Carry the World by Susan Fanetti
This was a Book Club read. It’s a well-written historical novel that includes a lovely romance.
I’ll be honest, I went in expecting “historical romance.” You know the type. Pretty setting, a little longing, tidy ending, close the book, move on with life.
Nope. This one lingers.
Set in Depression-era Appalachia, the story follows Ada, a widow who moves back home with her aging parents to care for them and keep the small farm going. She takes a job as a Pack Horse librarian, riding books deep into the mountains to people who have little access to… well, anything. And somewhere along those rugged trails, she crosses paths with Jonah, a widower raising two children in near isolation.
Now here’s where it could have gone predictable. Thank goodness it didn’t.
The romance shows up slowly, like trust does in real life. These are two people carrying grief like it’s set in their bones, figuring out if there’s room for something more without betraying what they’ve lost. And that slow-burn, layered build is exactly what we in my Book Club enjoy.
And the setting? It’s not just a backdrop, it’s practically a character.
The weight of those mountains is real. The scarcity. The grit. The way people made do with what they had and somehow still managed to create community, connection, and moments of unexpected tenderness. This world was vividly written, like stepping through a door into 1937 and staying awhile.
But what stayed with me most wasn’t just Ada and Jonah.
It was the idea at the heart of it all: carrying the world to someone who doesn’t have access to it.
Books, yes. But also kindness. Attention. Care.
This story is full of that quiet kind of giving. The kind that doesn’t announce itself but changes everything anyway.
Final verdict?
It’s a love story.
It's a survival story.
It's a story about second chances.
It's a story about the fragile, stubborn way people find their way back to life after loss.
And it’s one I’m really glad our Book Club chose, because it’s the kind of book you don’t just read…
You carry it with you for a while.
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Carry the World by Susan Fanetti
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