Cussy from The Mountains We Call Home is my Captivating Character of January. Please join the link party or share your most captivating character in the comments.
Carol’s Captivating Characters of January Link-Up
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
On the last Friday of the month, I will write a post about my most captivating character of the month and create a Link Party (see link below my review)! In addition to hearing about the memorable characters that have captivated you, I also want this new project to facilitate new bookish friendships, help you find your book twin, and promote blog engagement. This link party will stay active for 30 days. In exchange for linking your post back to this one, I promise to visit every blog post that links up, leave a comment, and share your post once on #bookx and #booksky.
Captivating Character Link Up Details:
- You can use fictional or real characters/persons.
- Link up a review that specifically highlights a captivating character or person, or write a post dedicated to your most captivating character or person of the month.
- Please include a link back to this (monthly) post.
- Be kind: visit one other post in the link-up and leave a comment.
- #CaptivatingCharacters26
No blog? No problem! Share your most captivating character of the month in the comments.
I appreciate my loyal supporters, Joanne @ Portobello Book Blog and H.C. @ The Irresponsible Reader for linking up with me in December. Check out their posts!
Cussy
Name of Captivating Characters: Cussy Lovett
The reason she is captivating: resilient, brave, courageous, hopeful, determined, kind, committed to a purpose
Book and Author: The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson (Pub Date: 4/21/2026)
Genre/Categories/Setting: Historical Fiction (1950s), incarceration, poverty, literacy, racism, miscegenation, injustice, survival, Kentucky
Mood: tense (surviving and thriving in difficult circumstances)
Content Considerations: mistreatment of incarcerated persons
The Mountains We Call Home is a companion read to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and is the third installment in the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series. Book #3 can be read as a standalone and follows Cussy as she is imprisoned for breaking miscegenation laws. For the best reading experience, I recommend reading #1 first.
Persevering and thriving in the most difficult circumstances and a passion for literacy drive the action in The Mountains We Call Home. If you love a strong, female protagonist, you will love, admire, and cheer for Cussy.
Cussy has four great loves: the mountains she calls home, Jackson, her children, and books. The heart of the story is Cussy’s work in the community with the Louisville Western Colored Branch of the Carnegie Library and her relationship with Mrs.Claxton. Through this prison work-release program, Cussy continues to promote literacy and to make a difference in the lives she touches.
Are you a literacy advocate? Wherever Cussy finds herself in life, she finds comfort in books and is a literacy advocate. Prison is no different. She earns the right to work as a librarian in the prison. Through her encouragement and support, prisoners begin interacting with books, learn to write, and better their lives. When Cussy is offered a position at the city library through a work-release program, it’s a life-changing experience.
“Books: a sanctuary for my heart.”
Thoughtful themes include racism, literacy, endurance, healing, survival, discrimination, oppression, the power of literacy, freedom, hope, and compassion.
Content Considerations: mistreatment of incarcerated persons
Thanks #NetGalley @SourceBooks | Landmark for a complimentary eARC of #TheMountainsWeCallHome upon my request. All opinions are my own.
Star Rating: 4.5 Stars
Meet the Author of The Mountains We Call Home, Kim Michele Richardson
A native-born Kentuckian, Kim Michele Richardson is the *New York Times*, *L.A. Times*, *USA TODAY* bestselling author who has written six novels, a memoir and most recently, two children’s picture books The works have been published in more than 16 languages. Her novel *The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek* is taught widely in high schools and college classrooms and has been adopted as a Common Read selection by states, cities, and colleges across the country and abroad. Kim Michele lives with her family in Kentucky and is the founder of Shy Rabbit, a writers residency, and a literacy initiative *Courthouses Reading Across Kentucky & Beyond*.
I KNOW you’ve encountered some fascinating and interesting characters this month! Share them with us by linking up your review post!
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
(this link party is open for 30 days)
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
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~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, teaching, and connection. Books take us to places we’ve never been, teach us about our world, and help us understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley
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