JoJo Moyes' THE GIVER of STARS - Don't Take It

THE GIVER of STARS stole my precious time. It wasn't worth the read.  Written by JoJo Moyes (b UK 1970) is a popular romance novelist and screenwriter.  Her novel ME before YOU (2012) was made it into a film.  It was a love story but it also examined the topic of euthanasia from various points of views with intelligence & heart.  THE GIVER of STARS is about a fictitious group of misfit women in rural KY during the 1930s.  This motley mix of formidable women band as librarians distributing books via horseback to those who would otherwise not have accessibility. Ironically, our heroine Alice is from the UK.  Alice is swept away quite literally by a handsome American, Bennett.  Alice & Bennet marry shortly after meeting & she returns to the US and the KY home of Bennet & his father George Van Cleve.  This is an ill-fated romance; not the true love stories within this podunk town saddled with stereotyped McCoy & Hatfield characters.  There's the ne'erdowell villain, George Van Cleve, who owns the local mine and has his hand in running the town and the people in it.  There are valiant, steadfast men, courageous female mavericks and a cast of moonshine drinking hillbillies.   Alice won't abide abuse from her father-in-law & neglect from her husband.  She leaves the Van Cleve household and moves in with Margery.  Margery is the strong leader of the ragtag group of women working with the library.   During the Depression Eleanor Roosevelt funded a program known as the Pack Horse Library Project to reach remote rural areas in the Appalachian region.  Historic tales of women who rode out on horseback to promote literacy is an intriguing premise to build upon.  The growing friendship & fortitude of these women is what drove a steadfast story.  Also worth noting was the pillage of the land & hardships for the miners & a subplot of racial segregation.  Unfortunately, THE GIVER of STARS was mired in sledge by sappy love stories, a trumped up trial and detritus of cartoonish or incredulous characters.  The story might work rewritten for young adults minus the sappy romances with a focus on the quotidian of lives & hardships during this epoch.   I don't recommend wasting time on Moyes' novel.  It's a Reese Witherspoon book club selection.  Keep in mind Reese selects with her eye on being given a role in making or starring in the forthcoming film.  Having said this, Reese's pieces are treats for the masses and not enticing for the literary asses.