The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes is a story based on in 1930s about the Horseback Librarians. Horseback Librarians did exist and this is a story of a new branch, The Baileyville Packhorse Library, Kentucky.
Five women risk long rides everyday over inhospitable terrain in all weathers to bring, books and magazines to poor people living far from town with little or no transport. People are wary of them and they have to take time to earn their trust. Other people in the township are against their endeavour as they don't want the people to learn to read and get ideas above their station.
I loved this book. It had me hooked from the first page. It was full of wonderful characters and I would love to read more about them. I didn't want this book to end.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly wasn't expecting this book to be as brilliant as it was. A beautifully-written explanation of a truly fascinating period of history and events that I'd known nothing about. Wonderful female characters - I completely fell in love with them. Incredible storytelling.

While this is quite different to Jojo Moyes more contemporary novels it was still just as well written and appealing. The plot is interesting and characters well developed and surprisingly I found it a relatively quick read for a historical novel which I sometimes struggle to connect as well with. The Horseback Librarian details were fascinating and I actually want to read more about that. A great story and I am excited to hear it may well soon be made into a film.

Jojo Moyes is a new author to me. I loved this book, it was a real page turner and held me captivated throughout. A truly compelling read beautifully written. I will certain look for her other titles.

I absolutely loved this book. It's the story of the packhorse librarians of the 1930s who, on a scheme promoted by Eleanor Roosevelt, set up a mobile library service in the mountainous regions of Kentucky. The story is based on real events although the plot and characters are imagined. I loved the brave women who put their hearts and bodies into providing not just books, but inspiration, friendship and hope to those isolated homes and communities. This whole book is full of inspiring female characters (and a few good men). It's very well written with a plot that moves along nicely. An excellent book.

This is the story of five brave and feisty women who were passionate about ‘Libraries for All’ and spreading the joy of books and who joined Eleanor Roosevelt’s horseback librarians initiative. They all lived in or nearby the small Kentucky mining town of Baileyville, in the shadows of the Appalachian Mountains and trekked up to the most inaccessible cabins of householders living high up in the mountains to deliver and collect books from their library stock. Based on a true story of East Kentucky horseback librarians, this sweeping, evocative novel gives a powerful flashback of a short period of USA history and what life for the librarians and townsfolk during the great depression of the 1930’s was like and also the suspicion and negativity of some townsfolk that were against progress and thought reading corrupted and unsettled their community.
Outspoken and forward looking Margery O’Hare took on the management of the library but also took her share of the daily treks into the forests and rocky ledges of the mountains high above the town. She was already a bit of an outcast due to her father’s robust criminality and her outspoken ideology. There was no messing with Margery. First to join her was Alice Van Cleve, a newly and unhappily married lady who had left her home in England to become Bennett’s wife. She immediately took to the hard but rewarding work ethic. At last she made firm friends and began to integrate with the wider community that either adored or were suspicious of her plummy English accent. In truth it became her one true passion, much to the ire of her overpowering and downright awful father-in-law. It took her away from the interference and meddling of her home-life and gave her something to wash away her dire unhappiness, her husband uncaring and frigid. Alice loved the freedom and tranquillity of the big outdoors and nature at its most raw and beautiful.
Gradually two became five and our story leaps into life, but the peace and comparative even keel of the small township is turned upside down by a careless mudslide, a decomposing body found on the hostile mountain upper reaches and eventually a trial causing the town to be overrun and split in half by newshounds eager to exploit the small community with sensationalism. The packhorse librarians stood firm in support of their ideology and livelihood, but would the spate of local tragedies see the ruination of the Roosevelt horseback librarians or would they survive?
I enjoyed reading this novel and learning about a historical event that I knew nothing about. I admired the beautiful storytelling and could easily visualise the settings and politics of the township made up of rich and poor people, black and white people and the disadvantaged who lived outside the times and some of them were backward thinking. I despised the mine owners, the corrupt and the ‘best mates’ club that had no interest in justice and truth, but served only their rich masters. I hate injustice of all types and this novel moved me to anger and a feeling of true impotence. I thought the horseback librarians were plucky, admirable and dedicated to spreading the joy of literature and learning. I really can envisage the story becoming a film and I don’t doubt that it will become very popular.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher t Penguin through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. It’s a good read and my review reflects this fact. It’s a 3.5* review from me.

