The Moonlight School – Just the Recess That’s Needed
During these covid times of isolation, it is so nice to have a welcoming distraction from the cares of our present world. When I received my copy of Suzanne Woods Fisher’s latest release, The Moonlight School, it was just what I needed. Filled with wonderful characters, and the stellar story-telling of Fisher, this novel hit the spot
Set in the early 1900s hills of Kentucky, The Moonlight School follows a cast of intriguing characters…
Lucy — a young woman of polite society — is thrown into a new world in hill country. She doesn’t want to RIDE a horse; she’s used to a carriage for heaven’s sake! When she goes to help her cousin Cora with the schools in the hills, she’s in for a rude awakening! The people are so very poor and uneducated – what can be done?
Wyatt — kind, handsome, educated, intriguing — has come back to the hills to teach his people.
Andrew — dashing, successful, sly — works for the local timber company that Lucy’s father owns.
Add to these a host of supporting characters that will keep you entertained for hours!
I was given my copy of The Moonlight School in exchange for my honest review. Suzanne Woods Fisher is known for her creative writing and story-telling and her latest novel is no exception. Each character is fleshed out thoroughly, leading her readers to fantastic climax and finish. I found myself longing to take a trip to the hills of Kentucky to meet these people, born in a simpler time. Readers will walk away being just a tad more thankful for the gift of literacy that we too often take for granted. Be sure to add this novel to your To Be Read pile!
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.