In which scenarios did you see these dynamics play out, and between which characters?Ħ. The novel features families from vastly different backgrounds, and one of the central issues in the book is that of class inequality. Which of these moments struck you most intensely? Did you ever wish a character had taken action when she hadn’t? If so, when, and what could she have done different?ĥ. Yet throughout the book, most of the women do have their moments of agency. Margery is the unofficial leader of the librarians and Alice eventually inherits that role when Margery is jailed. Moyes has said she wanted to write a book about women who had agency and who actually did something worthwhile, rather than simply existing in a romantic or domestic plotline. Why do you think Moyes chose to focus on these topics?Ĥ. Literacy and censorship are significant issues in The Giver of Stars, issues that affect the women of the novel very differently from the men. Have you ever moved to a distinctly different location? What was that transition like? How did you adapt?ģ. She grew up in a rarefied world in England, so the change to 'unremarkable' Baileyville proved quite the shock to her system. Alice, a Brit, is an outsider, but eventually acclimates to her new home in Appalachia, and even falls in love with her new home. Did the characters and sense of place feel authentic to you?Ģ. While writing and researching The Giver of Stars, author Jojo Moyes visited Kentucky several times, stayed in a tiny cabin on the side of a mountain, rode horses along the trails, and met the people of Kentucky.

Jojo moyes the giver of stars