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Moon Over Manifest

4.02 of 5 stars 4.02 · rating details · 10,505 ratings · 2,459 reviews

Winner of the 2011 Newbery Award.

The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I’d seen only in Gideon’s stories: Manifest—A Town with a rich past and a bright future.

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 work...more

ebook, 291 pages

Published October 12th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published 2010)

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Jun 26, 2011 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-reviewed

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 Tucker. At the be...more 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 Tucker. At the beginning of the story, Abilene saunters into the seemingly dull Kansas town of Manifest. She is settling down (not by her own choice) for the first time in a childhood spent on the road. Well, on the rails, actually. During the Great Depression of the 1930's, many jobless men resorted to a life of hitching rides on the railroads, going from town to town in search of work. Abilene and her father, Gideon, were two such "hobos"--an unusual background for a girl of twelve, to say the least.

From the moment she arrives in Manifest, Abilene is counting down the days left in the summer. She can think of nothing but the day when Gideon, who has sent her there alone, will come to take her back out on the rails with him. But it doesn't take long for doubt to set in. Is Gideon coming back? Why has he sent her to this town? Abilene knows that he spent time here before she was born, but when she tries to learn more from the people she meets in Manifest, she gets nothing but cryptic answers and dead-ends. But whether Gideon is coming back for her is not the only mystery she has to deal with. Abilene seems to be a magnet for secrets, eerie events and strange coincidences. A threatening note leads Abilene to begin scraping at Manifest's sleepy surface and she soon discovers that underneath, Manifest is a town with a dramatic past.

A rail-riding, twelve-year-old girl makes for a very unique protagonist. Abilene's voice is strong and steady, but just when she starts to seem a little too grown-up, she reveals the fears and doubts that are underneath her big talk. Abilene is the perfect heroine for a mystery. She's a fearless investigator, a careful listener, and an unabashed snoop.

In addition to bringing us a likable and original heroine in Abilene, Clare Vanderpool does an excellent job of making her book impossible to put down. The story moves back and forth between Abilene's life (Manifest, 1936) and glimpses of the past (Manifest, 1917), through stories told by the medium Miss Sadie and through letters and trinkets found underneath the floorboards of Abilene's room. Vanderpool transitions into these flashbacks so enticingly that you can't help but read on. All this past week, my eyelids sagging, I would try my darnedest to find a good stopping point, but when I saw that the end of the chapter was leading into a new flashback, I just couldn't bring myself to close the book. I needed to know what new secrets would be revealed, so I kept reading on, no matter the time. (For a teacher, on a school-night, that's saying a lot!)

While Moon Over Manifest is an excellent mystery, this is really just a clever disguise. At its heart, this is a story about family and community and what it means to make a home. It's also a story about...well, stories. Everyone in Manifest has a story, and there is something sacred in their tellings. As Miss Sadie's stories of old Manifest become more and more frequent, Abilene realizes that "As much as I had a need to hear her story, she had a need to tell it. It was as if the story was the only balm that provided any comfort" (p. 154). As the summer creeps on, Abilene realizes what an honor it is to have been invited, not just into the stories of the people of Manifest, but into their lives. In this novel, Clare Vanderpool both celebrates and demonstrates the magic of a well-crafted story. Now, go pour yourself a glass of lemonade and get to reading it!(less)

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Nov 19, 2012 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There are no words that could adequately express the love I feel for Clare Vanderpool’s Newberry Award winning debut, Moon Over Manifest. I very rarely post any but the most basic thoughts about a book on Goodreads right after finishing it, and most often wait until I have had time to collect my thoughts and put them down in some coherent form. With Moon Over Manifest, I immediately posted the following:

This book gets ALL THE STARS.

Seriously…it has:

Conspiracy
Diviners
The Great Depression
World War...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Frances rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, read-in-2011

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.

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May 09, 2012 Rudy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

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.

There are two...more 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.

There are two stories being told, one in 'flashback' and set in 1918; the second story set in the 'present'- the present being 1936 - is told from first person point of view by Abilene Tucker, the main character. Abilene is attempting to understand her father better by finding out about her father's history and ends up revealing the history of the town of Manifest. She brings to light the connections between its citizens, their hopes, hardships, and dreams. The story of the town of Manifest turns out to be, on a small scale, the story of the United States.

