This historical novel had it all for me.  First of all, it is about a program that delivered books by packhorse during the Depression to people in the Appalachian area of eastern Kentucky. You can't beat that. It has an interesting story where I learned about something new, and the characters were interesting and well-drawn. Moyes also vividly portrays the region so realistically that I felt like I was right there alongside the characters. These women who were the packhorse librarians were such strong women, and it was nice to watch several of them develop over the course of the book to find their strength. I also loved how they became such good friends who supported each other even though they were all very different. Societal and religious pressures were also portrayed well in the book, along with the environmental factors of the coal mining industry. I would have rated this five stars, but I felt like Moyes wrapped up the ending too quickly. She rushed through some parts, and they seemed contrived. Don't let that keep you from reading this compelling novel, though.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to review.

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Two things drew me to this book, one was the author and the other was the subject. Ms Moyes did a fantastic job in telling the story of the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky. She wove a story around a little know fact of librarians who risked so much so that people in rural Kentucky can have access to books. I loved reading the stories of Beth, Izzy, and Sophia.

THE GIVER OF STARS by Jojo Moyes is an engaging work of historical fiction about strong women. The setting for this new novel from the best-selling author is primarily 1930s rural Kentucky. That is where Alice Wright, an unconventional English socialite, moves with her new husband and her father-in-law, who manages the local mine. Feeling stifled and out of place, Alice volunteers to work with the Kentucky Packhorse Librarians – delivering books and magazines to the rural residents. She joins Margery, another independent spirit, and other young women, establishing connections with local residents, even as labor strife grows and her father-in-law's opposition to her work turns more vindictive. This novel also contains a romance for Alice and another for Margery, adding to the appeal for Moyes' many fans. If you like historical fiction, I encourage you to also look for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek – a novel which was published last Spring – and contains a unique story about the same library delivery service.

Another great story from Jojo Moyes! A wonderful read that highlights strong women and the struggles they face when faced with men who think women should stay in their place. This is a story of strength and dedication as these pack horse librarians struggle to share books with everyone. A great story that will provide hours of joy reading.

Very enjoyable story about the packhorse librarians in Kentucky in the 1930s. Love the strong female characters in this book.

The courage and fortitude of these feisty woman really inspired me and of course the librarian in me just loved reading about the beginnings of libraries and their importance.

Interesting read. After I read this book I then read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Both books center around rural book delivery but the second had a more interesting storyline.

Such a beautifully written book and story and such a different side from Jojo Moyes! A beautiful story of women finding themselves in rural Kentucky and helping to spread the idea of knowledge through their packhorse library.

I really enjoyed this novel about the Kentucky Pack Horse Librarians who took library books and magazines on horseback out to rural mountainous areas in Kentucky. She does a great job of depicting a small mining community in Kentucky during the 1930s. Moyes also has great character development - I felt like I knew each of her characters even the minor ones. It is a delightful read about friendship and love stories, prejudice and tolerance, disasters and rescues, murder and courtroom drama - and the power of the written word. It has the feel of being written to be portrayed on the movie screen. I rate it up there with my favorite historical fiction - worth the read!

I really, really enjoyed this! I’ve read several novels by Moyes and she has yet to disappoint. The writing was so good that I actually felt like I was traversing the mountains right alongside these ladies. I was emotionally invested in this... one minute giggling the next minute I was enraged. A very satisfying read that I think will appeal to most historical fiction lovers. 4.5 stars.

3.5 stars

I honestly enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would! Historical Fiction is always a genre that I either hate or love. I really haven't read any novels set during the Depression-era, which I thought was a unique choice from Moyes that, in my opinion, really paid off.

Thank you to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for the eARC!

I really enjoyed this book. Was pleasantly surprised as I was expecting it to be like her other books. This is the second book about female librarians in the mountains. The descriptions of the trails and the treatment of women is interesting.

This book was riveting, captivating, and moving! I devoured it and have already recommended it to several people. The characters are rich and vibrant, and I felt like I was right there with them. Their devotion and sacrifice to deliver books was remarkable, and the impact books made on the lives of the recipients was inspiring. A fantastic book!

This story began slowly but did it ever build up before it ended. I reached a point where I could not put it down. I had to know how it was going to end. The 5 women who were the Packhorse Library in the remote area of Kentucky depicted what their lives were like in the 1930's. There was poverty, abuse, conflicts, mining , lack of education for girls as they were needed at home, death, and most of all there was love. Read this and discover how far women have come from that time and place.

JoJo Moyes writes a novel based around the WPA horseback librarians of Kentucky who delivered books in the mountains from the 1930s to 1943. Mountain culture, mining, family feuds - it's all in here! And this is a region of the world I know and love.

This came out October 8th and I'm shamefully just now reading it, but I'm glad I did. It's a nice backstory for my profession especially if they also played the additional roles Moyes includes in the novel (which I will leave the reader to discover.)

Positive representation of unmarried women and disability (which I know the author was criticized for in a previous novel.)

An insightful epic historical drama set in US Depression era in Kentucky and the Appalachians. . A young Englishwoman, Alice Wright, marries the handsome son of a traveling Kentuckian man doing a European tour and looks forward to her new life in America. What Alice quickly realizes is that the romantic life she thought she had married into was not as it seemed. Her husband seems to not be interested in her and as she is kept in the dark about many things in the household, including why the maid seems to dislike her so, she searches for and finds meaning in being one of the first women to deliver books to rural households in Kentucky. She finds true friendship in Margery O'Hare, an unconventional woman with a complicated past, as she boldly volunteers herself for the library. Ms. Moyes' novel shows how books can change people's lives in the most simple and most complex ways.

I'm a fan of JoJo Moyes and I was intrigued by the beginning of The Giver of Stars. Unfortunately, due to some glitch (I did follow up with NetGalley), only the prologue and first chapter were included in the ARC. However, what I have read so far was very engaging and I look forward to reading this book in its entirely when it is available either by ARC or after its release. As a librarian, the story behind a horseback lending library is intriguing; I have seen information about these types of libraries previously but I had not known that they were part of a federal government WPA initiative. This looks like it has great potential for book clubs.
EDIT: I was finally able to read the entire ARC...snafu was fixed! I truly enjoyed the book but have some criticisms. The story about the library initiative is terrific! The setting and historical context are wonderful. The storylines of the characters are less engaging. I found that the main romance plot (Alice/Bennet) somewhat dragged for me and would have benefited from even greater nuance. The plot device of making Bennett sexually impotent with Alice and then hinting once at whether he was gay was cringeworthy. Why not actually make him gay? That might have been a better plot line for conflict. I found the other women's story lines, although perhaps secondary, more engaging. Note to the proofreader: "woah" is not a word...look it up!

Another great story from Jojo Moyes. A lot of research went into the historical details on these librarians. The characters were well developed and the plot was very intriguing. A good book club selection.

An inspiring story of love, friendship, and literature, based on true events. What a great turn in Moyes's career!

I didn't know anything about the packhorse librarians before reading this novel. This WPA program makes a great backdrop for a novel, and Moyes has created a compelling narrative. There is a lot of tension in the plot, and the characters are well developed (although I wish Beth was more fully fleshed out).

You might not think that there would be a lot of action in a story about women riding out to remote households in Kentucky to distribute books. There is plenty here, though, in the town's hostility to the program, a predatory mine owner, town politics, and complicated relationships between the characters. Moyes weaves together a multi-layered narrative that has a slightly too pat ending, but that is satisfying nevertheless.