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Nov 05, 2011

Lauren rated it:

My only regret after finishing Moon Over Manifest is that I didn't read it while sitting on a gently swaying porch swing, sipping ice-cold lemonade, swatting away the occasional mosquito as a harmonica played and a steam engine sounded its passing in the distance. Reading this book is like stepping back in time, and as I came to the last lines, it was bittersweet to know that I was about to leave that world behind.

Moon Over Manifest is the story of tough and independent Abilene Tucke More...

2 comments like (10 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2011

Thomas added it

This book had nearly every element it needed to succeed as a middle grade novel: The writing is lovely. The main character--a young girl, struggling to find her way while basically alone in the world--is terribly charming. Parts are startlingly funny and endearing. But it just didn't work for me. I only read 150 pages. The pace felt all wrong and I was too bored to go any further. The only thing that got me that far was the "story within a story" thing it had going on; fortunately, the More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

One Sentence Review: A nice enough quirky town book that contains at least one honest surprise at the end (though it probably could have been edited down a smidge).

4 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Sara rated it:

Category: middle grade
Author: Clare Vanderpool
Title: Moon Over Manifest
Publisher: 2010 by Delacorte Books
ISBN: 0385738838 (ISBN13: 9780385738835)
Genre: fiction, historical
Reading level: grade 5 and up
Awards: Newbery Medal (2011)

I read this book because it won the Newbery this year. Other reviewers have found it to be slow but I enjoyed the pace of this novel. The main character is a motherless young girl, Abilene Tucker, whose wandering fat More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Nicola rated it:

Reason for Reading: I am reading all the Newbery winners.

Simple perfection. When I see that Newbery sticker on a book, this is what I expect. A book that truly is a wonderful story that will appeal to kids. A story that catches your attention from the first chapter. One with characters who are interesting, unique and you either love from the start or they eventually win you over at some part. I truly enjoyed every minute of this book and was sad when it came time to close the book on A More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 24, 2011

Rudy rated it:

Hmm. This is a tough one. Moon Over Manifest just won the Newbery which is why I picked it up. The book is 279 pages long and I didn't start getting really into it until around page 210. The writing is artful enough. My issue with the book is the threading together of all the different pieces. Reflecting on what I mean by different pieces I realize I am referring to the characters in the different timelines. They don't flow together very smoothely and they feel somehow mismatched.
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0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 10, 2011

Frances rated it:

3.75 stars. Because it won the Newbery, I read it with a more critical eye and was occasionally bothered by prose that seemed to be trying too hard. The 1936 storyline is a bit overshadowed by the 1918 chapters, and I thought we could have gotten to know Abilene a bit better. Still, very enjoyable and I always wanted to pick it up and continue reading.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2012

Barb rated it:

My best friend and I had sleepovers where we would sneak out of the house in the middle of the night. My friend got hung up on the windowsill with her head in the bathroom and the feet dangling outside. I reached up, grabbed her feet which were above my head, and yanked with all my strength. She sailed backward taking the screen with her and crashing loudly on top of me. We smothered our hysterical laughter and took off running.

Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool, reminds me of th More...

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Feb 12, 2012

Libby rated it:

In the midst of the Great Depression, Abilene Tucker’s father sends her to live in the town of his youth, Manifest, Kansas. Abilene immediately begins searching for stories of her father or signs of his time in the town. Although she is disappointed in her search for her father’s stories, Abilene finds that Manifest is full of secrets and a past that many choose to keep hidden. Through the stories of Miss Sadie, the town’s Hungarian diviner, old newspaper articles, and a collection of old let More...

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Jan 25, 2012

Jillian rated it:

I had to read Moon Over Manifest, by Clare Vanderpool for english class. At first I was skeptical, since the synopsis on the back didn't sound very appealing. However, the book grew on me after about page 20. I was quite impressed on the author's knowledge and writing style. The whole book tied together at the end- so no information was left un-known/un-answered. We were actually studying WW1 in Social Studies at the time I read this, and I thought it was really cool that I was reading a book ab More...

