Along a Storied Trail

It seems that the latest "thing" in historical novels is the Depression Era Works Progress Administration horseback librarians.  Over the last year, I've read at least three novels describing the lives of these librarians, their hardships, their commitment to the goals, and the work that they do.  All of the authors bring a new viewpoint to the stories they are telling, but overall the plots are the same in some regards.  There is only so much that can be said of these intrepid women who rode up into the hills of Appalachia to bring literacy to the families there.  The stories are different, but yet oh so similar.  

Ann Gabhart is an author who knows how to weave a tale to keep her readers engaged and involved.  She writes great dialogues and plots that compel the readers to dive into her narratives with both feet.  Along a Storied Trail is similar to the other books of this era, but it does stand out because the  author is so good at taking her readers along on the ride. 

Tansy Calhoun has taken one of the routes for the county horseback librarians and has also become tasked with guiding the Federal Writer through the hills to collect the stories for the project.  He comes to town in a car thinking it will get him where he needs to go, but doesn't realize that most of where he needs to go doesn't have a road to get there and his car won't travel the trails and the hills.  

Caleb has come back to town after learning his brother was killed in a freak accident.  He had been working with the WPA in Tennessee but his project has finished.  He has always been in love with Tansy and can't quite get over the amount of time she's spending with the "city-slicker" writer.  

It's interesting to read the folklore of the hill people of Appalachia and part of that has been woven into the warp and woof of this novel.  That alone makes it worth the time to read it.  If the story hadn't been done so many times in the last year or so, this would be a five star book, but because it is  so like others I have read already, I give it four stars. 

 Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are my own.