"The giver of stars" by Jojo Moyes: Review:

“There is always a way out of a situation. Might be ugly. Might leave you feeling like the earth had gone and shifted under your feet. But there is always a way around.”

The giver of stars, my first novel from the British author “Jojo Moyes”. I always wanted to discover her work, she’s well known for her best-seller “Me before you”, but I didn’t want it to be my first novel of hers, since I already know the story and watched the film, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to read it :D

Alice married the handsome American Bennet Van Cleve, thinking that she will run away from her suffocating life in England. She found herself living in a small town in Kentucky, staying in a big house all day, and supporting her unpleasing step-father. But when she had that single opportunity to leave the house and work, she didn’t hesitate. Indeed, she worked in a travelling horseback library, created by Eleanor Roosevelt back in 1930. The library’s boss is Margery O’Hare, a woman whose convictions don’t suit Kentucky’s mentality. She doesn’t care about what others gossip about her, she does whatever she wants to do, and most of all, she doesn’t ask any men for permission. Margery and Alice will soon be joined by 3 other women, and all of them will be running the library, trying to give books to people, especially those from a low socio-economic level.

But, Mr Van Cleve, Alice’s step-father, doesn’t approve her job, nor her friendship with Margery. And when Alice escaped his house, and didn’t want to stay with her husband, Mr Van Cleve does everything in his power to bring her back, and shut down the library, claiming that it’s a source of shame for their little town.

I’m so happy that I’ve picked up this novel, I loved it. I’m not a big fan of historical fictions, but when it deals with an important subject, like feminism, I’m all about it! Jojo Moyes's pen is very easy and fluid to read, and her style is so beautiful. The story is so catching, and it’s a kind of similar to “Las chicas del cable” or “Cable girls”, a Spanish series, where 4 women works in the same phone company to be independent. That was the main purpose of this novel, how it was difficult being a woman in 1930 in Kentucky, dealing with all the prejudices and the gender inequality, something that didn’t disappear even in the 21st century. Considering myself a feminist, the story of Alice, Margery, Beth, Sofia and Izzy affected me in every way possible, but reading about their friendship, or sorry, their sisterhood, made me believe more that if we want to achieve gender equality, respecting women, sexual harassment, and ban all the prejudices and the sexist comments we endure every time, we should do it together. These 5 strong, independent, badass women made me believe in women power! And the fact that these women work in a library, made the history more beautiful :D

It’s definitely one of my favorite reads of 2021!