Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

I am always inspired when I read historical fiction books with strong female characters.  It seems that our history books left out the accounts of many truly remarkable women.  Jojo Moyes uncovers  just such a “strong woman” story in her book, Giver of Stars, a novel about four fictional women who volunteered in the 1930s to take up the challenge of Eleanor Roosevelt to become part of the pack horse librarians of eastern Kentucky. Although these women were different in every way, they valiantly headed out into the coal country mountains of Appalachia in the hope that they would open up the world to many less fortunate people.  Often the librarians would ride nearly 20 miles a day on horses or mules carrying as many books as they were able.  Many times the families they visited were illiterate and so these librarians would take time to read to them or they would spend time teaching the children to read on their own.  This remarkable retelling of an historical time would have made for a truly interesting novel, but in true Moyes fashion the fictional storyline for these women was filled with conflict, loveless marriages, male dominance and repression and racism.  The determination of these four women to keep the library going even in the face of constant and in some cases dangerous resistance was inspiring.  Moyes added a touching romance to the plot just to put a ribbon on the package.  Historical fiction is not always written in a way that draws you into the time, but Moyes has a gift and she shared it in Giver of Stars.