The Giver of Stars: Reese's Book Club (A Novel) (Random House Large Print)

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

“A great narrative about personal strength and really captures how books bring communities together.” —Reese Witherspoon

From the author of the forthcoming Someone Else’s Shoes, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice's greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who's never asked a man's permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them--and to the men they love--becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.

Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic--a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

Jojo Moyes is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Giver of Stars, Me Before You, After You, Still Me, Paris for One and Other Stories, One Plus One, The Girl You Left Behind, The Last Letter from Your Lover, Horse Dancer, Silver Bay, The Ship of Brides, and The Peacock Emporium. She lives with her husband and three children in Essex, England.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes is a warm, moving historical novel set in rural Kentucky during the late 1930s, following a group of remarkable women who become traveling librarians in the mountains as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s Packhorse Library Project. At the heart of the story is Alice Wright, a young Englishwoman who marries Bennett Van Cleve and moves from her stifling life in England to what she imagines will be an exciting new beginning in America. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a different kind of prison: a small, conservative town where her eccentricities, accent, and longing for freedom make her an outsider, and where her overbearing father-in-law, Mr. Van Cleve, rules both his house and the local community with rigid, controlling authority. Alice’s marriage is cold and disappointing, and the small town’s expectations of her as a polite, quiet wife leave her feeling lonely and suffocated.

Her life changes when a local initiative begins: the creation of a packhorse library to deliver books to isolated families scattered across the hills and hollows. The project needs women willing to ride long, dangerous routes with saddle bags full of books, and Alice, desperate for purpose and independence, volunteers. That decision brings her into contact with Margery O’Hare, the fiercely independent, rough-edged woman who leads the library. Margery is everything the town disapproves of: she is unmarried, lives on her own, speaks her mind, and refuses to bow to men or social rules. She is also brave, compassionate, and deeply committed to bringing reading and knowledge to people who’ve never had access to them. At first, Alice and Margery seem like opposites—Alice is timid and unsure, Margery is bold and stubborn—but the shared work and the harsh beauty of the mountains gradually draw them together.

As they ride through the hills delivering books, the librarians—Alice, Margery, and other women like Beth, Izzy, and Kathleen—begin to form a tight-knit bond. The job is hard and often dangerous: they travel in all weather, crossing icy streams, climbing rough paths, facing threats from wild animals and occasionally hostile men who resent outsiders or fear change. But they also witness firsthand the transformative power of stories. Families who can barely read begin to look forward to the visits, children wait eagerly for picture books, women cherish moments of escape in romances or Bible stories, and men quietly absorb information on farming or mining that can help them in practical ways. Books become more than paper and ink; they become bridges between people, sources of comfort, and tools for dignity. This mission gives the librarians a sense of meaning, and they start to see themselves not just as delivery women, but as carriers of hope.

The novel also explores the social constraints and judgments of the time. Margery’s reputation is constantly questioned because she rejects conventional expectations and carries the stigma of her late father’s violent past. The town sees her as trouble, and Mr. Van Cleve, who despises the packhorse library, goes out of his way to paint her as immoral and dangerous. Alice, meanwhile, faces criticism for being “foreign,” for riding out alone, and for daring to spend time with people considered beneath the Van Cleve family. Her mother-in-law is nervous, her husband is weak and easily influenced by his father, and the community’s gossip turns her choices into scandal. While the library project is officially supported by the government, locally it becomes a lightning rod for arguments about women’s roles, class, religion, and power.

Romance and personal growth are woven through the story. Alice, trapped in a loveless marriage with Bennett, slowly realizes that she wants more than quiet misery and polite dinners. Her growing friendship with Margery helps her be braver, and she begins to see that she doesn’t have to accept the narrow life her husband and his father have planned for her. Along the way, she develops feelings for someone who truly sees and respects her—Fred Guisler, a kind, steady man who supports the library and offers practical help without trying to control her. Their relationship builds gently, through shared work and quiet moments, and stands in direct contrast to the suffocating dynamic in the Van Cleve household. For Margery, too, love appears in unexpected ways. She has long lived on her own, stubbornly independent, but her connection to Sven, a gentle miner who cares deeply for her, challenges her belief that leaning on someone else always means losing herself.

Conflict escalates when tragedy and tension collide. A serious incident in the town becomes a turning point: a woman dies under circumstances tied to the strict moral judgments and repressive attitudes of the community, and Margery finds herself at the center of a scandal and legal battle that threatens everything. Mr. Van Cleve, already furious about the library’s influence and the women’s independence, seizes the chance to blame Margery and the project, stirring up fear and anger to protect his own interests. The librarians’ work, once seen as a modest charity, is attacked as dangerous and corrupting. Rumors fly, loyalties are tested, and the town divides along lines of class, gender, and faith. Margery is forced to fight not only for her freedom but for the idea that women like her—and Alice—have the right to live and work outside strict domestic roles.

Through these trials, the bonds between the women grow even stronger. Alice, who began as a nervous outsider, finds her voice and courage as she stands by Margery and the library. Beth, Izzy, and the others each bring their own strengths: practical skills, quiet resilience, sharp humor. Together, they represent different ways women can be strong in a world that often tries to weaken them. The community’s response to the library slowly shifts as ordinary people recognize how much they rely on the books and the women who bring them. Some men and church leaders remain hostile, but others, especially those in the remote hills, quietly side with the librarians, offering shelter, testimony, and solidarity that become vital as the story reaches its climax.

By the end of The Giver of Stars, the women have faced loss, danger, and injustice, but they have also carved out a place for themselves and for the library in the heart of their community. Alice has transformed from a lonely bride into a woman who believes in her own worth and choices, willing to defy expectations to live a life filled with purpose and love. Margery remains fierce and uncompromising but allows herself to be loved and supported, showing that independence and connection can coexist. The packhorse library itself stands as a symbol of what stories can do: books have traveled across dangerous terrain to reach people who had almost nothing, and in the process they’ve helped build friendships, challenge prejudices, and open minds. The novel closes with a sense of hard-won hope. It celebrates ordinary women doing extraordinary things, riding out under open skies with books in their saddlebags and determination in their hearts, proving that knowledge and courage can slowly change even the most stubborn corners of the world.