by Kim Michele Richardson, 2019
Wonderful book recommended by neighbor, Pat. Historical fiction, 1930s, a “Blue” horse pack librarian (Cussy Mary), who faces hardship, tragedy, racism, but finds true love in the Kentucky mountains. There were really blue-skinned people, who had congenital methemoglobinemia, but were considered “coloreds” and discriminated against. This is a fictional account of one who was a beloved pack horse librarian, bringing books to the rural poor throughout her Kentucky mountains.
She lives with her Pa, a miner, also a “Blue.” His aim is to get her married before he dies. His first try is to a malicious, evil man – Charlie Frazier. He abuses her and dies of a heart attack. His brother, an evil preacher, then stalks her – wanting to rid her of her evilness by raping her. Her Pa rescues her but kills him. The Doc, a kindly man, keeps their secret as long as he can experiment on Cussy Mary – take her blood, skin samples, etc. He discovers a cure but it has horrible side effects, and even while white, Cussy Mary is still discriminated against by the small-minded, prejudiced white-folks in town.
In the end, she marries Jackson Lovett, a knight-in-shining-armor, who loves her despite her blue skin. The book doesn’t end at their story-book wedding, however. The sheriff arrests Jackson for interracial marriage and Jackson ends up in prison.
Small-minded, prejudiced white people, especially supposedly God-fearing ones, are the bane of the South.
Loved this book–authentic characters and setting and very well-written. This book is similar to The Giver of Stars, by Jojo Moyes, published in October 2019. This one was published in May of 2019. I liked this one better because it brought in the blue-skinned people, whom I had never heard of before.