The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
By: Kim Michele Richardson
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Assistant
Genre: Historical Fiction
Suggested Age: Adult, Teen
What is This Book About? This book combines two historical anecdotes of Depression era Kentucky: the Pack Horse Library Project and the blue people of Troublesome Creek. With an ailing, coal-miner father and few prospects for a husband, Cussy Mary Carter, also called Bluet, is a nineteen-year-old who holds her own as a Pack Horse Librarian and one of the last blue people of Kentucky. She is proud of her library work, providing reading materials to the isolated and desperately poor inhabitants of eastern Kentucky in 1936. Despite the treacherous trails on her route through the hill country, Cussy Mary navigates a world filled with dangers and struggles…some because of her work and some because of her blue skin.
My Review: I listened to the e-audiobook available on hoopla and would definitely recommend it. The vivid, descriptive writing stood out immediately when I began listening to this book. Richardson has done a masterful job of drawing a picture for the imagination to render. I found the story to be interesting and engaging. Although it is a purely fictional account, both the Pack Horse Librarians and the blue people of Troublesome Creek were real. The author’s note at the end provides more factual context for both. Cussy Mary’s book route introduces the reader to the wide diversity of hill folk and their stories; stories that are both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
*For anyone who needs a forewarning, there is a depiction of rape and the N-word in this book.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Unexpected, Gritty, Bittersweet
Give This a Try if You Like…The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes, The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate.
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.
