The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, KY, lives blue-skinned 19-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry. The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.


Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands.


My Review


I did like this book. The concept of Cussy aka Bluet known as the Book Lady, is what drew me to this book. I love that there were travelling librarians both women and men back in time bringing the love of literacy to all.

The beginning was a bit rough for me. I struggled to find that connection with the characters and storyline. This is because it started out slow for me. It did eventually pick up momentum as the story progressed.

Bluet could have stayed and let her father pick a husband for her to take care of her but she was not satisfied to just be a housewife. Bluet showed courage and strength. From the midway point of the story to the end was were the momentum was found. While, I did enjoy reading this book, I still never fully embraced the characters within the story. However, there were enough good things that I did like about this book to read another by this author.