The Moonlight School

 

Most of the time when I see Suzanne Woods Fisher's name on a book, I'd assume that I was about to read a book of Amish fiction.  But in The Moonlight School, Suzanne has taken a turn away from Amish fiction and delved into historical fiction.  This particular historical fiction is based in fact, much like Irving Stone wrote.  She found a fascinating character in Cora Wilson Stewart, a county superintendent for the schools in Rowan County, Kentucky.  

While Cora is the historical figure around which this book was built, the primary character was Cora's cousin, Lucy.  Lucy is sent to work with Cora as a stenographer, but Cora really wants Lucy to go to various homesteads in the county to read letters and take dictation of the illiterate folks' answers back.  Lucy has never ridden a horse, and has no knowledge of the places "over yonder"--either how to get to the places or how to get back to town.   Finley James is a young teen who has a crush on Lucy and is willing to guide her around the county.  Brother Wyatt is also a helpful soul who helps Lucy.  The fly in the ointment is Angie, who loves Fin, and is jealous of the affection Fin has for Lucy.  

Cora's mission in Rowan County is to bring literacy to the people, especially through their children.  In the beginning, she didn't believe that older people could be taught to read and write, until Miss Mollie comes to town to show Cora that she'd written her own letter to her daughter.  It was then that Cora realized that even the illiterate and semi-literate adults could be taught to read. She tasked Lucy with doing a census of the adults who couldn't read or write and Lucy came up with close to twelve hundred people.  With this number, Cora begins working on the Moonlight Schools for the adults, along with teaching literature geared for adult interests so that the adults will find reason to want to read. 

There are so many other characters populating this book, but to get into their parts of the story would provide too many spoilers. Suzanne is one of those talented writers who always put out quality fiction for their readers.  This book is no exception to the high quality that Suzanne is known for. 

This is a five-star book, with two thumbs up, and a gentle horse to ride in the back hills of Kentucky. 

Revell Publishing and NetGalley.com provided the copy I read for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.  I do appreciate Revell's commitment to quality in their publishing.