Although following the action of how the town comes together to create its own destiny and identity is entertaining and involving, more so than Abilene's search for her father, it is ultimately the town as seen in its 1936 version that is more affecting. Manifest in 1936 is a town that has forgotten its roots, its potential and those dreams that once unified its people and guided them, toward working to achieve the common goals of independence, self possession and self determination. Manifest is now a town whose best day is behind it. It is when the author places this depression era picture, beside the earlier struggling but intrepid and ever inventive one of the town,that the book becomes powerful. It is when the reader considers the contrast of these two pictures, the contrast of an earlier United States with the present one, that what is being read actually starts to hurt.

I don't think the target audience for the book is going to pick up on all of that though. It is a young adult book. (less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Frances W. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am reading the book Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. So far the book has been about a new girl named Abilene who is staying with a pastor. Where she is sleeping she finds a note about the rattler! She and her friends try to find the rattler, in the process Abilene meets a fortune teller who tells some stuff about her dad! When I read this book it feels serious and attention grabbing. I never want to stop reading it. I feel as though I'm in the book and living it. I am really looking for...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Jonathan Peto rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, chapter-books-children

It must be a mixed blessing winning a Newbery Award for your first novel, like Clare Vanderpool did with this one in 2011. I imagine it is very possible she'll grow as an artist and craftsperson and write better books that will probably have no chance to win. Another downside is that some readers will see that it won a Newbery and will judge it too harshly. Not me. I rounded up to 4 from 3-plus because this is a very good first novel. It has a lot going for it. I also think it is very possible m...more

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Feb 10, 2013 Cat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

It's clear from the start of Moon Over Manifest that Clare Vanderpool loves history--that the interplay and influence of the past on the the present fascinates her. And that interplay does work. Vanderpool's use of World War I and the Depression is interesting, as she manages to make early 20th century America bright and vivid. And I applaud that she values curiosity and story-telling, making that the impetus of her story.
The main character, Abilene, is shipped off to the town of Manifest by he...more

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May 31, 2012 Gina rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Just finished Moon Over Manifest and my thoughts are, in one word, mixed.

Really enjoyed the concept and the themes broached by author Clare Vanderpool. The life of immigrants and how they adjusted to their new country, and how their new country adjusted to them, is a subject I’ve always been fascinated by. I’ve always been intrigued by my own ancestor’s story, so I could easily identify with Abilene’s quest to unearth Manifest’s, and her own, history. I also really liked the parallel storylines...more Just finished Moon Over Manifest and my thoughts are, in one word, mixed.

Really enjoyed the concept and the themes broached by author Clare Vanderpool. The life of immigrants and how they adjusted to their new country, and how their new country adjusted to them, is a subject I’ve always been fascinated by. I’ve always been intrigued by my own ancestor’s story, so I could easily identify with Abilene’s quest to unearth Manifest’s, and her own, history. I also really liked the parallel storylines and felt they complemented each other nicely. And the language had a warm and languid quality to it that I felt matched perfectly with the deceptively quiet mid-west town.

But, if I’m honest, not one of my favorites. Now, it is the 2011 Newberry Medal Winner, which I think, in addition to being an amazing honor, can be a bit of a burden. As a reader, I went into it with certain expectations and, maybe unfairly, was holding the book to a higher standard. As a result, I was underwhelmed. For one thing, I thought the book moved a little slow. As I was reading the book, I thought for a moment of how I would have received this book as a kid, and my first reaction was that I would have found in boring. I think the pacing could have been picked up a bit.

There many interesting, lovable characters in the story, but I thought almost too many. It didn’t feel like enough time was paid to all the characters for me to connect strongly with them. For that reason, some of the more emotional scenes toward the end (I’ll not mention them so as not to spoil anything) fell flat for me.

And finally, I thought the ending to the Jinx storyline was a bit cumbersome, particularly with the court scene. I had to re-read it a few times to make sure I understood what was happening. It was another time when I thought about myself as a young reader and wondered if I would be able to keep up. I also found the twist in that scene to be a little deus ex machina.

So, for those reasons, I would have a hard time recommending this book to kids. However, that said, if you’re a nostalgic adult that loves Depression-era historical fiction, I do recommend. A very pleasing read.
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Jan 17, 2011 Betsy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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).

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Jun 30, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 father has sent her to Manifest, Kansas to live for a time....more

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Apr 11, 2011 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library

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 Abilene, Ji...more 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 Abilene, Jinx, Miss Sadie and all the rest of the characters in Manifest, Kansas.

