2020ucfstereads

The Giver of Stars: A Novel | Jojo Moyes

#2020UCFSTEREADS Welcome to the STE Book Club! If you‘re new to Litsy simply refer back to this post or the hashtag above to see what we are saying about the book. If you post, you just use the hashtag so that we can see what you‘ve said. You should follow each member once they post. We will formally begin on Monday, January 13th and plan to read the prologue, chapters 1 and 2 (43 pages) by January 24. If you finish early, post.

DrSpalding If you don‘t want a spoiler, don‘t read the posts until you have finished the reading! What a great way to begin 2020! Happy Reading! ❤️📚 5y

Ehoffman Looking forward to it!! 5y

DrSpalding Me too! 5y

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martyhop I just got the book! Looks great. 5y

DrSpalding Tomorrow, the reading officially begins! I hope you have your books! Let‘s go! ❤️📚 5y

DrSpalding @martyhop ❤️📚 5y

DrSpalding @Mkelley ❤️📚 5y

Ehoffman So I‘m really liking Margery O‘Hare! I want to be more like her. 😉 5y

DrSpalding I have finished the prologue and am already to chapter 3! Margery seems to be just what Alice needed. It doesn‘t seem like her “leap of faith” marrying an American is working out like she thought. My mom was British and married my American father. I have many connections. The idea of delivering books via horseback is so interesting. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horse-riding-librarians-were-great-depres... ❤️📚 5y

DrSpalding @anakenn @twenzel you two are reading with us right? 5y

anakenn Yes. I‘ll be commenting soon! 5y

CherylVDM I've finished the first two chapters and am really liking the way the author is developing Marjorie's character as what appears to be a strong, resilient woman.
I feel like Alice is rethinking her decision to go on the “grand adventure“ and marry an American. I'm not quite sure if she got “more“ or “less“ than what she bargained for...
Did the Prologue make anyone feel uncomfortable and worried for Marjorie or was that just me? 5y

DrSpalding Yes!!! Sadly I think it was foreshadowing for tragic events to come!😕 5y

martyhop I have two thoughts to share this morning. First...I was a very reluctant reader growing up, not understanding why anyone would choose to do something so difficult as reading when they could be outside playing. Obviously, I‘ve changes a bit over the years, but while reading the prologue I thought, “Now, that‘s a great use for a book!” 🙂 5y

martyhop Oops...hit send...my second thought...I know the book is basically about Alice and Margery and the WPA project, but I‘m wondering about Bailey. Specifically, if Margery‘s influence on Alice will extend to helping Bailey deal with his abusive father, i.e., to become at home the person that Alice fell in love with in Britain. Just a thought. 5y

DrSpalding It seems Alice was never accepted by her family and was considered unruly. Margery is the same! I do believe she will help her come into her own; not necessarily closer to Bennet. 5y

DrSpalding #2020UCFSTEREADS 5y

martyhop Good point... (and thanks for the name correction) it will be interesting to see how/if the author further develops the male characters throughout the book. The optimist in me hopes that as women come into their own, men will appreciate ...and even embrace...the change. 5y

DrSpalding Let‘s talk about why Alice married Bennett. What kind of life did she expect in America? And how did it compare to her reality? #2020UCFSTEREADS 5y

Ehoffman I think she married Bennett as an escape. She may not have viewed it that way at the time, but realizes it later in the story. She definitely expected the “fairytale” life in America and was sorely disappointed in what her life became, but being a strong woman, she is trying to make a life for herself at the library. We‘ll see how it works out for her.... #2020UCFSTEREADS 5y

DrSpalding I agree Liz! She never seemed to live up to her parents‘ expectations and I believe she thought, moving to the states would improve all aspects of her life. She only had thoughts of living in the city and had no idea of what rural life encompassed. I think she came with strength and then that strength was bolstered by her friendships with the other women in the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky group.🐴 #2020UCFSTEREADS 5y

martyhop I agree with BOTH of you! But then that makes me ask why Bennet married Alice. He certainly hasn‘t turned out to be much of a husband. Do you think it was his father‘s idea? His dad did seem to be quite impressed with English royalty. 5y

DrSpalding I think you are correct Marty. It looked good for him to marry her however it seems that his affection lies with someone else… Maybe? 5y

CherylVDM I am disappointed in Bennett and his father. They are both toxic. 5y

DrSpalding I agree @CherylVDM. He is the definition of a hypocrite!🤯 5y

martyhop Anyone else troubled by the similarities of society in the 30s and 40s to now?...intolerance/fear of “other”; expectations of women‘s roles; bullying; power of wealth... And I thought we‘d come so far. 😕 5y

DrSpalding I could not agree more. There were many times I thought, wow this sounds like issues we are still having today ...literally 90 years later! 5y

KarriW I am enjoying your comments. I am sorry that I am just now joining the conversation. I hadn't really thought about Bennett; I've been too worried about Alice. That scene in the Prologue has had me on edge since the beginning - just wondering when we will move back into what happens after that event. I do love the focus on books and importance of reading. Thinking that too has a message for today; too many people are not reading. 5y

KarriW This is not about this book....but I'm so excited that Mildred D. Taylor has a new book - that is the final book in the Logan family series: All the Days Past, All the Days to Come. I read the first few pages and was hooked. If you have never read “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry“, I recommend it - though it is a tough book because of the many truths. I can tell that the new one will be similar. 5y

KarriW Also excited about “The Undefeated“ (Kwame Alexander and Kadir Nelson) winning Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor and Coretta S. King illustrator award. (Sorry for the advertising break.... now back to “The Giver of Stars“. 5y

DrSpalding I watched the live webcast in the CMC with Amy! I love Kwame and was excited he won. Have you read The New Kid? It‘s the first graphic novel EVER to win the Newbery! 5y

DrSpalding We are very close to finishing up our book! Let‘s continue to book chat. In the 1930s there was a power imbalance between men and women—with men viewing women as beneath them. Let‘s talk about how the main characters all eventually rose above that and proved the men wrong. 5y

CherylVDM I‘ve finished the book. I really enjoyed it. The characters we very believable. It made me angry to think about women (black and white) and children were treated during this time period in our history. The men in power then, just like now, knew that knowledge is power and once you share a book you open an entire world of possibilities. I did like the irony of Clem‘s death being attributed to a hard bound copy of “Little Women” 5y

DrSpalding I agree @CherylVDM about how sad and mad I felt reading about the many injustices put upon the children and adults, black, white and blue! I had never heard of the blues and was forced to look it up. So interesting! While the part regarding her medical sessions was scary, the research lead to a better understanding of the condition! #2020ucfstereads 5y

martyhop Oops, lee-Anne, I think the blues were in The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek....but the injustice is the key to both books. 5y

DrSpalding You are right Marty! 🤣If anyone wants to read a complementary book… See Marty‘s post. Good one! 5y

KarriW I really enjoyed this book. Somewhere after ch. 8 I reached the “cant wait to get back to reading the book” stage. When it ended, I missed the characters. I wanted to follow them to next parts of their lives. I like the implied commentary about how women were treated. I liked the weaving of events into the plot - how event in prologue became key to plot - and then Bennett sharing info with Alice in store that led to solution. 5y

DrSpalding So happy to hear you enjoyed it Karri. Yes, excellent characters that you become attached to and wish you could follow them. I have really admired Eleanor Roosevelt ever since I read Dead End in Norvelt, the autobiographical novel by the American author Jack Gantos (Newbery winner 2012). The fact that she wanted books delivered to enhance society....we need to go back!❤️📚 5y

martyhop Amen! 5y

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