Historical fiction
The Giver of Stars
Repeat author
Jojo Moyes is back at Book of the Month – other BOTMs include Someone Else’s Shoes and Still Me.
Quick take
From the author of Still Me, a nod to the strong af women who ran a traveling library in 1930s rural Kentucky.
Good to know
400+ pages
Forbidden love
Female friendships
Rural
Synopsis
Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. 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, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Horseback Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to them—and to the men they love—becomes a classic drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. Though they face all kinds of dangers, they’re committed to their job—bringing books to people who have never had any, sharing the gift of learning that will change their lives.
The Giver of Stars is also the November pick for Marie Claire’s virtual book club, #ReadWithMC: a space for women who love books—by women!—and love talking about them, but prefer to do so from the comfort of their couch. Share your review of the book using the hashtag #ReadWithMC by November 28 for a chance to be featured on MarieClaire.com.
Free sample
Get an early look from the first pages of The Giver of Stars.
The Giver of Stars
Prologue
December 20, 1937
Listen. Three miles deep in the forest just below Arnott’s Ridge, and you’re in silence so dense it’s like you’re wading through it. There’s no birdsong past dawn, not even in high summer, and especially not now, with the chill air so thick with moisture that it stills those few leaves clinging gamely to the branches. Among the oak and hickory nothing stirs: wild animals are deep underground, soft pelts intertwined in narrow caves or hollowed-?out trunks. The snow is so deep the mule’s legs disappear up to his hocks, and every few strides he staggers and snorts suspiciously, checking for loose flints and holes under the endless white. Only the narrow creek below moves confidently, its clear water murmuring and bubbling over the stony bed, headed down toward an endpoint nobody around here has ever seen.
Margery O’Hare tests her toes inside her boots, but feeling went a long time back and she winces at the thought of how they’re going to hurt when they warm up again. Three pairs of wool stockings, and in this weather you might as well go bare-?legged. She strokes the big mule’s neck, brushing off the crystals forming on his dense coat with her heavy men’s gloves.
“Extra food for you tonight, Charley boy,” she says, and watches as his huge ears flick back. She shifts, adjusting the saddlebags, making sure the mule is balanced as they pick their way down toward the creek. “Hot molasses in your supper. Might even have some myself.”
Four more miles, she thinks, wishing she had eaten more breakfast. Past the Indian escarpment, up the yellow pine track, two more hollers, and old Nancy will appear, singing hymns as she always does, her clear, strong voice echoing through the forest as she walks, arms swinging like a child’s, to meet her.
“You don’t have to walk five miles to meet me,” she tells the woman, every fortnight. “That’s our job. That’s why we’re on horseback.”
Why I love it
Ito Aghayere
Actress, Carol's Second Act
My mother was the first to introduce me to the wonder and escape to be found in books. As a young immigrant in a new country with four kids in tow, my mom found the beginnings of a new life for us in the dog-eared pages of books, and taught us to find adventure and intrigue, romance and wisdom in stories as well. These were the memories that beckoned me to the world of Jojo Moyes’s latest, The Giver of Stars.
At its heart, this novel is about all the many ways books can change lives. Based on a true story, Moyes weaves a poignant tale about the real women who brought the written word to the downtrodden and forgotten people of rural Kentucky during the Great Depression. Alice Wright is a newcomer to this landscape—a young Brit. She’s married to a handsome young American whose life in the South isn’t nearly as picturesque as he depicted while they were dating. Searching for friendship leads her to Eleanor Roosevelt’s traveling library, a public works project helmed by female volunteers who begin to transform the community by delivering books to neighbors near and far.
Both lyrical and poetic, this moving story is about the power that books can have to tear down the barriers of class and misogyny to bring purpose, joy, and a sense of belonging to a forlorn and forgotten rural community. It’s also a story about friendship and sacrifice, justice and compassion, and a compelling homage to books that is not to be missed.
Member ratings (19,729)
Emily C.
Lehi, UT
It was both funny and terribly sad. I felt though that the sad parts had a redeeming outcome and I like books that get tied up neatly. Also the characters were relatable even though it was the 30's & I'veneverbeentoKentucky
Colleen C.
Fort Collins, CO
Atmospheric—well-paced—power of books/knowledge—strong female friendships/community—horseback journeys—justice vs truth—believable romance—stranger in a strange land—strong dynamic characters—hist fic
Leah A.
Pittsburgh, PA
Oh my wow!! My soul was reached & connected with in ways it hasn’t been for years! I was transported to another time & place and, frankly, didn’t want to leave those ladies or Baileyville. LOVED it!!!
Melody C.
Clayton, NC
If I visit eastern Kentucky, I know exactly what I’ll see in the achingly beautiful hills. And I’ll expect Margery, Alice, Sophia, Izzy, Beth, & Kathleen to be there going about their very real lives.
Madison H.
Burbank , CA
I think the best part about this book are the friendships between the ladies of the library. There is romance but it doesn’t overpower the friendships and I think that’s what I love the most about it.