Shall I start with the comparison of the two historical fiction novels? Hard not to compare them since they are pretty similar. They both use the backdrop of the Pack Horse Library in which to set their stories.
I think I'll start with the biggest differences first. To me, The Giver of Stars is primarily a story about friendship and about overcoming odds. The romance got a bit schmaltzy at times, but I enjoy Moyes straightforward writing style. And since it was the first of the two that I read, I got to learn about the (mostly) women who drove all over Appalachia delivering books to communities that wouldn't have had access any other way. So that's The Giver of Stars. The main storyline of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was about skin color. Notice how I didn't say "race"? The main character in Book Woman is Cussy Mary, also called "Bluet," one of the blue-skinned people from Kentucky. People afflicted with an enzyme deficiency can have blue skin. In the 1930s in Kentucky (and I'd imagine a while afterwards), those with blue skin were lumped with "the coloreds." This is a big part of the story. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is almost a coming-of-age story about what it was like for Cussy Mark to reach adulthood as someone with blue skin.
I think I'll start with the biggest differences first. To me, The Giver of Stars is primarily a story about friendship and about overcoming odds. The romance got a bit schmaltzy at times, but I enjoy Moyes straightforward writing style. And since it was the first of the two that I read, I got to learn about the (mostly) women who drove all over Appalachia delivering books to communities that wouldn't have had access any other way. So that's The Giver of Stars. The main storyline of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was about skin color. Notice how I didn't say "race"? The main character in Book Woman is Cussy Mary, also called "Bluet," one of the blue-skinned people from Kentucky. People afflicted with an enzyme deficiency can have blue skin. In the 1930s in Kentucky (and I'd imagine a while afterwards), those with blue skin were lumped with "the coloreds." This is a big part of the story. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is almost a coming-of-age story about what it was like for Cussy Mark to reach adulthood as someone with blue skin.
The biggest similarity is that in both historical fiction novels the main characters are book women and have a love of books and words.
As soon as The Giver of Stars was released, there were accusations of plagiarism. That Jojo Moyes had copied many of the ideas from Kim Michele Richardson. I don't know if that's true, and I don't recall anything strikingly similar between the two plots. I would imagine that the similarities exist in description of the Pack Horse Librarians, but I can't be sure.
As soon as The Giver of Stars was released, there were accusations of plagiarism. That Jojo Moyes had copied many of the ideas from Kim Michele Richardson. I don't know if that's true, and I don't recall anything strikingly similar between the two plots. I would imagine that the similarities exist in description of the Pack Horse Librarians, but I can't be sure.
Richardson's language is a little richer and probably more fitting with the time during which the novel is set. Sometimes that language slowed me down a little, but not in any terrible way.
I gave both novels 4-stars on goodreads. That was a rounding up for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, but a solid 4-stars for The Giver of Stars. Which is not to say that I liked the latter much more than the former. I just found Moyes a bit easier and quicker to read, and I love stories about women's friendships and second chances a bit more than coming of age stories at this point in my life.
You can't go wrong with either novel.
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