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Jan 15, 2012

Liesl rated it:

3.5 Stars. I must admit right off that had this book not won the Newbery Medal I probably would have put it down. It certainly did not pass my 50 page rule, and it took me over 100 pages to really get into the characters and stories. The fact that this is supposed to be a children's book (10 and up) only added to my impatience. I have a difficult time believing that any average reader under the age of 18 would read this book all the way through, unless they were required to, and even then...
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Jan 04, 2012

Kris rated it:

Abilene Tucker feels abandoned. Her father has put her on a train, sending her off to live with an old friend for the summer while he works a railroad job. Having heard stories about Manifest, Abilene is disappointed to find that it’s just a dried-up, worn-out old town. But her disappointment quickly turns to excitement when she discovers a hidden cigar box full of mementos. Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Amy rated it:

This is a Newberry award winner so of course I had high expectations. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I think adults will like it more than children. It seems like Newberry's have a historical context that doesn't always connect with kids. In this book, Abilene is sent to the town of Manifest to live for the summer, instead of train hopping with her father. In the town, she uncovers a mystery box in her room with some letters and tokens. As she works off a debt to Miss Sadie, a strange gyp More...

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Nov 28, 2011

Melissa rated it:

Moon Over Manifest
By: Clare Vanderpool

Genre: Historical Fiction

A. 12 year old Abilene, who has lived with her father on the rail roads, is sent to live with Shady, the bar keeper/ minister for the small town of Manifest. Young Abilene finds a box of trinkets hidden in the floor boards at Shady's place. These trinkets and the stories from the mysterious diviner of Manifest lead Abilene and her new found friends, Lettie and Ruthann, to discover how Manifest became Manifest More...

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Nov 27, 2011

Ashley rated it:

1. Genre: Historical Fiction
2. Abilene is a twelve year old girl living with her dad during the depression in 1936. They move around frequently in order to make ends meet, but when Abilene’s father decides to take a summer job with the railroad, she is left confused and unhappy. Once in Manifest, Kansas, with an old friend of her father’s, Abilene soon finds herself entwined in an enthralling mystery as she attempts to discover who her father was in his younger years, and what the story i More...

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Nov 13, 2011

Rodricucuz added it

1. Contemporary Realism

2. " Moon Over Manifest" is a book about a little girl that feels neglected by her father and the people around her. She feels like an outsider . She wants to find out a little history and that's when the adventure begins.

3. critique

a. The book is a great book that delves into the life of how immigrants in mining towns felt like outsiders in Mid-West America.

b. This is a great book for junior readers because it More...

1 comment like

Oct 06, 2011

Corinne rated it:

Kaedon's teacher described this book as "delicious." I'd say, I have to agree. A very charming story about a young girl during the Depression who is sent to live in the town of Manifest (a noun and a verb, as she later finds out). As she tries to come to terms with being sent away by her father, who traveled as a railroad worker, she also tries to understand his past and the town's past, bitter and sweet. Delightfully interspersed with a story she uncovers with two friends and as a More...

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Aug 25, 2011

Pamela rated it:

Clare Vanderpool does an excellent job of telling a story within a story in Moon Over Manifest (Deacorte Press 2010). The story is about Abilene Tucker. She has learned to ride the rails with her father Gideon. Suddenly she feels abandoned because her father has had her hop on a train to Manifest, Kansas. It is 1936 and the Great Depression is being felt hard in Kansas. Things perk up for her when she finds an old cigar box. She wants to learn more about her father when he was young growing More...

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Aug 15, 2011

Erin rated it:

While I enjoyed Moon Over Manifest and thought it was well written, I did have a couple concerns about it. The Newbery award isn't given to a book based on appeal and I think that several factors will effect this one's likability and usability with kids. In general, it's a little long and complicated for a the age it seems to be intended for. With a 12-yr-old heroine, this book might appeal best to kids a couple years younger, say 9-12-yr-olds. However, at 368 pages and with the story told t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 16, 2011

Rosalyn rated it:

I thought this was a charming novel--I can understand why this won last year's Newberry Award. The writing was good, the characters were interesting and had real depth, and the story managed just the right balance of small-town wholesomeness and intrigue. Vanderpool has clearly done her research--she managed to convey a distinct flavor both for the 1936 where the story takes place, and the 1918 that shows up in the town's memories.

The story follows Abilene Tucker, a 12-year-old girl w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 30, 2011

Jbachelder rated it:

Maine Student Book Award nominee, 2011-2012. Newbery Award winner. This book had a lot to live up to being a Newbery winner, and it delivered. During the Great Depression in a small, dried up Kansas town named Manifest, 12-year-old Abilene has just arrived for the summer. Normally she lives on the road with her father, Gideon, but he needs to find work and he's sent her to live with his friend, Pastor Shady Howard. Though she misses her father, she makes fast friends with the colorful local More...

