By Kim Michele Richardson
Copyright: 2019
Pages: 320
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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson is a historical novel set in the 1930’s and 1940’s in the rural hill country of Kentucky. It is centered around Cussy Mary Carter, a librarian with the Pack Horse Library Project that was established within the WPA (Work Progress Administration) program created by President Roosevelt. Cussy Mary’s job as librarian is to deliver books to people in the rural areas. Although she loves the work she is shunned by some in the community due to the color of her skin. She is blue. She inherited a rare condition called methemoglobinemia which causes the skin to be blue. Despite her circumstances, Cussy Mary presses on to complete her library route, and we learn about the lives of the people she delivers books to. One can’t help but admire Cussy Mary and cry along with her over the injustices she is subjected to such as a forced marriage, starvation and prejudice; and share in her joy as she selects books the people on her route will enjoy reading while helping them to survive, along with herself, in the depression years. If you love to read and love history, this will be a book you will want to read for sure.