Review: The Giver of Stars

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

England, late 1930s, and Alice Wright — restless, stifled — makes an impulsive decision to marry wealthy American Bennett Van Cleve and leave her home and family behind.

But stuffy, disapproving Baileyville, Kentucky, where her husband favours work over his wife and is dominated by his overbearing father, is not the adventure — or the escape — that she hoped for.

That is, until she meets Margery O'Hare, a troublesome woman — and daughter of a notorious felon — the town wishes to forget.

Margery's on a mission to spread the wonder of books and reading to the poor and lost — and she needs Alice's help.

Trekking alone under big open skies, through wild mountain forests, Alice, Margery and their fellow sisters of the trail discover freedom, friendship — and a life to call their own.

But when the town turns against them, will their belief in one another — and the power of the written word — be enough to save them?

Really enjoyed this book although it's quite different from the previous Moyes books I've read. Set in depression era America it follows British woman Alice as she tries to adapt to her new life with her husband in Kentucky. Finding it difficult, 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.

There is much opposition at first but gradually the team of women start to make a success of the library until disaster strikes and things look bleak. But the women are not easily defeated. A very heartwarming story.

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