Ooh, this was so wonderful!

I read "The Librarian of Boone's Hollow" by Kim Vogel Sawyer now, since I recently read "A Strand of Hope" by Amanda Tero, and am reading the other books in the Librarians of Willow Hollow Series which has sparked a keen interest in the horseback librarians.

At a harsh time in history, The Great Depression impacted most of the world, and it is not something I have researched all that much, aside from a few books that mentioned it (yes, they normally ended up taking place during WWII as well...)

This novel has a strong message of how to treat others, I fell in love with the town of Boone's Hollow and the citizens' stories.

Mentions of physical abuse.

I voluntarily received and reviewed a complimentary e/copy of this book which I received from the author/publisher/review company. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. ( )

While the nation struggles to recover during the Great Depression, Addie must leave college just before the end of her junior year and find a job. At the same time, Emmett has just received a degree, but is learning that not many positions are open for a man with his education. Both end up in the small village of Boone's Hollow--Emmett to look for any work he can get in or near the village where he grew up, and Addie to start a job as a packhorse librarian for a program that aims both to give people jobs during this difficult time and to get books into the hands of poor families in the hills. Though they both have grand plans for their future, both must take whatever work they can find. The people who live in the area, though, hold a lot of prejudices that turn into trouble for both Addie and Emmett. Will bigotry and sabotage ruin both of their chances at making their own way?

There's a lot to try to put into the synopsis for this book, and I always prefer to keep it to one paragraph, so my blurb above doesn't do the book justice. And while for some books, having so much going on can lead to a convoluted story, it all worked together so well in this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the plots that threaded together, the characters, and the ending to all of those different storylines.

One of the the things that I loved most about this book was that every victory was hard-fought. Nothing just happened because the author said so, characters and their reactions were real, and the outcomes were believable. I also liked that, though there was a romance sub-plot, everything didn't hinge around it, and obvious, over-done cliches weren't forced into the plot in order to make the romance "interesting." It was exact kind of subtle, sweet, clean romance that I love.

When I first realized that the story was going to be told from so many perspectives (4 total, if I'm remembering correctly), I thought it would start to bother me. But it never did, and the author did a great job of making each character's narration feel like that person. Yes, some were similar to each other, but I was never confused, and really, it was interesting to get the little extra perspective from a few of the smaller characters (comparatively).

By the end of this book, I was really caught up in the stories. The themes presented throughout culminated in one really touching scene that made my eyes a little misty. The faith portrayed was the perfect balance of being woven throughout the story without being so in-your-face. It's shown most in both of the main characters' mothers, as witnessed by their children, and I loved that. "Look for the blessings," "kill them with kindness," using love and kindness to drive away hatred, all of these things were infused in the words, and it's a lesson I learned right along with the characters. In case it's not obvious, I highly recommend this book to any fans of Christian and/or historical fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook & Multnomah for providing me a copy of this book to review. ( )

Oh to read a Christian fiction book that actually didn't suck. Not that my latest forays have sucked you understand. But my thoughts on Kingsbury's latest efforts have been highly documented....or documented here on Goodreads anyway ;)

But seriously. I enjoyed this book from Kim Vogel Sawyer immensely. So much so I will try additional title by her. But I LOVED the storyline of Addie who goes to work as a horseback librarian in the mountains of Kentucky. A very backwoodsy community, Addie is thrown for a loop in Boone's Hollow. The prejudice of others, the suspicions they have towards individuals who are different from them, a community who has been hard hit by the Great Depression, illiteracy runs rampant. Addie is not prepared for the world she has walked into but it is a world that gains her heart.

The additional characters in the story are exceptional. You have Emmett who has returned to his hometown with a college degree and yet, is unable to use it. You have Bettina, a young woman from Boone's Hollow who is abused by her father, wants to court Emmett, and feels threatened by Addie. You have Nanny Fay, the woman who lives in the mountains and everyone believes she is a witch.....lives intersect in a way I did not fully anticipate (or didn't until I was given all the storyline).

Perhaps it is because this was historical fiction and NOT realistic fiction. Maybe that is why I liked it a lot. Perhaps it is because I am a librarian myself. I mean, come on, it bears many similarities to JoJo Moyes's "The Giver of Stars" (a book I REALLY enjoyed). Books such as this are bringing travelling librarians into the limelight. It is a part of history that I really enjoy hearing about due to the personal connection. I need to read about the WPA program during this time and other travelling librarians in other areas of the US. And that is what a book should do...it should make me want more....and not throw it across the room as other Christian fiction has made me do. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and almost everything this author writes. She shifts around in the third person point of view of most of the main characters.
I suppose I liked Nanny Fay the most because she didn't care what people believed in her and just concentrated on her relationship with the Lord. I'm glad that Addie and myself got to know her. ( )

I don't read a lot of this genre (Christian, historical, romance) but it's well-written and it was a fun, fast, summer read. The over-arching Christian message of "do good to them that hate you" is a reminder I needed. Historically, I learned about something new -- library programs to under-served populations during the depression. The romance was predictable but I enjoyed it. ( )