The Giver of Stars

The Giver of Stars
by Jojo Moyes
Viking, 2019, 390 pg., Historical Fiction

Alice was thrilled to marry the handsome Bennett Van Cleave and leave behind her dull life in England. She imagined that married life in Kentucky would be full of all the happiness she craved. But when her marriage remains cool and the locals of the small Kentucky town eye her with either suspicion, humor, and sometimes outright hatred; she realizes that she had no idea what she was getting into. Margery O'Hara is an independent woman who has never allowed herself to rely on anyone. It's how she survived her poor Appalachian family. Now she is determined to lead the new traveling pack horse library initiative inspired by Mrs. Roosevelt and funded by the WPA. Margery, Alice, and other women in the community set out to deliver books and encourage literacy to the impoverished mountain folks. But when murder stalks the library's doorstep it just might undo everything they worked for - and their lives.

This novel is a pick for Reese Witherspoon's book club, and it deserves that distinction. Moyoes' characters are deep and captivating. Their lives intertwine to form a beautiful story of love and friendship. But Moyoes went a step further and did fantastic research on not only the WPA's pack horse library, but also what personal lives for women were like in late 1930's Kentucky. This lends her story a powerful backdrop. Readers who enjoyed books such as Kirsten Hannah's The Nightingale or The Great Alone, Susan Meissner's Secrets of a Charmed Life, Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing, or Lisa See's Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane will also enjoy this title. Readers should be aware that there are scenes of death, murder, domestic violence, some language, and sexual content.