Today I’m sharing my review of The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes. This book received Reese Witherspoon’s stamp of approval last year as a Reese Club selection and I kept hearing great things about it. When a few of my colleagues planned to do a book group discussion I recommended this as one of the options and it was unanimously chosen by all. Scroll on to find out why I loved it!
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Review & Thoughts
The Giver of Stars by JoJo Moyes
Up until reading this book the only story I’d read by JoJo Moyes was Me Before You. This book had a completely different feel but was a wonderful read. I recently read it along with a few colleagues that got together for a book club discussion and we all truly enjoyed it.
It started off a bit slow but quickly picked up and I found myself not wanting to put it down. By the end of the book I loved what a whirlwind adventure I’d been taken on throughout the story.
I love that the story is about four women that work a traveling library. They ride horses and bring library books to the people that live further away in the community and it’s beautiful to see how the families benefited from the stories. As an avid reader and personal book lover, books have always had a special place in my heart and it makes me so happy to read about the wonders the world of books can have on people. Books entertain us, take us new places, and teach us new things; books are the quickest way to learn and so incredibly satisfying.
In a Nutshell: Filled with interesting humor and wit, endearing characters, and gossip-worthy drama. A wonderful book club selection that will appeal to all readers that enjoy a good story!
My Rating: 4.5 / 5 Stars
Details From the Book Jacket
Published: October 8th 2019 by Pamela Dorman Books
Book Blurb:
From the author of Me Before You, set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond.
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 Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.
What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.
Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic–a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Books by JoJo Moyes
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