The Giver of Stars: Book summary and reviews of The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

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Cathryn Conroy

A Story of Redemption and New Beginnings, a Story of Justice and Hope: I Was Captivated!
Before I read this book for my book club, I was skeptical. The only other novel I have read by JoJo Moyes is "Me Before You" (also for my book club), and it was a sappy love story. This one is more historical fiction than love story, featuring engaging characters and a compelling plot.

Taking place deep in the Appalachian Mountains of rural Eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression, this is a story of redemption and new beginnings, a story of justice and hope, a story of love and passion. Alice is a young British woman who has never fit into the upper crust society, much to her parents' chagrin. When wealthy American Bennett Van Cleve and his father, Geoffrey, visit Surrey, England and meet Alice, both men know she will be the perfect wife for Bennett. Alice assumes she'll be living in a city and is disappointed when she finds out they are living in the mountains. The Van Cleves own the local coal mine, and the elder Mr. Van Cleve rules the mine, his workers, and his home with an iron fist. Alice is bored with nothing to do, no friends, and a husband who is cold in bed. Against the Van Cleves' wishes, she joins the fledgling packhorse librarians, which is based on the true WPA Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky that was instituted by then First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and begins riding all over mountain and dale delivering books to isolated Kentucky residents. But not everyone is happy with the five women librarians as they are becoming a bit too independent. Alice and her fellow librarians have a series of adventures, but things pick up when something truly shocking happens to Margery O'Hare, the lead librarian. From then on, this book is unputdownable even if this last part of the story is rather predictable.

The colorful characters and the bold seasonal changes of this mountainous setting are so vividly described that I felt as if I had been plopped down into the fictional town of Baileyville, Kentucky. More than anything, this novel is about the power of books, the power of reading, and the power of women's friendships—all of which can change lives.

I was captivated by this book!

CarolT

Surprising
I was leery because some books are just over-praised, but this one deserves every one. Couldn't put it down.

Sandi W.

Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky
Surprise, surprise! This is an author that I have not liked in any past book - I have not even been able to finish any of her past books - regardless of all the high reviews she has been given.

However...

I have given this book 4 stars! I really did enjoy it. I felt it started out much like The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson which I had just read, and really liked, but once into the story it veered off into different territory, while still talking about the book women of Kentucky.

This story based on the true life beginning of the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, tells not only that story, but is the story of hardships, spousal abuse, determination, sacrifice and ultimately love. It is the sisterhood in this story that carries it. Not taking into consideration the differences in race or social standing these women stood together and fought every battle, fought the town and fought the overly privileged men of that time.

The women are believable, the story is encouraging and the landscape presented is breath taking. Overall a really good novel.

Techeditor

Unpopular opinion: this didn’t wow me
Although it took about 100 pages before Jojo Moyes’ THE GIVER OF STARS was a story, in the end, I liked it. This is historical fiction about packhorse librarians in Depression-era Kentucky. Mainly, two stories are going on, both about particular librarians. Although the packhorse-librarian program was fact, I assume each of these stories is fiction. At least I can't find anything on the Internet about an English packhorse librarian in Kentucky or a packhorse librarian accused of murder.

As I read THE GIVER OF STARS, I was irritated that this is the third book my bookclub has read this year about librarians. And two of those books, one THE GIVER OF STARS and the other THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK by Kim Michele Richardson, are both about packhorse librarians in Kentucky. As a matter of fact, while I was researching how much of THE GIVER OF STARS is true, I learned that Richardson accused Moyes of plagiarism.

At any rate, although I did enjoy THE GIVER OF STARS, I wasn’t wowed by it. The historical parts are fine, but some of the details in the librarians’ stories seemed implausible to me.

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