Set in 1936, Abilene Tucker, who has grown up as a vagrant train rider with her father, is upset when he sends her to Manifest, a town he spent a spell in his youth to stay with a friend for the summer while he supposedly works a job, not appropriate for a young lady to be around, now that Abilene has turned twelve. Here Abilene makes two friends and finds a hidden cigar box with mementos and letters from 1918 under the floor boards. One is a map of Manifest, there is mention of a spy and the girls set about to find out who the spy was in their town back during WWI and if they are still here. They also come upon the legend of "The Rattler" who wanders the dark forest at night. Is the Rattler the spy, or someone/thing else?

As the girls read the letters we are transported back to 1918 on the war front in France as the letters are from a local boy to a friend named 'Jinx'. We also are taken back to 1918 on the home-front through Miss Sadie, a diviner, as she tells Abilene stories when she comes over to work her garden to repay a large pot she broke snooping about one night.

The story switches perspective between the present, 1936, through the first person narrative of Abilene and the past, 1918, through Miss Sadie's stories, a newspaper column and the letters. A rich engaging story that while not directly linked to any historical events does place one smack dab in the past and creates a good vision of living in a small town during the depression and during World War I, along with an impression of what it was like for a young soldier in the trench warfare of France. Topped off with a large cast of eccentric characters this is a gem of a story. This will be one of the rare modern Newbery's that I think will still be read decades down the road like perennial favourites "Caddie Woodlawn" and "Sounder". (less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Natalie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Natalie by: Newbery Award Winning book

Shelves: childrens

I've made good on my goal to read Clare Vanderpool's 2011 Newbery award winning Moon Over Manifest.

I bought Moon Over Manifest simply because for the first time in like 11 years, in Jan 2011 The Today Show blew off the year's Caldecott and Newbery Award winners and interviewed Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi instead? What is up with that?!

The narrative voice in Manifest belongs to a young girl who's been riding the rails with her dad until she is sent away to live with a stranger in a town he once calle...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Jennifer Weiss added it · review of another edition

This is a heart warming story about a young girl named Abilene Tucker who travels around the country by train with her father, Gideon. One summer after Abilene barely survived a terrible infection in a cut on her leg, her father sends her to a town in Kansas named Manifest. Abilene's goal for the summer is to find information about when her father lived there and why it was so special to him. She begins her mission by reading newspapers from the time he was there. Short after her coming to Manif...more

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May 11, 2013 Catherine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started out listening to the audio version, but the story was sooo s-l-o-w, that I found my mind wandering, losing my train of thought and I had to keep on rewinding. I switched over to reading the book, thinking I would be able to pay more attention to the story, but that didn't work either. I'd feel sleepy after reading only 5 or so pages and started skimming.... just trying to find something interesting to happen.

Abilene Tucker is 12 years old and travels around the country hopping trains w...more

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May 05, 2013 Angela Y. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Ambre

Recommended to Angela by: Mrs. Bradford

Moon Over Manifest

is an interesting book and a page turner, by Clare Vanderpool. The genre's in Moon Over Manifest is mystery, historical fiction, and coming of age. Moon Over Manifest tells a story of two independent people, and lived in Manifest, Kansas in two different eras: 1917-1918 and 1936. The main character is Abilene Tucker, she is 12 years old and is living in the year 1936, he father Gideon made Abilene stay in Manifest during the summer with Shady, Gideon's friend. Abilene wants...more

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May 01, 2013 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adolescent

This was my book choice for April. Our middle school picked it for the school wide book. I am a few months late reading it, but at least it is a signed copy that my son got at a book event at school. The story takes place in 1936 in Manifest, Kansas. Abilene Tucker is sent to Manifest by her father while he goes and works for the railroad. She stays with a local "minister," Shady Howard. While at his house, she discovers a cigar box full of "treasures" and letters. After breaking the vase of a l...more

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Apr 30, 2013 Jenben8426 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

Abilene Tucker is headed to Manifest, Kansas and can't help feel abandoned as she travels along on the train. Her father is working the rails and thinks an up and coming young lady at age 12 would do better in one place, so he is sending her to his home town--a town Abilene has never actually been too. As Abilene comes into town she is hoping for a way to connect to this legendary city she has heard all about through her father's stories, but people seem to be rather uneasy talking to her about...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Courtney Carpenter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Moon over Manifest was a great book told from the eyes of Abilene, a young girl dropped off in an old ghost town with a past. Hearing stories of Manifest from her father, she and her friends go on a wild chase to find and uncover the secrets of the town, and she finds more than she expected, as her story gets entwined with the mysterious past of the town.

