about the Pack Horse Librarians of the 1930s and 1940s I know most did not. So i'm so glad their story got fictionalized for a mainstream audience to learn how awesome they were!

This novel told the fictional story of Cussy Mary - born with a genetic condition that turned her skin blue, she worked as one of the Pack Horse Librarians in rural Kentucky in the late 1930s. Along the way, she faces racism, discrimination, domestic violence, poverty, and wild animals, but also finds friendship, love, and family. My heart broke for the community multiple times throughout this book, but I was pulling for her through it all!

I did knock a star off though for the inconsistency in Cussy's voice - the author it seems frequently forgot her Appalachian dialect so it came and went without warning which bothered me.

** spoiler alert ** I received an early copy of the ebook from Bookish First awhile back. I kept seeing people say that they loved this book, that it might be the best book they’ve read all year. Sometimes that makes me put off reading a book because I’m worried that I’ll be the one that doesn’t like it.

Well..darn it...

This book just isn’t for me.
The storyline is interesting, no doubt.
It’s about a woman born with blue skin. There were actually people born with blue skin in real life too. So, that’s an interesting concept already. Her dad is blue and she is the last blue that they know of.

It’s the 1930’s. People were prejudiced against a lot of things. To be one only two blue people makes Cussy’s life very hard. Almost everyone treats her like a pariah, like they might catch something from her.

Her dad wants her to get married, so she’s taken care of after he dies. He offers as big of a dowry as he can because most men aren’t interested in Cussy.

Cussy just wants to keep working her job as a town librarian. This part of the book was especially interesting. Her travels to deliver books and the people she encountered.

Early into the book Cussy is raped by her husband. He does shortly after.
She can now go back to her job.
But then the own preacher starts following her. He happens to be her deceased husband’s relative and he has a morbid curiosity about anyone in town with physical differences. He’s actually killed several of them “by accident” while trying to baptize them.

When the preacher dies after attacking Cussy’s mule, the town doctor promises to keep the secret. But only if her father agrees to let him experiment on her.

What the heck?

I decided to dnf this book. I’m sorry, I just can’t. This might be everyone’s favorite book this year but it’s not going to be mine.

I loved this gentle story about a harsh time in the mountains. I did not know this factual story, but laughed and cried with the humanness of this book. A wonderful read I thoroughly recommend!!

The novel was recommended by Annie from A Bookish Type and she was so enthusiastic that I went right away to Netgalley to get a copy, just like I hope that you will do the same!

This book is the perfect blend of history, emotions, sadness, love, tension and social issues. When I opened the first page I knew it was going to be a wild ride and it didn’t disappoint until the very last page. The main character is from a very poor family of coal miners in Appalachian Kentucky, she is an outcast because of her social status, her gender and her skin color. But make no mistake, she is not African-American… she is blue! That’s why Cussy Marie Carter, the 19 year old heroin, is called “Bluet” in her community, a nickname that is cute to our modern ears but the bane of her existence.

At first I thought it was a streak of magical realism, and I was wondering why this choice, given that there was enough interesting material already in this book: it deals with the appalling poverty in the 1930s, the backwards living conditions in the Appalachian (I had to go back several times and check that it was actually 1936 and not 1870 or something), and a little-known New Deal initiative by the Roosevelt government: the Pack Mule Library project. The idea was to employ unmarried women to go by foot and horse or mule distributing books in the remotest areas of the region, so as to improve general education, sense of community, and to financially help these households. I don’t think many people had heard of this part of history before and Richardson does a great job making readers witness what the arrival of a woman with books meant for the rural communities, kids and adults alike.

Now, for the blue color, it added another layer to this rich novel by showing how prejudiced and bigoted local people were. Blue people are shunned and prevented to get married with white folks; and the ones whose blue tone is close to white hide it like a shameful secret that often ends in violence. While uneducated people see it as the sign of the devil, preventing Bluet to attend church, educated people (the local doctor, mainly) see it as a science anomaly that needs to be investigated and cured. Midway through the book we get the rational explanation of this blue skin color and I finally understood that it was based on real people in the Appalachia, which made me love the book even more.

