The Moonlight School

Suzanne Woods Fisher

Feb 2021 · Revell

About this ebook

Haunted by her sister's mysterious disappearance, Lucy Wilson arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky, in the spring of 1911 to work for Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of education. When Cora sends Lucy into the hills to act as scribe for the mountain people, she is repelled by the primitive conditions and intellectual poverty she encounters. Few adults can read and write.

Born in those hills, Cora knows the plague of illiteracy. So does Brother Wyatt, a singing schoolmaster who travels through the hills. Involving Lucy and Wyatt, Cora hatches a plan to open the schoolhouses to adults on moonlit nights. The best way to combat poverty, she believes, is to eliminate illiteracy. But will the people come?

As Lucy emerges from a life in the shadows, she finds purpose; or maybe purpose finds her. With purpose comes answers to her questions, and something else she hadn't expected: love.

Inspired by the true events of the Moonlight Schools, this standalone novel from bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher brings to life the story that shocked the nation into taking adult literacy seriously. You'll finish the last page of this enthralling story with deep gratitude for the gift of reading.

Ratings and reviews

The Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fisher has Lucy Wilson traveling to Rowan County, Kentucky to help her cousin, Cora for six months. Her father grew up in the area. Lucy is shocked when she learns that she is expected to travel by horse into the mountains to write and read letters for the mountain people. Lucy thought she would be working in an office. She is unprepared for the living conditions of the people and surprised that many of them cannot read. Lucy meets Brother Wyatt, the singing teacher, who helps her navigate her new environment. Cora comes up with the idea to hold night classes for the adults to teach them to read. The school would be held on moonlit nights so they can find their way to the schoolhouses. Lucy finds herself challenged and questioning everything she had been taught. She gets an opportunity to find a purpose and love. The Moonlight School is an intriguing historical novel. I thought it was well-written and researched. It is a gently paced novel with developed characters. The story is a slow starter, but I soon found myself engrossed. I thought the author captured the time-period, the area, and the mountain people. The authors writing allowed me to imagine the proud mountain people, their homes, and their accent. I enjoyed learning about Cora Wilson Stewart and the work she did to help educate the people in the Appalachian Mountains. I liked the author’s historical notes at the end of the book along with the fact and fiction section. There are also discussion questions and suggested reading to learn more about Cora. It was great learning about Cora Wilson Stewart who worked tirelessly to bring education to people who truly needed it. I would have loved an epilogue that went forward a few years to show us how Angie, Lucy, Fin, and Wyatt were faring. The Moonlight School is heartwarming and inspiring tale that will transport you to another time and place.

THE MOONLIGHT SCHOOL ..Suzanne Woods Fisher Lucy with orders from her father to watch Charlotte, at 2 1/2 a curious child. Absorbed in the story of Beth in Little Women, she was distracted, and now a sister missing. Life changes when her father remarried and not much older than Lucy. Then saying a cousin Cora needed a stenographer for six months. Thinking it would be a lot of making tea which she had learned well to do. To her surprise it was visiting these people as they dictated a letter to her. Of which riding horseback to their homes, she had never been on a horse father saying it was un lady like. Days when he lived here and knew Cora her father had ridden a horse, Now a mention of snakes and learning to interpret the language of the mountain people, what had she gotten into. Cora wanted to see a brave courages Lucy once again, not bogged down from the guilt of losing Charlotte, and think for herself. Life changes with a campaign for the Moonlight school for the mountain people to be educated. Needing volunteers to visit each home and tell them. A beautiful story of how a simple word to God, was prayer that easy to do, and getting the idea of how this campaign would succeed, Cora now had an answer and a purpose. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion for Net ?Galley and Revell.

This was an extremely well-researched and well-written book based on the life of Cora Wilson Stewart, a pioneer for a literacy campaign for adults in Kentucky. The main character in the story, Lucy, Wilson.is from a wealthy family that lives in Louisville, Kentucky. When her father springs a surprise new bride on her, he also tells her that he and Hazel that it would be a great idea for her to become an assistant to her Aunt Cora in Rowan County, a backwoods area that is totally different from anything that Lucy has ever experienced. As a retired teacher, I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes in the school room and all of the references to how hard a teacher had to work. The characterization was spot on as was the local jargon, including a special glossary at the beginning of the book. I chuckled aloud when Lucy was expected to mount a horse and ride into the “holler” to meet the local families and find out how people really lived in the most rural areas of the county. I could easily imagine myself in most of the scenarios of the book, so the author did a magnificent job of painting a realistic environment for the action to occur. When Cora has the idea to have moonlight schools to help the adults become literate, Lucy, like me, was not convinced that such a plan would work.The entire book is about relationships in this rural county, how people help each other and how they survive there. It is also about how Lucy’s father had escaped the environment, set up a prosperous lumber business and never looked back. My favorite character was Brother Wyatt, a singing preacher, who captures the minds of the backwoods people with his dedication to helping them in whatever way he can. I loved the entire story and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to read a book based on fact with a lot of fictional and enjoyable elements included. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Revell Reads Blogger Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

About the author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 books, including On a Summer Tide and On a Coastal Breeze, as well as the Nantucket Legacy, Amish Beginnings, The Bishop's Family, The Deacon's Family, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series, among other novels. She is also the author of several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and Amish Proverbs. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor and Twitter @suzannewfisher.