The Giver of Stars Book Club Kit

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes is the official January 2022 pick for the Peanut Blossom Book Club for Recovering Readers.

A copy of the book The GIver of Stars is on the table.

I love to kickstart a new year of book club with a bang. For our January pick, I always try to find a super popular bestselling novel that comes highly recommended by readers in our group.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes has been a title that consistently pops up on member favorite lists.

When I took a closer look and realized the story was about women delivering books as part of a traveling library in rural Kentucky, I couldn’t help but smile at the similarities to our group starting a new year of reading together.

Whether you’re a new member joining us for your first pick or a seasoned member of the group ready to start up our 8th year, I hope you love this January book club pick!

Peanut Blossom Book Club

This book club pick is one of the awesome books from our eighth year of book club.

We’re still going strong! Want to join us?

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What Is The Giver of Stars About?

“From the author of The Last Letter from Your Lover, now a major motion picture on Netflix, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America.

Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve, hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law. So when a call goes out for a team of women to deliver books as part of Eleanor Roosevelt’s new traveling library, Alice signs on enthusiastically.

The leader, and soon Alice’s greatest ally, is Margery, a smart-talking, self-sufficient woman who’s never asked a man’s permission for anything. They will be joined by three other singular women who become known as the Packhorse Librarians of Kentucky.

What happens to them–and to the men they love–becomes an unforgettable drama of loyalty, justice, humanity, and passion. These heroic women refuse to be cowed by men or by convention. And though they face all kinds of dangers in a landscape that is at times breathtakingly beautiful, at others brutal, they’re committed to their job: bringing books to people who have never had any, arming them with facts that will change their lives.”

Read the full description of the book here.

The Giver of Stars Discussion Questions

I believe the best book club questions to spark a lively discussion in your group help readers make personal connections to the story.

You can read about how to write the best book club questions on your own here, but hopefully these will get you started!

Question 1:

Alice, the main character, moves to a new home in Appalachia. As a Brit, this experience is wildly different for her. Have you ever moved somewhere completely new? How did you adjust?

Question 2:

Censorship is a predominant theme to this novel, how did the restriction of information affect the women in the story vs. the men?

Question 3:

The women have opportunities for real action in this story, sometimes they take it and sometimes they don’t. Were you ever frustrated by someone’s action or lack of action? How would you have behaved differently?

Question 4:

There are several moments where characters learn new information and it inspires great change in their lives. Which of these moments was your favorite to read? Have you ever experienced a life-altering piece of information?