This is one of my favorite books of the year so far. If you want a sweeping historical fiction with a courageous heroin, complex issues and lots of food for thought, look no further.

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Cussy “Bluet” Carter enjoys her work as a book woman for the Pack Horse Library Project. The year is 1836 and the project is part of Roosevelt’s WPA (Works Progress Administration) effort to increase employment and education in rural areas. Cussy travels a tough route through rural Kentucky where she shares her love of the written word with her patrons. However, poverty and the stigma against women working aren’t the only two issues Cussy faces. She’s also the last living member of the Blue people, an ancestry that is identified by a recessive gene that turns her skin blue. Kim Michele Richardson takes us back in time as we travel with THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK.

It’s hard to find words to properly describe all the emotions that Kim Michele Richardson pulls out of the reader with THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK. We see Cussy’s successes with her patrons as she seeks books to tempt even the most incalcitrant person to embrace a love of reading. Her willingness to share food with others less fortunate than her is heartwarming, even as it seems futile due to the hardships of the world in which they live. However, it is the cruelties she has to endure that hit home the most, as we are angered and horrified by certain events that occur simply because of the color of her skin.

Kim Michele Richardson portrays the social issues that plagued the 1800s in a way that brings it to vivid life. The poverty is staggering, as it’s so hard to imagine folks living in such sad conditions without access to food. I love Cussy’s generous heart, even when she is suffering herself. Cussy’s story is both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time as the reader can’t help but admire her strength and courage in the face of such adversity.

I love historical fiction that teaches me even as it touches me and THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK is the perfect example of this. I’d never heard of the Pack Horse Librarians or the Blue People so seeing how both of them tied in with the plight of miners back in the 1800s is both enlightening and sad. Kim Michele Richardson does an excellent job at bringing history to life as she sheds light on a time often ignored by history. If you love historical fiction, then give THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK a chance as it’s a stunningly good read.

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek tells the fictional story of 19 year old Cussy Mary Carter, known to her family and friends as Bluet. Cussy, unknowing has methemoglobinemia, a rare condition that turns skin blue. Bluet is a composite character of the rare Blue People of Kentucky ancestry, and is the last living female of her family line. In order to provide more income for herself and her coal miner father, Cussy signs up to be a librarian of the Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky, part of FDR’s work program. Bluet and her faithful mule climb through the hills to deliver books to the isolated and impoverished people living there. Most of these families only have one book in their homes – a Bible. Newspapers were not even common among the hills, unless they were used as insulation for the homes. Cussy reads to her patrons and loves them fiercely, she provides comfort and joy to her long distance neighbors. Seeing the relationships fostered by books between Cussy and her neighbors were my favorite part of the novel.

Going into The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, I felt that I had a pretty good idea of what the plot was going to be about. Even within the first couple chapters, I felt that I had already mapped out how the story was going to be. I braced myself for an enjoyable, but predictable read. However, just the opposite happened. There were so many (wonderful and sad) turns within this novel, even down to the very last couple of pages. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek tells the tale of a brave woman and a region marked by poverty and oppression, starving not only for food, but also for knowledge. Richardson provides a great description of this time, place, and people in history, as well as capturing the regional dialect within her writing.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone. Its so interesting, wonderful, and it really captures the spirit of Eastern Kentucky. I look forward to reading more from Kim Michele Richardson, who truly does her research when writing, and I’ve already added more of her novels to my TBR list. Please let me know of your favorite Richardson novel below, or any other books set in Kentucky you think I should read.

Cussy Mary is the last of the blues on Kentucky along with her father. The blueness of her skin makes her a Pariah in her small town but she is determined not to let it be her only identity. She joins the pack horse librarians to get books to people residing in the remotest areas but small minded people who only see the superficial differences in skin are hell bent on making her life miserable. What follows is a heartbreaking story of being a coloured and that too an unusual blue colour in a world where being non white is almost a crime.
You can’t help but fall in love with Cussy as you read this book and I just wanted to somehow enter the book and give her a big hug. This was also a very informative read as I had never been aware that such people with congenital methemoglobinemia existed and the trials they had to undergo because of this genetic conditions. Reading about the Pack Horse librarians was also enlightening and inspiring. Definitely recommended for fans of historical fiction

Thank you to Netgalley and Kim Michele Richardson for allowing me to read and review The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I enjoyed this book.

