Reese Witherspoon chose this book as her selection for November 2019. Here is my review of this novel. I rated this book 3 stars.
“The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Moyes is a historical fiction novel about rural Kentucky in late 30s when a group of women were employed by a US government to deliver library book via mules and horses in order to teach literacy. Each character drew me in and had a different conflicts throughout. It dealt with issues of censorship, women’s rights, and even had a murder “mystery.” It was interesting to read about a woman’s problems back then compared to today. The author did a lot of research for this novel and you can tell. The author did a good job at describing the landscape and painting a good picture of what life was like for these women. The strong friendships between these ladies make the book more special. The story itself lacked action and was, at times, boring.
If you are looking for a book club type of book, this would be it. It has a little of everything.
*** As for the controversy that surrounds this book, I saw a lot of differences and similarities between the two novels (“The Giver of Stars” and “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek”). The stories are similar, but different all the same. “Troublesome Creek” centers around a girl with blue skin who is also the librarian in rural KY. The book “Giver” revolves around several women who also work as librarians in rural KY. Both stories have similar conflicts but overall both stories are different. I would encourage everyone to read both. I rated them the same as 3 stars.***