Highly Recommended

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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson was a very touching historical fiction novel about a woman, named Cussy, ostracized due to her blue skin. She defied societal restrictions, earning her independence delivering books on horseback to poverty stricken areas in Appalachia, Kentucky in the 1930s as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal education program.

There was so much to like about this story. There were well-developed, relatable characters; some of them touched this reader’s heart and some of them broke it. This was a substantial story that was engaging, heartwarming and heartbreaking. Cussy is a character I will long remember in the very best of ways. She was a character who could have been bitter and resentful due to her circumstances, but instead was tender, kind and brave. She may have lived in a small, provincial town, but she found a path for herself, despite significant personal risk, delivering books to poverty stricken, remote communities. The charming, quirky friends she met along the way, as well as the prejudice she encountered, positively impacted how she saw herself and the life that she lived.