Interrupting my radio silence to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and to give a “proper review” of one of my favorite books of the year. Jojo Moyes’ latest about a handful of strong sassy women serving as Eleanor Roosevelt’s Pack Horse Librarians shined brightly. Glittered actually. Delivering books in the mountains of Kentucky proved as dangerous as it was beautiful. But the librarians prevail, only to deliver hope and literacy to an isolated and book-starved rural people. Sadly, most of their greatest trials come via men and small-minded conventions that stifle and underestimate women—when the librarians refuse to be cowed by either, they feel like heroes to me.
I LOVED this here listen. Julia Whelan’s inspired voices turned this southern charmer into a must-be-listened-to-even-if-only-for-two-minutes-at-a-time deal. I’ll definitely give this a second go, unless The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek feels like deja-vu. When I met Margery, Alice, Izzy, and Fred (a seemingly perfect male), I had no idea there was trouble afoot in book land. Moyes is being accused of plagiarizing in The Giver of Stars. Say it ain’t so Jojo. If you want to read more about the uncanny similarities between the two fictions, you can check out this article.
Mind you, it is buzz feed news. I guess the best way to determine if there’s any merit to the plagiarism claim is to pick-up a copy of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. I loved Moyes latest enough to read it again. She definitely gives us some stars, five to be exact.