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SKYCTC Learning Commons

KY Reads @ SKYCTC

The purpose of this guide is to introduce you to KY Reads recommended books each year.

The Book Woman's Daughter

Join us as we read The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson in 2023-2024.

cover art for The Book Woman's DaughterIn the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. 

Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way.

If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.

About the Author

cover art author Kim Michele RichardsonBestselling author, Kim Michele Richardson has written five works of historical fiction, and a bestselling memoir. Her critically acclaimed novel, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a recommended read by Dolly Parton and has earned a 2020 PBS Readers Choice, 2019 LibraryReads Best Book, Indie Next, SIBA, Forbes Best Historical Novel, Book-A-Million Best Fiction, and is an Oprah's Buzziest Books pick and a Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads selection. It was inspired by the remarkable "blue people" of Kentucky, and the fierce, brave Packhorse Librarians who used the power of literacy to overcome bigotry and fear during the Great Depression. The novel is taught widely in high schools and college classrooms and has been adopted as a Common Read selection by states, cities, and universities across the country and abroad. Her latest novel, The Book Woman’s Daughter, an instant NYT and USA TODAY’s bestseller is both a stand-alone and sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Kim Michele lives with her family in Kentucky.

Click here to go to the official website for Kim Michele Richardson

Book Trailer: The Book Woman's Daughter

Reading Strategies for The Book Woman's Daughter

The Book Woman's Daughter Book Reviews

Books by Kim Michele Richardson

Kentucky History Channel Interview with Kim Michele Richardson

Related Resources: The Pack Horse Librarians of Appalachia (PBS)