Book Review

Book: The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Moonshiners, guns, lust, blood feuds and coal tycoons... What more could you want in a romance novel!? The Giver of Stars is the perfect blend between a light summer read and a “can’t put it down” adventure novel. As an avid reader, and lover of history, I loved it.

So... what is this book really about?

“The Giver of Stars” is a historical fiction novel written by award winning author JoJo Moyes. You may know some of Moyes other novels such as “Me Before You” or “The Girl You Left Behind”. Also a romance, “The Giver of Stars” takes place in depression era- Kentucky and is inspired by the true story of the “Pack Horse Library”.

English author JoJo Moyes came across this Smithsonian article that was published in 2017 and was immediately inspired by this nearly-forgotten program. According to Goodreads, Moyes read about the period and visited Kentucky several times, “riding horses up into the mountains on some of the same routes the women would have taken, getting a feel not just for the landscape and wilderness but for the way language is used.”

Brief Summary

Even if historical fiction isn’t a genre you typically reach for, this book has so much more. It tells the tale of five women who become librarians and eventually, unlikely friends. The novel begins with Alice, a polite and proper British woman who moved to small town Baileyville, Kentucky to be with her attractive American husband Bennett Van Cleve. Soon, Alice discovers that American life isn’t at all what she expected. As the novel progresses, we meet Beth, the spirited middle child of impoverished farmers; Izzy, who is disabled by polio but discovers a love of riding; Margery, a defiant feminist who is also a town outcast; and Sophia, who has a superior education but is disadvantaged due to the colour of her skin. Each character is brilliantly unique, and you will be sure to find something that resonates with you in each of them.

My Opinion

I think it was very clever that we are first introduced to the setting and the characters in the novel through the eyes of Alice, who is also an outsider. As the reader, we are able to get a taste of what assumptions a foreigner makes about this small American town. Moyes does an excellent job of allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions about the characters. She does this by leaving subtle hints about their character rather than making assertions. I believe this makes for a more dynamic relationship between the reader and the characters as your understanding of them are constantly evolving as the novel progresses. Moyes uses this same subtlety to gracefully weave serious themes throughout the novel such as gender and race inequalities.

However, as with any literature, there were aspects of the novel I didn’t love. I felt as though the pace of the plot slowed down a lot in the last chapters of the novel. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the allegations of plagiarism that were made against JoJo Moyes and this novel- yet I hope they don’t overshadow the prowess of Moyes work. Kim Michele Richardson author of “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek”, claimed that Moyes’ story features “alarming similarities” to her own novel, which was published only months before. Though, Moyes’ publisher has asserted that her work is entirely original and that the similarities lie in historical facts.

In conclusion, I think that this book should be on the top of all women’s “Must Read” list. I’m not saying that men shouldn’t read it, but I think there is immense value in women understanding how far we have come in terms of equality and body-autonomy. This book made me proud to be a woman and instilled a sense of power in me that I didn’t even know I was missing!