I'll be honest and say that I requested this from Netgalley without reading the information about it as I'm a big Jojo Moyes fan. When I realised what the book was about I felt hugely disappointed and after a few pages had persuaded myself that I would not like this book as I'm not huge into historical fiction based in the USA. BUT I persisted and a few chapters in I could not get enough of this book! It really was fantastically written and researched.

Alice finds herself a million miles from home after marrying the son of a rich American miner. She finds married life not only disappointing but completely alienating. The local people won't give her chance and her husband, Bennett, seems distant and unloving. In order to try and find some purpose to her new life she volunteers to ride with the WPA lending library. Through her travels into the wilderness of Kentuckey she finds not only friendship but new philosophies on life. The misfits that she works alongside become a family and support network to Alice and she begins to question the life that she thought that she knew.

The characters in this book, particiularly the riders, are extremely likeable. I really warmed to the characters of Alice and the straight talking Margery O'Hare and I really could picture these women in my head. The fact that the story of the lending library was based on true historical events was also hugely significant. Jojo Moyes really did her research and upon googling the real life WPA I saw the homes and characters that I had envisioned coming to life.

This is a fantastic book and althought it is nothing like Jojo Moyes previous offerings I can well and truly say that you will not be disappointed by what you read.

Three horseback librarians deliver books to the Kentucky mountains

In the 1930s, Kentucky was mainly rural, the upland areas difficult to traverse. Three women try to encourage education for the locals by delivering a library service on horseback. An interesting and emotional tale, based on a real horseback library which ran from 1936-1943. Feisty Margery starts the service, delivering books on the back of her beloved mule, Charley. She persuades bored housewife Alice to help her in her mission. They teach wealthy young Isabelle to ride, giving her a new sense of worth. Left with one leg shorter than the other through childhood polio, she had previously been over-cosseted by her loving mother. Their adventures take them over fallen logs and through floods to meet a wide range of people. Some are grateful, some dubious at first, thinking it will keep them from their subsistence-level work on the land. A strong story, well told, with romance, unexpected twists and a satisfying ending.

I absolutely love Jojo’s books. She picks a subject and just runs with it. You can always tell when an author completes a good research as it allows them to engage their readers with places and characters in their work. This is definitely the case of The Giver of Stars.

This novel is another direction of work for Jojo, completely different from her other bestsellers and she has excelled in it. It takes you on a journey through rough Kentucky wilderness, the hard life families had to contend with, the unfair treatment of women in days that are not that long ago. All the ladies in this book are brilliantly woven into the story of the Kentucky Horseback Library and, together with historical moments, bring together a novel that is educational as well as enjoyable.

Alice makes an unlikely friend in the librarian’s leader Margery and thanks to her, becomes the woman she was perhaps always meant to be. They all have to learn various things about themselves and the people around them and not always through pleasant ways, but they get down to it and they don’t let anyone stop them. These are great women, made strong through their past, their present and their social standing.

This book is empowering, inspiring and beautifully written and is a fantastic example of why Jojo Moyes is one of the best international authors of today.

After reading the Me before you Trilogy and loved them. I didn’t know what to expect by The Giver of Stars. I shouldn’t have worried because this such an amazing book. Set in America’s depression and based on true events regarding The Horseback Librarians of Kentucky which was started by Eleanor Roosevelt. Where women enriched people lives by delivering books to all walks of life, to read and educate themselves.
Alice Wright leaves her stuffy life in England and marries American Bennet van Cleve, from Baileyville in the Appalachians, Kentucky. She thinks that her life will be changed, and it will more fruitful and she will meet new people and have a wonderful life with the man she loves. But, when she arrives, she moves into the Van Cleve family home. Bennett’s father is a Mine owner and thinks women to spend their day doing needlepoint and doting on their husbands.
Bored she escapes the house and meets Margery O’Hare the head librarian, who is strong independent, feisty woman that has never asked a man to do anything. She tells her about the library and how travel through the beautiful, but desolate mountains to deliver books to the residents of the mountains. As Alice is an experience rider, she decides to join them and other eclectic group of women.
Wow JoJo Moyes has done it again. This is such a powerful story of women facing adversity and how they all pulled together to make their life better. I loved the premise, each character’s story, you felt their pain whilst reading and they joy. Also, the descriptions of the locations. I loved it.