My favorite character is Ned Gillen, because of his bravery. He goes off to fight in World War One, to defend his country. He chooses to leave...more

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Apr 18, 2013 Noah Patton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book “Moon Over Manifest” by Clare Vanderpool is about a girl, Abilene Tucker, whose dad, Gideon, sends her to live in Manifest, Kansas. This story takes place in 1936. Abilene and Gideon had always traveled around together, never really having a home. But when Abilene gets a scratch on her knee that gets infected something changes inside Gideon. Instead of taking her to Iowa where he got a railroad job he sends her to Manifest where he once stayed when he was younger. While she’s in Manifes...more The book “Moon Over Manifest” by Clare Vanderpool is about a girl, Abilene Tucker, whose dad, Gideon, sends her to live in Manifest, Kansas. This story takes place in 1936. Abilene and Gideon had always traveled around together, never really having a home. But when Abilene gets a scratch on her knee that gets infected something changes inside Gideon. Instead of taking her to Iowa where he got a railroad job he sends her to Manifest where he once stayed when he was younger. While she’s in Manifest, Abilene begins to wonder if her father is going to come back for her and wants to know how her father is connected to Manifest. She learns about what happened back in 1918 that connects her dad to the town, but she finds out from the most unlikely of people, Miss Sadie, a diviner. Abilene searches these stories to find answers about her father and what changed in him to cause him to leave her.
In the book, my favorite character is Jinx, who is a boy in Miss Sadie’s stories about 1918 Manifest. Jinx is my favorite character because he is crafty and mischievous. “’All kinds of things can be accomplished when someone’s looking the wrong way.’ From behind his back, Jinx revealed the large red canister from Jasper Hinkley’s fireworks booth. Ned’s eyes got big. ‘Nice trick. But you can’t just steal his Manchurian Fire Thrower’” (101). Jinx is resourceful and although he sometimes doesn’t use his wit for the best cause he is my favorite character because of that.
This book is unique because of how the author switches between the two stories, the story of Abilene in Manifest and the story about 1918 Manifest. It is very interesting to see how the author connects the two stories together and how she changes between each story. “… it usually lead straight to the past. Miss Sadie continued in her Hungarian accent. ‘There was much churning in Manifest those many years ago. A war. A quilt. And a curse…” (114). The author uses a different font when the book shifts to Miss Sadie’s story about 1918. The shift always starts with a thought from Abilene and then Miss Sadie saying a little introduction to her story that always left of with ellipses and then the story of 1918 Manifest continues in the next chapter. The way the author does these switches eliminate confusion about what story is currently being told.
I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It has a good plot and is well written and constructed. The story is interesting and gets you really interested. My only complaint for this novel is the plot moves at a stalled pace for most of the book and then really picks up towards the end of the book, if the plot moved a bit quicker during the middle this book would be perfect. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because it would interest most readers and is a good book to read just for fun.
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Apr 08, 2013 Miss Blake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Part mystery, part historical fiction, part family story, part growing up tale, this is a well deserved award winner. Abilene Tucker is a big-hearted girl who is trying to find her place in the world, and she ends up in Manifest, Kansas, and hears the stories of two young boys, Jinx and Ned. Told partially through flashbacks (a la Holes by Louis Sachar) this intertwining plot tells the story of Manifest itself through the people who populate it then (1918) and now (1936). There is a handy charac...more

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Mar 26, 2013 Tripp added it · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade, first-person, past-tense, third-person, multiple

Works in two different time periods, 1918 and 1936. The main story, in 1936, is narrated in the first person by 12-year-old Abilene Tucker, who has been sent by her father, Gideon, to stay in his hometown of Manifest, Kansas for the summer, after he's laid off from his railroad job. In trying to figure out why she's been sent away, and then why there seems to be no trace of Gideon left in town, Abilene discovers a secret cache of letters and mementos that put her on the trail of a mystery from 1...more

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Mar 12, 2013 David Patneaude rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hard to argue with the Newbery Committee on this one. It has a Newbery feel: historical fiction, spunky 12-year-old girl character with no mother and on her own for at least the summer in a town with secrets,interesting secondary characters, social responsibility messages, fine writing.

