A really unusual story from This author, adventure and feminism. Women who were charged with riding out to remote rural farmsteads to lend out books and improve literacy. History and social comment in a very readable story.

Um. I might be the only person on here who doesn't like this book. For me, it read like a daytime TV drama. The characters were quite bland and one-dimensional. All the goodies were so good. All the baddies were so bad (almost to comedy cliche level).. I had high hopes for the strong, independent women the blurb promised but as the book progressed, all the non-conformist women conformed in one way or another. One for love, one for circumstances etc.. But, hey, what do I know? Everyone else loves this book. Go read their reviews.

Wow. Just wow. What a book.

JoJo Moyes usually writes heart-rending tales that leave you brightened and yet destroyed inside but this one is different.

Alice has married an American she met in England and being in a somewhat uncomfortable situation at home, smothered by her parent's disapproval, the exotic, handsome Bennett Van Cleve doesn't have to do much to win her heart. But Alice realises very quickly that things are a little - odd. They share a cabin with his father on the voyage back across the Atlantic, and the house she is to call her new home is a mausoleum to Bennett's dear, departed mother, a woman, who to listen to the two menfolk, was little short of a saint. She has swapped one stifling house for another.

But Alice finds something to do - she joins a new initiative started by Eleanor Roosavelt to lift the populus following the Great Depression and becomes a travelling librarian, delivering books through the locality of her Kentucky home, in mountains and valleys, on horseback. With five other women, Margery, Beth, Izzy, Kathleen and Sophia, they run the library with the help of local man Fred Guisler in whose outbuilding the library is based, and gradually win over an isolated, ultra-conservative population. Until, that is, Alice's marital problems spill into the wider community, the local mine causes a major flood that wipes out several valleys, and Mr Van Cleve declares war on the library.

Set in the 1930s, it is clear how, at this time, the UK was a very different place to Kentucky and the USA as a whole. Reading this, if it were not for the references to movies and cars, this cold be set in any era up to a hundred years earlier. The attitudes towards women and blacks didn't change until after the 1960s in the USA, segregation and blacks -only libraries, laws forcing blacks to use separate resources, and women who did not conform to a husband, staying at home to be a wife and mother, doing as she's told and seeing nothing wrong when her husband uses his fists to keep her in line were viewed with deep suspicion and shunned.. It is shocking to a modern woman, it was shocking to Alice.

As much as this is a history lesson, in the life of conservative Kentucky, of the travelling libraries, it is also a story of female friendship. The woman are the stars in this story, the men merely allow them to shine. When Alice needs comfort, it is the women who shield her, when Margery is in deep trouble, it is the women who act. The men aren't all bad, Bennett has his moments, Fred and Sven are the epitome of alpha male, movie star perfection, and if they slip into caricature, who cares?

I loved this book.

Having previously read two of Jo Jo Moyes’ books, I expected a good read and this book didn’t disappoint.

The story begins in England, when Alice impulsively decides to marry Bennet (the son of an American mine owner), and they travel to live in Kentucky, USA with her autocratic new father in law. Wanting desperately to escape from her present circumstances where she feels unwanted, Alice soon finds that her new married life is not at all what she expected. With an overbearing, dictatorial father in law, and husband who ignores her, Alice soon realises that she has been too hasty.

However, when volunteering to help Marjory, the leader of the Packhorse library, to deliver books in mountainous terrain, her life takes on new meaning. Although the job is hard needing gritty perseverance and endurance, Alice becomes fulfilled by the work she is doing helping to provide reading materials to the poor living in harsh conditions.

The author graphically describes life for the poor living in the mountains and mining areas of Kentucky during the 1930s, and the extraordinary differences between the rich and poor. Working conditions for miners and their unscrupulous bosses, racialism and gender discrimination are graphically explored.
The book is about stoic endurance, determination, strength of character, and friendships with lots of humour to lighten the story.

The strength of the book is within its characters, Alice, Marjory , Sophy, Beth and other women, who grow and develop real friendships as the story progresses. The book is a little slow at first, but the characters and plot are so skillfully drawn and developed by the author, it made a more in-depth interesting read.

A story about a group of women from different backgrounds in Kentucky who are employed to run a library service via horseback to their community. It's such a page turner. There is everything here - history, women's rights, love, murder, desolation, tears, companionship.
Such a well written story.
Thank you.

Actually really surprised at how much o likes this book. Not an author I’d usually go for but I thought the story was really gripping.
Would recommend.

A beautiful story of friendship in the hardest of times for women.

Based in fact makes it all the more remarkable.

Without these women no doubt many people would not have the pleasure we do from reading or being read to.

Truly inspirational.

I absolutely loved this book and can’t praise it enough. Jojo Moyes is such an accomplished storyteller. She has written a wonderful tale of strong women who set up a library in rural Kentucky, delivering the books on horseback. They run into lots of opposition but ultimately this is a heartwarming story and once I had started reading it, I couldn’t think of anything else. Even if historical novels aren’t your favourite genre, I would really encourage you to read this book. It has something for everyone and the narrative flows like a dream. The landscape and the characters will stay with me for a long time. Definitely, definitely five stars!

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes... 5+Stars

This book has to be my favourite of 2019 so far and it will take some beating. I was just blown away by it. It was a totally compelling read. I was enraptured from page one; I hated having to put it down and couldn't wait to sit down again to continue. It was so well written and researched, with a storyline that flowed effortlessly.

