The Book Woman's Daughter
A Novel
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4.4 • 505 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
"A powerful portrait of the courageous women who fought against ignorance, misogyny, and racial prejudice." —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of This Tender Land and Lightning Strike
The new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek!
Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free.
In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.
Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way.
If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.
Praise for The Book Woman's Daughter:
"In Kim Michele Richardson's beautifully and authentically rendered The Book Woman's Daughter she once again paints a stunning portrait of the raw, somber beauty of Appalachia, the strong resolve of remarkable women living in a world dominated by men, and the power of books and sisterhood to prevail in the harshest circumstances. A critical and profoundly important read for our time. Badassery womanhood at its best!"—Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants
"Fierce, beautiful and inspirational, Kim Michele Richardson has created a powerful tale about brave extraordinary heroines who are downright haunting and unforgettable."—Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author (as Karen Abbott) of The Ghosts of Eden Park
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This moving historical drama is a tribute to the power of finding community. Life in 1950s Appalachia is already hard for 15-year-old Honey Lovett. Her mother, Cussy, faces discrimination for a rare genetic trait that tints her skin blue, and things get worse when Honey’s Blue mother and white father are jailed for violating miscegenation laws. But this courageous teen won’t go quietly to state-mandated reform school. Instead, she seeks refuge with Cussy’s fearless friends in Troublesome Creek, taking over her mother’s post as packhorse librarian and delivering books to the isolated rural people who need them most. We were enraptured reading this inspiring story of women standing together against prejudice, misogyny, and violence. The sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which followed a younger Cussy’s story, reminds us of the importance of having a solid community.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this earnest follow-up to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, Richardson focuses on 16-year-old Honey Lovett, the daughter of Cussy Mary Lovett, the woman with blue skin whose work for the Pack Horse Library during the 1930s featured in the first installment. Cussy married Jackson Lovett, a white man, and Honey, who inherited an easily concealable version of Cussy's methemoglobinemia, fends for herself now that her parents have been imprisoned for miscegenation. It's 1953, and sympathetic friends help keep Honey out of the Kentucky House of Reform, which is bent on holding her until she's 21. As an effort to achieve her independence, she takes up the traveling librarian job once held by her mother, even riding the same faithful mule, Junia. She also convinces lawyer Bob Morgan to represent her in a bid for legal emancipation, culminating in a climactic courtroom scene complete with damaging testimony from a racist social worker and a misogynist sheriff. Though the story of Honey's struggle for freedom is a bit formulaic, Richardson excels in her descriptions of the people and places of rural Kentucky. Fans will be delighted to find Cussy's daughter is just as plucky as her mother.
Customer Reviews
A great and inspiring historical read!
This is a book that tells the Appalachian story. People who harness determination and strength to secure a future in a hard land, under harsh circumstances, but with a ready spirit.
The Book Woman’s Daughter
Excellent read and could not put it down. Such strong social commentary for women’s rights
The Bookwoman’s Daughter
Excellent story about a time and movement to help people in the hollers of Kentucky have access to books. I had heard of blue people, but not the mistreatment and laws against them. Very inspiring historical fiction.