That said, like a lot of other Newbery winners and honors books, the emphasis is on the literary rather than the sensory, and not much happens on the page.The primary setting is small town Kansas, circa 1936, but...more

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Dec 09, 2012 Rhiannon Hubble rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: completed-reviews, kiddy-lit

1. Genre: Historical Fiction
2. When Abilene Tucker's father sends her to his hometown of Manifest, Kansas, she is left feeling alone and decides to discover the her father's history in this town.
3. a) Area for Comment: Descriptive use of words
b) The author, Clare Vanderpool, accurately describes objects and people throughout the novel in such a way that allowed me, as the reader, to feel, hear, see, and smell the things she was describing. This definitely pulled me into the novel and urged me to...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Pamela rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: americana, award-winning, derivative, disappointing, historical-fiction, overrated, readin2012, middle-grade

I am, obviously, an awful, awful person for not liking this book. However, as I generally prefer Newbery Honor books to actual winners (go figure), I don't feel too badly about it all. With some book awards, I think it's a bit like the Oscars: overrated and stuck on tradition.

I cannot truthfully say that I was bored with the story--it was interesting enough. Abilene Tucker, after breaking a pot that belongs to Miss Sadie, the Diviner, Hungarian Woman, and wise-woman figure, gets to hear all of t...more I am, obviously, an awful, awful person for not liking this book. However, as I generally prefer Newbery Honor books to actual winners (go figure), I don't feel too badly about it all. With some book awards, I think it's a bit like the Oscars: overrated and stuck on tradition.

I cannot truthfully say that I was bored with the story--it was interesting enough. Abilene Tucker, after breaking a pot that belongs to Miss Sadie, the Diviner, Hungarian Woman, and wise-woman figure, gets to hear all of these stories about the town of Manifest in 1918. She hears stories about two boys named Ned and Jinx, and the townspeople who created the community of Manifest, as well as the nasty underbelly of race/culture relations. Abilene's daddy, Gideon, grew up in Manifest, and he sends her back there after a childhood spent riding the rails and doing generally hobo-ish things. She's afraid he'll never come back for her, but in listening to Miss Sadie's stories, Abilene realizes the true nature of community and family, and finds herself and her father. Cue the schmaltzy music.

Wow, I am cynical, aren't I? Oh dear. But really--the story of a young person finding themselves via story, and coming to grips with the reality of family rather than the happy picture in his/her head has been done so many times before, and, dare I say, much better.

Surprisingly, the thing that irked me the most was not the slower than molasses pacing (not done for any real reason, that I could think of), not the strength of the story lying in the flashbacks and not the contemporary time, and not the oft-confusing cast of characters. It's that Abilene seemed like a slightly updated version of Scout Finch, on whom, I swear, no one can ever improve. Ever. Short hair? Check. Strong relationship with father? Check. Penchant for overalls? Check. Learning how life works in often painful ways? Big check. I know those are superficial examples, but it's just a feeling I had, which made me resentful and cranky.

Thinking about it, I don't know to whom I would recommend this book. Not younger me, that's for sure. A lot of kids would be put off by the pacing. There's not enough grittiness related to WWI or the Great Depression in order to make this really impactful. I am at a loss.(less)

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Nov 28, 2012 Rubi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very interesting and enjoyable book. The story which is about a young girl named Abilene, is sent away by her father to the sad yet interesting town where he once lived. It is interesting to see how she is brought to this town she knows nothing about, but is intruiged because she soon finds it has stories to be told, and possibly those that will tell her who her father was. As she lives in this town called Manifest, she is trying to find out who her father was and where she fits in thi...more

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Nov 27, 2012 Kori Hall rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool was not a bad book, but it was one that I had to force myself to complete. The story was interesting but it was slow to start and once it finally did start, it went back slow again. I am not much of a reader so I need books that are enticing the whole way through. Its a nice story about a girl names Abilene whose dad sent her to live with an old friend of his in a old town called Manifest. She misses her father so much that she goes and explores some of the...more

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Nov 25, 2012 Carly Allen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Over the Moon about Moon Over Manifest!: I was a little skeptical to read this book at first because of the great depression era that it was set in. I typically don’t enjoy reading about that time period, but this book didn’t really focus on the great depression. It merely set the back drop. I actually really enjoyed this book. I’ll admit in the beginning it was a bit slow, but once the storyline picked up I couldn’t put this book down. What a heartwarming tale about a small town and all the dif...more

