For the Online Book Club find out more here! The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was published in May and tells the story of the packhorse librarians, a group of women that brought books to remote parts of the Kentucky Hills in the s. Her book, The Giver of Stars , also tells a fictionalized version of the packhorse librarians that served the Kentucky Hills in the s. Not only that, but there are many more similarities.
Additionally, both books include the introduction of a smart, strong, Black librarian who works at a local city library but agrees to help out the packhorse librarian project. Both women eventually leave to work at the local city library but stay in touch by writing letters to the girls back in the Kentucky Hills.
There are many similarities with the romances in the two stories, as well as many more examples. Check out this article done by Buzzfeed News to get more information about the overlaps.
Moyes stated in an interview that she first heard about the Pack Horse Library after coming across a Smithsonian article on the topic. She acted quickly, started researching more about the topic in hopes of writing a book on the topic before anybody else. When Richardson found out about the similarities between her book and The Giver of Stars , she brought the concerns of plagiarism to her publisher, Sourcebooks.
After looking into the findings, Sourcebooks legal team determined that no legal action was necessary. So, for now, no legal action has been taken, although Richardson has expressed the desire to pursue legal action on her own, provided she has the financial means to do so.
