Moyes uses this time and place in U.S history as the setting for “The Giver of Stars.” The main character is Alice, who has immigrated from England after a whirlwind romance with her now husband, American Bennett Van Cleve. Nan Milan, who carried books in an eight-mile radius from the Pine Mountain Settlement School, a boarding school for mountain children, joked that the horses she rode had shorter legs on one side than the other so that they wouldn’t slide off of the steep mountain paths.” They did all this, as well as organizing and repairing the books back at their make-shift libraries, helping children and adults learn to read, and bringing the love of learning and reading to a population that was isolated and in dire need of educational opportunities. According to a article, “Carriers rode out at least twice a month, with each route covering 100 to 120 miles a week. Having scant knowledge of this Depression Era, New Deal “bookmobile” program, I loved learning about how local women in Kentucky took on the challenge of delivering books on horseback into the Appalachian Mountains, even in treacherous winter conditions.

Historical fiction based on the real lives of the Pack Horse Librarians of Kentucky?.Count me in! Jojo Moyes, in her book “The Giver of Stars,” takes the fascinating history of a WPA (Works Progress Administration) initiative, which brought books to rural Appalachians via horseback, and brings it alive with courageous characters, an exciting plot, fast pacing, and a vividly descriptive setting.

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The giver of star