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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Books have the power to change lives and nowhere is this more true than the story of 19-year-old Cussy Carter, an Appalachian woman who joins the Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and delivers books to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky. She's also the last living female with Blue People ancestry, all of whom had a skin condition called methemoglobinemia, which really did turn their skin blue. Inspired by real history and set in 1936, this is a story of hope and heartbreak and how fierce determination can challenge the grasp of poverty and oppression.
About the Book
An Oprah’s Buzziest Books Pick for May
Indie Next Pick
LibraryReads Pick
Southern Independent Book Alliance SIBA Spring OKRA PICK
“…a hauntingly atmospheric love letter to the first mobile library in Kentucky and the fierce, brave packhorse librarians who wove their way from shack to shack dispensing literacy, hope, and ― just as importantly ― a compassionate human connection.”―Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants
The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything―everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt’s Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome’s got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy’s not only a book woman, however, she’s also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy’s family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble.
If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she’s going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler.
Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman’s belief that books can carry us anywhere―even back home.
Additional Praise for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek:
“A unique story about Appalachia and the healing power of the written word.”―Kirkus
“A timeless and significant tale about poverty, intolerance and how books can bring hope and light to even the darkest pocket of history.”―Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Liar Temptress Soldier Spy
“Emotionally resonant and unforgettable, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a lush love letter to the redemptive power of books.”―Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Almost Sisters
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