The Moonlight School

I was very grateful for Iola's review, because I could approach this book as Lucy's story, rather than Cora's. Having enjoyed the Christie books and movies, I thoroughly enjoyed returning to the Appalachians, the backwoods of Kentucky, and the simple people with their strong faith and resilience. Suzanne Woods Fisher certainly portrayed some delightful and loveable characters, especially her cheeky young Fin, and, of course, Brother Wyatt. She also managed to interweave some mystery surrounding Lucy's sister, along with some faith lessons as we watch characters grow closer to God. And the progress and success of the Moonlight School system was fascinating. I recommend this book to lovers of inspirational historic fiction.

While the writing was excellent, I found the story very slow going. Why? Because while the title and the book description had intrigued me with the promise of the moonlight schools, the idea wasn't mentioned at all in the first half of the book. \\n\\nSo if the story isn't about the moonlight schools, what is it about? It's about Lucy Wilson, who leaves her home in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1911, to work as assistant to her father's cousin, Cora Wilson Stewart, the first female Superintendent of Education in Rowan County. An unexpected meeting leads Cora to develop the idea of the moonlight schools. \\n\\nParts of the story were reminiscent of Christy by Catherine Marshall, including the innocent young girl barely out of school, the crusty older woman as the mentor, and the subtle and not-so-subtle attention of two very different men. \\n\\nOverall, I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if it had been described as a coming-of-age story in the style of Christy, set against the backdrop of the changes logging brought to the Appalachians-good and bad-and the subsequent motivation to improve adult literacy. I think if I'd have known that before I read the story, I would have enjoyed it more. \\n\\nThe book was excellent. But it wasn't the book the title or book description promised. \\n\\nThanks to Revell and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.