I've loved JoJo Moyes books for a long time, and 'The Giver of Stars' is her best work yet! Set in the Great Depression in Kentucky, we follow a group of women who all break the norms of their society, and fight to set up the packhorse library. These women are flawed, feisty, and endearing. From songbird Izzy, to tom-boy Beth, independent Marge, intelligent Sophia, and strong minded Alice. I couldn't put it down. I would read it again and again. Beautiful language that bring the landscape, the adventure and the women to life with love and the genius of a master storyteller.

This is a glorious book which sweeps you into the mountains of Kentucky in the 1930s and the lives of five women who dare to break the social constraints of the time. JoJo Moyes is back at the top of her game taking a piece of history and turning it into an unforgettable story. I read the book in two days and had to keep reading until two in th morning, desperate to finish but not wanting the story to end because it was so good!
One of the best books I have read this year!

I don’t usually read this type of book preferring murder/crime books but having read The Giver of Stars in two days I found it an amazing book.
The story is set in the 1930’s in the mountains of Kentucky and revolves round five women Marge, Beth, Izzy, Sophia and an Englishwoman called Alice who had married an American and came to Kentucky with him to live. The story revolves around theses women, all from different backgrounds, and their resolve to set up a library and deliver books to the people of the small town where they live. The book is funny, and at times unbearably sad and tells how these courageous women take books up into the mountains in extremely harsh conditions on horseback, to people, some of whom have never seen nor read a book before. There are people who live in the town who are bigoted and feel threatened by what the five women are trying to achieve, in particular the father in law of Alice who is a wealthy mine owner. A lot of the townspeople are suspicious of any reading material other than the bible but the women persevere to gain their trust and the Horseback Library brings books as diverse as recipe books, poetry books and novels into their lives.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
My thanks to Net Galley,, Penguins Random House, Micheal Joseph for the ARC and to Jojo Moyes for her research and for writing this book