The characters are wonderful and very likeable, though some I definitely did not like, but, they did add to a realistic read. As the story progressed I got totally involved in their lives and what was happening around them. I wanted them to succeed with the library and the struggles in their lives.

It was wonderful to see Alice grow during the book, I loved her from the start and watching her come into her own, finding her way was brilliant; I was willing her on the whole way through. Margery was great, a remarkable woman who wouldn't bow down to the expectations of the time. All the women are strong and determined despite the times they live in. They are women who are looking for a chance to live their lives the way they want to.

I cannot recommend this story highly enough, I finished it several days ago and it has stayed with me. I can't wait for someone I know to read it so I can discuss it. I suggest you get this book as soon as you can.

Marvellous return to form for Jojo Moyes after the chic lit series based on best-selling Me Before You. In the 1930s feisty Alice waves her dull life in England goodbye and sets sail for Kentucky with her new American husband after a whirlwind romance. Unfortunately she’s out of the frying pan into the fire living under the roof of her domineering father-in-law and despised by the repressed local ladies who’d expected Bennett to marry one of their own. Salvation comes from an unlikely source when she joins a band of misfit local women who are setting up a local travelling library bringing books on horseback to the far-flung reaches of the mountainous region despite the strong disapproval of the local ‘gentlemen’ who believe that a woman’s place is under their thumbs. Fascinating mix of romance, feminism and historical detail, it was hard to believe that this was how society operated less than a hundred years ago.

Another great book by jojo moyes. It has gone back to her earlier type of books before me before you.
I am a fan of historical fiction and this didn't disappoint. If you like string women getting on in what in the 1930s was very much a man's world you will enjoy this book.
A good read and full of lovely strong women you want to have as your friend.

Brilliant. I loved this book. I am a big fan of historical fiction and this story is beautifully told. There are good strong characters and it was an interesting and compelling read. Forget the world around you. Sit down and get caught up in a story about strong women and overcoming opposition.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A really different read from Jojo moyes wasn't sure I was going to like this book but tha more I read the more interesting it became loved the characters in this story especially the women who were really strong throughout the story and although it was a mans world back then these women handled everything that was thrown at them and were browbeaten at times they came back stronger than ever and eventually set out to achieve what they wanted a good read

I love Jojo Moyes so I was delighted to get this e-copy in exchange for an honest review. This might be my very favourite of hers so far, and I've read them all.
What's not to like? Historical fiction about five interesting, diverse, strong women who together become a lifeline to other, often isolated and uneducated, women by providing a mobile library service – on horseback! Inspirational and moving, if you haven't read any of Jojo's books before now's the time.

Historical fiction isn’t usually a genre I’d go for, however I really fancied reading this one. Excellent writing, with all of the emotion you’d expect from this author. Thoroughly readable and enjoyable - highly recommended.

My wife is a fan of Jojo Moyes so I requested this ARC from NetGalley on her behalf. It came in time for a holiday read and she literally didn’t put it down. Historical fiction isn’t usually her cup of tea and she wouldn’t normally have picked this one up but my word has it changed her mind. She raved about it the whole time and absolutely loved the book so of course I had to see what she meant. I totally agree with her (naturally!)

Strong female characters, an incredibly well described Kentucky and wonderful friendship/relationship lessons for us all. The blurb about the book gives you the background which I won’t repeat but what I will say is do yourself a favour and read it, even if you didn’t think this genre was your thing. Excellent.

I love a good Jojo Moyes book.

There is always a certain level of 'feels' to be found when reading these novels.

The Giver of Stars is no different.

And even better, it is based on something that is true and actually occurred.

What I like about this story, which isn't the same for all books, is that it is what I like to call a slow burner.

Filled with tension and rising emotions, as the reader, you get a real sense of just how hard these women worked and exactly what they had to sacrifice to give to others.

A gentle tale which is both interesting and quietly enjoyable.

The Giver of Stars is a depression-era fiction novel depicting the true story of a group of remarkably strong women who ran a travelling library in Kentucky. The women, from different walks of life, shared a common goal of escaping elements of their lives and spreading the joy of new worlds on horseback.

The book is well-researched and insightful set in an interesting period where women were still trying to prove that they’re more than just keepers of the home. The challenges they faced were gripping enough, that, as a reader, you’re immersed.

Overall it’s a wonderful story with a great cast of characters. The film will be a hit too, I’m sure.

I've only just finished this so I'm still in the after flush stage of a good book and I'm liable to gush.
Alice is a prim and proper English woman who sees an escape route from her staid life to one of adventure via a move with her new husband to Kentucky. Once there she discovers that her new life in this land of wide open spaces is not what she expected, but she finds solace, friendship and herself when she takes up a job as a Packhorse Librarian; riding the Kentucky mountains to bring books, reading materials and a little kindness to the rural population.
This is a fantastic book, looking at the fierce rebelliousness of the women who make up the library and full of laughter and heartwarming friendship. Fighting misogyny as they help members of their community break out of their oppressed Silos, all five of the women are fully-fledged and likeable, but then I do love a good story about subversive yet supportive Librarians!

I loved this book,
Such a lovely story, I have always loved her books and think that the gap between novels is just too long !!
Another triumph ! 10/10