4.5⭐ rounded up

This book was an interesting historical fiction that pleasantly surprised me. I didn't expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, but it combined so many of my favorite things so I just fell for it.

What I loved about this book:

~ I loved the unique characters and plot of this book. It was so interesting that I had a hard time putting it down and found myself sad when it was over. I fell for Cussy Mary's charm and kind hearted spirit and found myself immediately invested her character. I felt for her so much and wanted her happy ending so badly.

~ I love when a book inspires me to do research on the topics discussed. The real life aspects of the blue people and the pack women immediately caused me fall down the Google rabbit hole trying to learn more about both. I love reading about the history of books and how important they were in the past. The books delivered meant so much to the people that received them and they were the only source of joy and entertainment.

~ This is a very devastating era from US history that isn't well represented in this genre. Even though this story is completely heartbreaking, it's definitely worth the read.

What kept me from giving this book 5 stars?

~The only issue I had with this book was that it is slowly paced. While you get to know the characters a little bit at a time, it takes a while and that may deter some readers.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek chronicles Cussy Mary Carter's adventures as a travelling librarian in Kentucky during the depression-era of the 1930s. Cussy Mary is not only a book woman but also has a rare condition that makes her skin blue. Not all the hillfolk comfortable with the library project and Bluet's uniqueness. Hence they will go all out to ensure that both do not succeed.

Ms Richardson's book sheds light on the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky that is hardly revisited in modern literature. It was interesting to read about them and how they hillfolk coped with them as well as learning more about life in America during the depression era. Cussy Mary's story is one that proves the power of books and reading then and now as it was said by T.S. Eliot in the epigraph " The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man."

Excellent historical fiction book. A look at woman's history along with the unique blue people of Appalachia. Well written and wonderful character description make this book a must read for historical fiction lovers.

This is a work of fiction however, a lot of the circumstances are real. The women of the pack horse librarians are very much real, there is a picture of them hanging in my library. I always thought that picture was cool and dreamed of being able to do that, at least until I read this book, and maybe I don't want that job after all, I like snow days. Kentucky blue bloods is also a very real thing, although before reading this book I never knew how bad they were treated, and that makes me sad. So after knowing these things from a real Kentuckian, I hope you love this story of Cussy Mary and her fellow pack horse librarians as much as I did. Cussy Mary is such a wonderful, caring, and strong character, I can only hope to be 1/1000 as strong as she is, but I hope I treat my patrons with the same much caring and loving manner as she did

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

by Kim Michele Richardson

Two tales woven seamlessly into one—that’s The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, a work of historical fiction carefully researched and crafted by Kim Michele Richardson. Cussy Carter is a blue-skinned young woman, strong, determined, and the subject of suspicion, hatred, and discrimination in the backwoods of the Kentucky Appalachians in the 1930’s. She is also a Book Woman, a librarian who travels by mule to deliver books to the far reaches of the mountains to patrons who otherwise would have no reading options. Cussy, also called Bluet, knows her place in society as does her Black friend Queenie. They are both considered “colored.” Most people are disgusted by looking at Cussy and certainly avoid any kind of touch.

Richardson paints a moving portrait of Cussy and what it must be like to be an object of ridicule and perhaps the last of her kind. You will be hoping for the best for Cussy who, as a coal miner’s daughter, lives in poverty but shares freely with her even more impoverished patrons. Her father, also a Blue, suffers from lung issues and horrible working conditions.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a work you will read with your heart in your throat, amazed at the struggles and sufferings of Cussy, her pa, her patrons, and those who dare show kindness to her. At the same time, the book is uplifting because there are good people included in the story and Cussy always stands as a model of someone who does what is right because it is right and in spite of those who would hurt her.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Historical Fiction

Notes: There are helpful Author’s Notes at the end of the book discussing the rare condition called methemoglobinemia. Richardson also gives background on the Pack Horse Library Project and courting candles. She explains that she altered one fact regarding dates so that she could include certain medical information.

