When Works Progress Administration (WPA) editor Millie Lang finds herself on the wrong end of a potential political scandal, she’s shipped off to Montana to work on the state’s American Guide Series—travel books intended to put the nation’s destitute writers to work.
Millie arrives to an eclectic staff claiming their missed deadlines are due to sabotage, possibly from the state’s powerful Copper Kings who don’t want their long and bloody history with union organizers aired for the rest of the country to read. But Millie begins to suspect that the answer might instead lie with the town’s mysterious librarian, Alice Monroe.
More than a decade earlier, Alice Monroe created the Boxcar Library in order to deliver books to isolated mining towns where men longed for entertainment and connection. Alice thought she found the perfect librarian to staff the train car in Colette Durand, a miner’s daughter with a shotgun and too many secrets behind her eyes.
Now, no one in Missoula will tell Millie why both Alice and Colette went out on the inaugural journey of the Boxcar Library, but only Alice returned.
The three women’s stories dramatically converge in the search to uncover what someone is so desperately trying to what happened to Colette Durand.
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Where do I begin?
This book captures everything I love about historical fiction. It's a beautifully written story that I couldn't put down, and I will recommend it to my friends once it's released in March. As you probably know, any novel focused on books is a must-read for me. I've read a few historical fiction books about books, but this one was unlike the others. I wasn't even aware of Boxcar Library, at least not back then, and it was a fascinating story to read; I even found myself doing some research after finishing the book because I wanted to learn more about it. I was captivated from start to end; part of me didn't want the book to end. I loved learning about the library's history.
I loved that it took place in Montana. My grandparents used to live in Missoula, Montana, and I visited there several times and enjoyed reading about it. The descriptions were so detailed that I envisioned myself among Millie, Alice, and Colette in Montana. I enjoyed reading about each of the characters' views and different timelines. I enjoyed reading from each character's point of view, but Alice and Colette stood out the most for me. I was fascinated from the start about how the three characters would connect. I enjoyed reading their individual stories, but the way the characters intertwined flowed beautifully.
I could tell how much research went into this book, and I learned so much from reading the book. It started out a little slowly, but only during the character introductions. After that, I struggled to find a stopping point because so much was happening. The Boxcar Librarian is the second book by Brianna Labuskes that I have read, but I have a couple more on my list that I am eager to read! Now I want to read her thrillers. For any fan of historical fiction who enjoys books about books, I highly recommend this.
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