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Jun 20, 2011

Jane rated it:

Moon Over Manifest is a lovely novel. It's 1936, the height of the Great Depression. Abilene Tucker is sent by her father to live with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas. He claims it's because he'll be working a railroad job in another state, but that's never caused him to send Abilene away before. She can sense that something has changed in her father.

Once in Manifest, Abilene begins to reveal secrets about the town and its residents, herself and her father. The story flips back and f More...

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May 31, 2011

Steve rated it:

An ending worthy of Newbery really makes this book. Early on, there seemed to be strings of many Newbery books. Its Newberry frequent child without parents present, a setting that rang like Walk Two Moons or A Year Down Yonder, a main character whose voice brings to mind The Higher Power of Lucky, and some Pictures of Hollis Woods-like themes had this reader doubting it. Abilene Tucker, a budding teenager who has lived a nomadic life with her father Gideon, is sent by her father to Manifest More...

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May 30, 2011

Bev rated it:

I read this book because it is the Newbery winner for this year. It takes place in 1936 (and 1918) and is the story of a young girl who was sent by her homeless father to live with an old friend of his in a town called Manifest. The girl, Abilene, gets to know the people in the town while she struggles to learn why her father would send her to Manifest. I liked the book better now that I am done than I did while I was reading it. The first 2/3 was slow and I struggled to make myself pick it More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 18, 2011

Keturah rated it:

Why did The Hunger Games get so much hype? Moon Over Manifest should be getting the hype. This book was an absolute pleasure (I cannot say that strongly enough!) to read. I honestly loved, loved, loved it. And I don't gush often! Many books for middle age readers are either too simple or try to focus on adult-themed subjects, but this book is a true gem which drew me in from the very beginning. It is definitely going to be one of my favorite books and one which I recommend often to young a More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Apr 19, 2011

Eileen rated it:

Manifest - verb. To reveal to make known. The setting of this historical fiction novel is Manifest, Kansas during World War I. Twelve year old Abilene Tucker's father has sent her to spend the summer in Manifest, the only town he ever really called home. Abilene is determined to learn all she can about her father's past, but she gets more than she bargained for. By piecing together mementos found in a hidden cigar box, old newspaper articles, old letters written from a soldier, and stories f More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 15, 2011

Terri rated it:

The 2011 Newbery Medal winner...hmmmmm...to be honest, I had a hard time getting through it. I'd actually give it 3.5.stars. I prefer "Turtle in Paradise" (a 2011 Newbery Honor Book), which is similar in tone and time to "Moon over Manifest."

In 1936, after twelve year old Abilene Tucker recovers from an accident, her father (Gideon) sends her to Manifest, Kansas, to live with longtime friend Shady Howard. Manifest was a significant place to Gideon as a boy. Abilen More...

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Apr 10, 2011

Ann rated it:

Abilene knows that it's best to jump off a train before you reach the station, because you should get a look at a town before it gets a look at you. She doesn't know why her daddy Gideon has sent her to Manifest, Kansas, though, or where or why he's going without her in the depth of the Depression, or why things changed so much recently when the cut on her leg got infected and she got so sick. And she doesn't know why no one in Manifest seems to have anything to say about her daddy, since he h More...

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Mar 21, 2011

Readnponder rated it:

Winner of the recent Newbery Award, this book is targeted for middle school readers, but this middle-aged reader loved it. Abilene's father has left her in Manifest, Kansas with an old friend who is both preacher and saloon-keeper while he goes off to work on the railorad. Ablilene makes friends with two other 12-year old girls, and they spend the summer trying to discover the identity of a WWI spy, named "Rattler," referred to in a note Abilene finds in an old cigar box.

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Mar 16, 2011

Audrey rated it:

Jumping off a train is easy. It's landing that's difficult.

But 12 year old Abilene Tucker is used to jumping off trains. It's the dust-bowl days of the depression, and she's been riding the rails with her father as long as she can remember. When he sends her away to his hometown of Manifest, Kansas over the summer, Abilene is crushed.

Despite its name, Manifest is slow to give up its secrets. Why is this struggling little town so different from the bustling, lively place i More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

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