The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Summary:

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, KY, lives blue-skinned 19-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry.

The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.

Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)

Review:

The thing that is so interesting about this book is that blue-skinned people are a real part of US history that few people seemed to know about.  The depiction of the time, place, and people show both the best and worst of people that existed then, and sadly now.  Setting aside the racism against blue people, the book also prompted me to research ‘book women’ and this element of history that was also fascinating.  Having family in West Virginia I spent much of the book envisioning the mountains and challenges that life in the early 1900’s would have similarly posed.

Many elements of this book were a slow build, but it worked given how immersive it was to read.  There are so many pieces that were heartbreaking, but well worth the time and effort to pick it up.  It looks like a sequel came out and I certainly would consider picking that one up as well.

Warning: Contains attempted sexual assaults.

Rating: 4 stars!

Who should read it? Folks intrigued by a very odd lesser-known piece of US history.