Customer reviews
4.06 out of 5stars
(18 reviews)
Most helpful positive review
5.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
05/13/2021
Alice moves from England to Kentucky…
Alice moves from England to Kentucky with her new husband Bennett Van Cleve, the son of a mine owner. Her marriage is unhappy and she is complete outsider in her community, but she finds purpose in the WPA's new library program, distributing reading material to the remote rural areas of their county. Her unconventional boss Margery is accused of a murder because she encourages her patrons to stand up to Alice's father-in-law, the mine owner. The unconventional group of women who staff the packhorse library come to Margery's defense and get her freed from prison.
mojomomma
Most helpful negative review
1.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
01/21/2020
GlennBell
14 reviews
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser10/03/2021I know there was controversary…I know there was controversary surrounding this book, but it is still a great read by a favorite author. The prologue begins with a confrontation on a wooded mountain trail between a man and a woman from families who have been feuding for generations. The story goes on to describe the women (namely Alice Van Cleve) who are the traveling librarians for this part of Appalachia. Details are abundant. Characters are well drawn. A murder is discovered, politics and corruption rule the community. But the ending of the trial... really a twist! Recommended.RobertaLea
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/09/2021I loved this book, and I would have…I loved this book, and I would have allocated five stars. However, the ending felt rushed and anticlimactic after such an engaging story. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this novel.Unknown
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/08/2021Based on fact, this is the story of…Based on fact, this is the story of the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky during the Depression. The librarians were women who rode the trails in the mountains of Kentucky to bring books to families who couldn't get to town, didn't want to go to town, or who perhaps couldn't read or didn't understand that reading a library book is free. The story is well-written and with empathetic, well-developed characters who pull at your heartstrings and bring a tear to your eye (to mine anyway). Highly recommended.flourgirl49
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/08/2021I also read The Book Woman of…I also read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek which is a similar story. In the hands of Jojo Moyes, the masterful storyteller, the characters are much more developed and the storyline has more action.Unknown
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/08/2021When Alice Wright agrees to marry…When Alice Wright agrees to marry handsome American Bennett Van Cleve and leave behind her stifling life in England for a new adventure in Kentucky, she's soon disenchanted by her newlywed status and overbearing father-in-law, owner of the local coal mine. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt's new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically. The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, the smart-talking, self-sufficient daughter of a notorious local criminal, a woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. Alice finds Margery as bracing and courageous as anyone she's ever met, and comes to rely on her, especially as her marriage starts to fail. They will be joined by three diverse women and become known as the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky. JoJo Moyes never fails to entertain. This is the second book I've read about the pack horse librarians (the other book is Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson). While I thoroughly enjoyed both books, The Giver of Stars spends less time on the historical context and more on the story and characters. Highly recommended.lrobe190
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/13/2021Alice moves from England to Kentucky…Alice moves from England to Kentucky with her new husband Bennett Van Cleve, the son of a mine owner. Her marriage is unhappy and she is complete outsider in her community, but she finds purpose in the WPA's new library program, distributing reading material to the remote rural areas of their county. Her unconventional boss Margery is accused of a murder because she encourages her patrons to stand up to Alice's father-in-law, the mine owner. The unconventional group of women who staff the packhorse library come to Margery's defense and get her freed from prison.mojomomma
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/12/2021I absolutely adored this novel. For…I absolutely adored this novel. For once a book lived up to the hype. I kept hearing rumors that this book shamelessly stole from The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and I was disappointed. But after reading this - there is no stealing. Both stories are about women who sign up to be part of the WPA's packhorse librarian program in the Kentucky mountains but that's it. Entirely different storylines and characters. The Giver of Stars centers on Alice, a young English woman who has come to Kentucky wed to a charming coal man she met while he was touring England. Alice isn't remotely prepared for what is ahead - she was under the assumption that she would be living in an American city but she arrives to a little village in the foothill of the mountains and everyone treats her with suspicion as an outsider. She has no friends, no life, and even her husband has turned away from her. She signs up for the fledgling packhorse library on a whim because it will give her something to do. But she doesn't realize how drastically her life is about to change. She'll gain friends, but she'll also gain enemies. A wonderful story that I plan on re-visiting!ecataldi
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/05/2021Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged women…Eleanor Roosevelt encouraged women to become horse librarians in rural areas where people could not reach actual libraries. This WPA Pack Horse Librarian program ran from 1935 to 1943 as part of Roosevelt's New Deal. The Giver of Stars recounts the struggle of achieving trust for these women in rural, mountainous Kentucky. The five women who run this mobile library form a lasting friendship amid a cruel world. JoJo Moyes displays the poverty during the Depression, the perils of a marriage, the horrors of a mining town, and the power of a tight-knit community. The women in this story strive to have reading and learning available to everyone but face many obstacles. What a contrast to the 21st century.delphimo
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser04/01/2021InterestingZI am only half way through the book but it is very interesting so far!!Donna
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser02/13/2021Good readRecommended to me to read. Delivery was very fast.Yardleyproducts