Baileyville, Kentucky and Alice arrives from England with her new husband and his father, the owners of the mine.
However, life isn't what she expects until she meets Margery O'Hare whose mission is to bring books and newspapers to the people living in the wilds of the mountains. Joined by others they find friendship and freedom and the pleasure of their books.
However, the men of the village don't like it and when thy turn against the women who will win and at what cost.
This is a beautifully written book and will have you at one with the women and their battles with life. It will leave you angry at the injustice they encounter and encouraged by how they overcome them.

Based on the true story of the lending libraries of Depression hit America, the book is a superb tale of friendship and love interwoven with the dignity and grace of the main characters trying to survive in the harshest of times. one of her best.

I was looking forward to reading this book but initially found it a little bit slow to begin with. But it eventually became better and I ended up loving it.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. I absolutely loved this. Not my usual read and different to any I’ve read from Jojo Moyes before. This one is historical fiction, and has some amazing strong female characters. It’s very very well written and I hear it’s going to be made into a film! Can’t wait!

The Giver of Stars
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book before I started it.

Set in depression era America it follows a group of woken who run the WPA pack horse library, a mobile library service designed to encourage reading and make books more accessible to those living in the mountains.

The book follows the characters and the people in their lives as well as those they meet in the course of running the library. Themes of friendship and resilience run through and I really found myself rooting for the characters (well most of them, there were a couple I wouldn’t have minded throwing a book at!).

Engaging from the start I read the last 40% of the book in one sitting as I desperately wanted to know how the tale ended. I would highly recommend this book!

This ARC was courtesy of netgalley - all thoughts and opinions are mine and unbiased

I love JoJo Moyes so was thrilled to receive this ARC

Loved this - was totally gripped by the story and the storyteller

Full of evocative descriptions - beautifully written

I would highly recommend this

This is a different kind of book to what we are used to from Jojo Moyes but no less impactful.
It is based on the true story of the horseback librarians of Kentucky in the 1930's, set during a very conservative community that has various tensions regarding unions, mining, race and roles of women.
I will state now that I often prefer own voices stories where these themes arise in fiction because I think it's so vitally important that we make space for these voices to represent themselves and avoid the inevitable biases and errors that arise when others try to write them, even with massive research and good intentions.
That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of friendship and the strength of femininity in various guises. The resilience, loyalty and support of women portrayed is empowering and so well written. I was emersed in their world and felt their terror, hope and heartbreak deeply.
I have heard it will be made in to a film which I am unsurprised about, as it's a thrilling and adventure and had such an absorbing cast of characters.
A great read

I enjoyed this book. I did find it a little harder to get into than other books from Jojo but once I was in, it was a gripping read.
Set in Kentucky between the 1930s and 1940s, it tells of the Horseback Librarians - a group of women who are determined to bring the power of reading to those who can't access it. I loved the descriptions and development of the characters, particularly Margery and Alice - they were written so well and I cared about them all. The story delves into the conditions of the society at the time - racism, poverty, illiteracy, health and more and this made the story fascinating to read.
Recommended - a book about friendship, strength and reading.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just from reading the blurb I was prepared to love The Giver of Stars - librarians! Rural life! Isolation! Bringing books to everyone! Women together! I wasn't disappointed. This is a lovingly crafted story that takes its inspiration from a real life situation. The sense of time and place is captivating and tangible, the love some of the characters have and others develop for the remote Kentucky setting is beautifully described and the book is an amazing read. Loved it.

It took me a while to settle into this novel as it's quite different for Jojo Moyes, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down.
Based around a small group of women joined together by sheer determination this book tells of the struggles women had & what they did to overcome them. It is truly heartwarming and you felt yourself cheering them on every step of the way. Great!!