Publication: May 7, 2019—Sourcebooks Landmark

Memorable Lines:

I lived for the joy of bringing books and reading materials to the hillfolk who were desperate for my visits, the printed word that brought a hopeful world into their dreary lives and dark hollers. It was necessary. And for the first time in my life, I felt necessary.

I couldn't help notice again how the students waited for me, looked up at me, all quiet and not a single fidget or wiggle, as hungry for the stories in these books as they were for the food that always seemed sparse in this real land.

Nary a townsfolk, not one God-fearing soul, had welcomed me or mine into town, their churches, or homes in all my nineteen years on this earth. Instead, every hard Kentucky second they’d filled us with an emptiness from their hate and scorn. It was as if Blues weren’t allowed to breathe the very same air their loving God had given them…

Fantastic read!I live a book where you get invested in wonderful characters and this was a cracker! Heartwarming and heartbreaking.I adored Bluet and the stories of her patrons on her book route.Bravo!

I have to admit I have been ignoring this book on my 'to read'list for quite some time, the title had not grabbed me and i wasnt sure what to expect. As it turned out, I am glad I finally made the effort. This is a fictional work but meticulously researched, not only in terms of the pack horse library service and the blue Fulgates of Kentucky, but also in terms of capturing the issues, culture and language of the times. I felt I leaned a lot in the reading. The story is slightly high on the melodrama at times and the plot does meander a little. Overall though an enjoyable read about a very interesting time and place in US history.

I loved it!. Cussy Mary or ‘Bluet’, as many people call her, appears at first meeting as an unlikely heroine, shunned by her local community because of her skin colour. I had never heard of the Pack Horse Librarians or the Blue People Of Kentucky. I had to hop onto the Google machine to find out more ( one of the good things about ebooks!). This is historical fiction at its best, depicting the desperate poverty of these remote Appalachian communities and the heartbreak of children dying of hunger and people unable to afford medical care.
A book about books is one of my favourite tropes and this did not disappoint. The intrepid Cussy and her mule travel many miles across rugged country to deliver books, out of date newspapers and pamphlets to people who are also starved for print and knowledge. However discrimination against the Blues is never far below the surface.
Cussy Mary and her father are in fact more educated and empathetic than many of those in their community who discriminate against them. Cussy encounters hostility and segregation from her library colleagues and the other young women. Her father is a coal miner respected by his peers but also seen as expendable.

A great book which I am still thinking about. I look forward to reading more from this writer.

A book about books? Count me in!

I was originally intrigued by this book because I know it was about a library service in the Kentucky mountains in the 1930s, but as I dove into it I discovered it told a much bigger story. I had no idea there were actual BLUE people living in Kentucky a long time ago. It was so interesting reading about the history of why they looked the way they did, but even more so how they were treated by white people. Racism is deeply woven throughout our history but reading it in this book was eye opening, because it spread beyond the whites and blacks. My eyes were also opened to the great poverty these people experienced and it broke my heart.

Overall, I learnt so much from this book while following the sweet characters of Bluett, who just wanted to share her books with the people of Troublesome Creek, and Pa, who wanted more for his daughter and toiled away in the coal mines. I even found myself loving Junia, the mule and the way she fiercely protected Bluett.

This was such an important book and I recommend it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thankyou to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark and the author, Kim Michele Richardson, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read. The storyline was well written with well drawn characters and beautiful scenery. It was full of emotion, love and adversity which make it a compelling read.
A definite "must read".

Being a librarian, I LOVED this book! It was such a beautiful story about women who deliver books in Appalachian country. I was very interested in the Blue people of Kentucky. I bought this book for the library I work for and I have recommended it to many patrons.