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser08/12/2020Great read!An excellent historical fiction story!R
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser08/11/2020I read this book primarily to the controversy surrounding it being similar to “The Bookwoman if Troublesome Creek”. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Both books are great on their own and I struggle to see how anyone thinks they are similar. The only similar plot line is the book women. Aside from that, the stories differ greatly. I enjoyed the story of friendship and struggles faced by the group of women. The only complaint I might have is that the ending felt a tad rushed.LDVerbos
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser07/01/2020The Giver of Stars is a fictionalized story based on the real-life Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky, who delivered books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt's traveling library program. As part of Eleanor Roosevelt's incentive to improve literacy among the poor, these women are employed to deliver books to the poorest and most outlying families scattered among the mountains. The terrain is rough, the weather often hostile, and not all families welcome the intrusion. And yet Margery, Alice, Beth and Izzy make their daily journey to spread the love of books to everyone. For some families, it becomes the highlight of their week, their escape from drudgery, their hope of a better future – the magic of books. The story follows a lot on Alice Wright, a British woman, who moves after marrying Kentucky native Bennett Van Cleve. As Alice becomes both dissatisfied with her marriage and small-town life, she joins the group of traveling librarians. In spite of their seemingly inoffensive mission, Alice and the other women begin to disturb the sensibilities of their small town who see their group as a threat. Chief among the secondary characters is Margery O'Hare, a kind yet tough individualist, a product of her miserable childhood. This is a story of courage, hope, justice, betrayals, loss and love. But above all else it's a story of friendship and a portrait of rural Kentucky before 1940. I really enjoyed reading about Alice, Izzy, Kathleen, Sophia, Beth, and Margery who showed how me the power of books and the escape they provide us. I listened to the audio narrated by Julia Whelan and enjoyed it very much. I'm definitely going to read The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which is also about the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky. TBR 1234Unknown
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5.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser05/14/2020I love books based on true stories. I love Eleanor Roosevelt. And never pass up a book about libraries or librarians. I had no idea that Mrs. Roosevelt had the idea of Packhorse Librarians in Kentucky. What an amazing story. Strong Women. Fighting the weather and the abuse of those who thought reading was was not important and that women shouldn't be working outside of the home. And the men who supported them and gave them strength when things became unimaginably volatile. Over books...whybehave2002
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2.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser03/05/2020Englishwoman Alice marries American Bennett and travels with him to his home in a small town in Kentucky. Bored out of her mind, and a bit disillusioned with the marriage, she jumps at the chance to work as a pack-horse librarian. Led by Maggie, an independent and unconventional woman, the team of librarians faces challenge and criticism from the town leaders. Although the premise of the book seemed interesting, I found the story line extremely slow and the characters extremely stereotypical. The book was extremely predictable, and I found myself losing interest quickly. Overall, a bust.JanaRose1
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1.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser01/21/2020What a disappointment this book is. This was touted as a great book and is merely interesting but predictable. The author must think that men are largely villains or weak. Almost all the strong characters that are admirable are female. It is the women who overcome and are smart and talented. The men are despicable or merely supporting characters. The outcomes are painfully obvious especially regarding Alice's marriage problem. I would not recommend this book unless you like books that make women rule and men drool.GlennBell
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4.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser11/19/2019Alice doesn't fit in at home in England, for reasons that aren't entirely made clear, but also aren't terribly important. So when Bennett Van Cleve and his father come through her town on their European tour, she's more than ready to be swept off her feet and taken away from her boring life and hyper-critical parents. Unfortunately, she didn't look at a map to understand that Kentucky mining country is a far cry from cosmopolitan New York. Nor did she have enough to have any sense of her husband's character, and things quickly go downhill for her in America. Fortunately, the WPA's packhorse library's need for librarians comes along to save her. The only things that anchors this book in the 20th century, the packhorse library really existed. "Librarians" took books into the hills and remote areas of Kentucky (and other places), and, at least in this book, brought the light of literature out to the boonies. Alice must contend with mistrust (not only is she not from the nearest small-town, she has an accent all the way from England), hazardous weather, and a bonehead husband. Fortunately, the promise of new friendships and happier times is on the horizon, if Alice can tough it out. This may sound like a lightweight book, but it's actually not. Swirling around Alice are issues of poverty, illiteracy, prejudice, class injustice, and the unionization of coal miners. On a personal level, she must also deal with the nature of marriage and her obligations to her family. Moyes does an elegant job of illuminating all these issues while also writing realistic and relatable characters and situations. As a librarian, I was, of course, particularly taken with her discussions of the packhorse librarians and their goals of spreading literacy throughout the countryside. Her descriptions of how books changed the lives of the families in the hills serves as a timeless reminder of the importance of books and libraries to everyone.mzonderm
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3.00 out of 5 stars reviewVerified Purchaser11/18/2019The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes falls more firmly in the category of Romance than Historical Fiction. It is set in small town, coal mining Kentucky in the Depression Era, but the setting seems almost incidental to the story. If you enjoy a character driven book driven by all means, read this, but if you're more interested in the historical setting, this is a bit light.Unknown