Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

The story of Cussy Mary really drew me in, she was an extremely lovable and inspiring character.
The book is very informative, I learnt so much about the Pack Horse Library and blue people.
So many traumatic things happen at breakneck speed, it's incredibly emotionally affecting.
The audiobook narrator Katie Schoor was outstanding.

The writing style isn't very poetic and feels unsophisticated, it makes sense because the story is told in Cussy Mary's voice but it sometimes grated.
The plot is repetitive;

someone bullies or assaults Cussy and somebody else will turn up and save her.

There was some oppression olympics saying anti-blue sentiment was worse than racism which was really unnecessary.

I would recommend this book as I learnt a lot from it and I enjoyed the rollercoaster of emotions it put me through.

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courtsbooks's review

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challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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knkoch's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have mixed feelings on this one. I do think that stories about the impoverished, underserved communities in the Appalachian mountains aren't told enough. The miner's union and government outreach library program plots were interesting and informative. However, there was a high misery quotient here. And the depiction of the discrimination against the white main character (who has bluish skin due to an inherited medical condition) felt overdone, as if wanting to appropriate the experience of anti-black racism. It seems like a pack horse librarian's job was plenty interesting and challenging on its own without that added element. I guess it felt like the author was building on her considerable research into 1930s Kentucky and creating a plot with more wishful thinking and

highly specious romance

than I could buy into. I thought Demon Copperhead, set during the opiod crisis, was a more nuanced depiction of Appalachian communities and the entrenched issues they grapple with.

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samburkhouse's review

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I usually love historical fiction but this one took so long to get going that I struggled a lot at first. It didn’t really take off for me until about 100 pages in which is nearly halfway, and that’s why I didn’t rate it higher. The second half of the book kept me reading and I didn’t want to put it down. The historical aspects of the KY Pack Horse program and the blue people of Kentucky were fascinating as a native Kentuckian, especially because I had never heard of the former prior to reading this book. The story is sad and tells of the hardships of rural, Appalachian life in the 1930’s and 40’s with candor and grace. It definitely makes you appreciate the technological, medical, and social advancements we’ve made and just how hardy a people the folks from mining country truly are.

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