When Alice follows her new husband Bennett to Kentucky from England, she expects her life to change for the better. With an oppressive father-in-law dictating her life, Alice quickly realizes that this life may not be what she wants. However, when she volunteers to help the Packhorse Librarians bring books to the rural parts of the mountain, Alice finds a group of women who help make her life in America better.

My feelings for The Giver of Stars are complicated. By the end of the book, I really liked it. I loved learning about the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky, even if the story is fictionalized. However, the first half of the book was too slow. The story does pick up about 60% of the way through but it takes commitment to get there.

After reading this book, I learned of the accusations of plagiarism against the author. Although I would need to read The Book Women of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson to fully form my own opinion, what I have seen so far is pretty alarming.