I haven’t met a JoJo Moyes book I haven’t liked. This was certainly different than her usual stories but just as engaging. I absolutely loved the main character and how her librarian duties made her grow as a person. The setting was well portrayed and realistic.

So  many of us are familiar with the story of the librarians of the appalachian mountains, who rode for miles on horseback ( or mule) to get books to people who would otherwise have very little contact with the outside world. White The Giver of Stars is historical fiction, it is a fascinating look at the lives of people, especially women, in the appalachian region during the time of the great depression. As always, librarians are a resourceful lot, and the lengths these women went to to be able to keep their library and its services going was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and it renewed my pride in my vocation as a Librarian.

The handsome and wealthy Bennett Van Cleve marries Alice Wright at the end of his European tour, which he has taken with his father, the overbearing owner of a Kentucky Coal mine. The marriage is off to a rocky start when the honeymooners are forced to share a stateroom on the return trip with the senior Van Cleve. Moyes touches on several social issues in The Giver of Stars: mining operations that destroy and pollute land and miners alike; the great economic and educational disparity between the rich and poor; racism; sexism and physical abuse of women. Woven through all this is the story of the brave Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, who risk life and limb to deliver reading materials to the poor Appalachian hill people. Alice finds life in the small Baileyville, Kentucky stifling and her marriage a misery, but quickly discovers a purpose and friendship in serving the community by delivering books.
Highly recommended

It took me a while to get into this book but once I did I really enjoyed it. If you can suspend your disbelief that the two main characters stumbled across two extremely progressive and open-minded men in a small mining town, the development of the relationships is very satisfying to read.

So fantastic!!! I loved everything about this book- the dynamic characters, the riveting storyline, and the vivid descriptions of the beautiful Kentucky mountain setting. And now, as a modern day librarian, I feel it is my duty to learn more about the amazing WPA packhorse librarians.

*****This ARC was provided by Netgalley for a honest review***
Let’s starts with I have no idea why I waited so long to read this book!! It hooked me from the very beginning.  The ladies of the packhorse library in Eastern Kentucky were simply amazing.  The trials they have to go thru just to survive and bring the written word to the rural people is so amazing.  Alice comes to Kentucky from England  as young bride of a coal miners son.  She’s trying to adjust to being a wife and being in a completely part of the world.  As her marriage begins to fall apart she feels the need to become apart of something.  She volunteers to ride for the packhorse library. There she meets Margery, Izzy, Beth and Kathleen these women become more than friends to her. They as a whole experience hardships and set backs but they keep going just the same. Jojo really hit this one out of the park.

I really don't like Historical fiction but Jojo Moyes can always pull me in.  I loved learning about the librarians who rode by horseback to get to the people in the mountains.

I regret not going to see Jojo Moyes when she was on a tour stop at Parnassus Books for this book... I gobbled you this book about librarians in rural Kentucky for so many different reasons and highly recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

This book ruined me for Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek because I was so loyal to Jojo Moyes. I do think the two are so similar that there must have been some copying. Glad to see library work is being recognized for the important place books hold in the lives of families. I already knew about the effort, and had seen plenty of black and white pics of women on horseback carrying books into hills, dells and hollows. Only a writer of her stature can bring these people into living color. Five stars for recognizing the amazing influence of books and  libraries.

The Giver of Stars is an interesting work of historical fiction, chronicling the history of the Pack Horse Library. The Pack Horse Library initiative was a New Deal initiative in Kentucky in the 1930s. Young women formed a bookmobile on horseback which promoted literacy for families and offered an opportunity for women to step beyond the traditional roles of that period in time. Main character Alice Wright thinks she is escaping her boring life in England by marrying the dashing Bennett Van Cleve. Once she arrives in her new home she finds living with her oppressive father-in-law  unbearable and jumps on the chance to join the packhorse librarians. The trials of these women was a very interesting part of this read, however the romance was a bit fluffy. Overall, I would recommend to any reader who of historical fiction.

I absolutely adored this novel and Jojo Moyes never disappoints. As a librarian, I really enjoyed this story of the Kentucky librarians and the friendships these women created. Despite their differences, they forged lifelong bonds and saved each other more than once.

Loved this glimpse into Appalachian and librarian history! The characters were well-developed and I was invested in their story.

I was interested in the topic, but for some reason didn't expect to really enjoy the story. However, the characters were interesting and real, and the bond that grew between the women as they each, for different reasons, strove to get books to the people of their community was inspiring.

I didn't finish this book. I started it but it was too much like The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michelle Richardson to continue. I felt like I was reading the same book.

LOVED this book.  I recommended it to many patrons.  Everyone loved it. As a librarian, I am of course drawn to books about libraries, but Jojo made each character come to life.  I felt myself cheering on each character and did not want book to end.  I even put it down for a day and savored the ending.

I had never heard of the "blue people" of the Smokey Mountains and was fascinated  to find out about this little know fact of history. The story reveals what life is like  for a young girl with this condition. The courageous story of the pack horse librarians who delivered books and other reading material to isolated mountain families is also a fascinating read. I  enjoyed Jojo Moyes portrayal of the lives of isolated families and their thirst for knowledge and the brave ladies who battled nature's forces to bring that knowledge to them.

A great choice that I have recommended for Book Clubs and readers of all types!  Saw Ms Moyes in DC during  the Summer of 2019 to promote the book & she was simply delightful!!!

This book is really, really good.  It's about the construction of a library in Kentucky in the late 1930s, early 1940s.  Alice, an Englishwoman, marries an American man and moves with him to rural Kentucky, where she engages with the community, makes friends, builds new relationships, and transforms people's lives and builds a library with other women in the town.  This story has a happy ending and is very uplifting and can improve your mood.  It will teach you a little bit of history, as it's based on a true story.  It's a reminder that we're not so far away from a time where books were delivered via horseback!  The language and descriptors are beautiful.

A US historical fiction following the great depression era in Kentucky where a group of librarians go horseback to deliver books to homes in need. These patrons may not have transportation to go to the library or have fallen ill and cannot leave there home. A group of dedicated women do what it takes to stand up for what they believe in. One of the librarians English Alice Wright weds American Bennett Van Cleve on his European Tour to escape the limitations of her life. She find more meaning to life than just books, a long lasting friendship with the girls and ultimately  the courage to take the journey she wasn't originally set out to do. I find this book very telling with relation to the current pandemic situation. Loved the new vibe of Moyes work. You can tell a lot of research was done by Moyes to make this book happen.

I just couldn’t bring myself to read this. It seemed to be so formulaic, with no unique elements to recommend it or compelling characters to follow. The description of the book makes the protagonist seem like the product of a board meeting for mass-producing stories.