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Nov 18, 2012 Kelsey Wagner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Moon Over Manifest, written by Clare Vanderpool, is the account of two different intertwined stories in the early nineteen hundreds. The first details Abilene Tucker, a curious girl from the nineteen thirties. She was sent to live with a family friend, Shady, over the summer but questions why her dad sent her away. After all, he waited until that summer to send her away. The mining industry that he worked for was an unfit environment for a girl, but this had not been a problem in the past. For t...more Moon Over Manifest, written by Clare Vanderpool, is the account of two different intertwined stories in the early nineteen hundreds. The first details Abilene Tucker, a curious girl from the nineteen thirties. She was sent to live with a family friend, Shady, over the summer but questions why her dad sent her away. After all, he waited until that summer to send her away. The mining industry that he worked for was an unfit environment for a girl, but this had not been a problem in the past. For this reason, Abilene wonders why she is actually in Manifest, Kansas, but for the time being she attempts to enjoy the experience. She arrives at Shady’s “house” and goes to hide her belongings in the floor board, but finds an old cigar box filled with papers instead. These letters were from about twenty years earlier, and were between two boys named Jinx and Ned. After reading about a spy, Abilene’s curiosity peaks and wonders who they are. She takes the letters to a diviner, Miss Sadie, who then begins telling stories of what life was like twenty years ago when the letter was written. Abilene becomes annoyed at this because she came there to ask about her father, but Miss Sadie rebuts this by saying, “You show me a letter. I tell you what the letter shows me. Next time you should be more specific about what you are seeking”

Abilene was unsatisfied with the results of the first divining session, so her and two friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, go back. They get another story about the county fair in an earlier Manifest and are able to learn a lot more about Ned and Jinx. She takes an interest in this history and continues to visit Miss Sadie in an attempt to learn more about her father and why Manifest was so influential on him. There are various letters and newspaper articles throughout the book as well that help develop the storyline. Several are written between Jinx and Ned, when he is stationed at a military camp after signing up for the army. As Abilene goes about her time in Manifest, she comes across different pieces of history, all of which intrigues her and makes her dig for more. Each new piece of history leads her back to Miss Sadie and eventually, she learns the truth about her father and the town. Her father, Gideon Tucker, is actually Jinx and Miss Sadies’ story about the journey to America is revealed. Moon Over Manifest is a great historical fiction novel that covers topics around the great depression, such as the Spanish Influenza, immigration and the town of Frontenac (which is what Manifest is based on). Additionally, several characters are based off of real people. Because there is real history throughout the book, it keeps the readers interest and is enjoyable to read.
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Nov 14, 2012 Ann Carpenter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, newbery

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sometimes you read a book knowing that it won an award, and all you can think is "huh?" Other times knowing that the award has already been achieved allows you to pay more attention to the excellent qualities of the book, to look for what that committee saw. I think this book benefitted from my previous knowledge.

The setting was excellent. The town, both in 1918 and 1936, was carefully drawn and the sense of place was vivid.

The characters were well done, though I hesitate to add the qualifier...more Sometimes you read a book knowing that it won an award, and all you can think is "huh?" Other times knowing that the award has already been achieved allows you to pay more attention to the excellent qualities of the book, to look for what that committee saw. I think this book benefitted from my previous knowledge.

The setting was excellent. The town, both in 1918 and 1936, was carefully drawn and the sense of place was vivid.

The characters were well done, though I hesitate to add the qualifier "very". Lettie and Ruthanne were a little too generic spunky girls, Miss Sadie a bit too exotic, etc. However, Vanderpool did manage to juggle a cast of thousands without ever losing me, and that deserves its own type of praise.

The pacing was good. I was far (far!) more interested in Jinx's story than I was in what Abilene was doing or thinking, but the Abilene sections moved along at a pretty good clip, so I didn't get too impatient even though I thought what was going on in the historical sections was inherently much more compelling. There is a part of me that thinks the book might have been stronger if it was just the Jinx bits, but at the same time I can see how the slightly removed, but still knowing narrative perspective in those sections would have been difficult to pull off in a book-length format. The frame gave the historical actions more weight and consequence.

The plot was very good, though I'm not entirely convinced it rises to the level of distinguished. I will admit that the courtroom scene made me cheer as I drove along listening to the audiobook (which, as an aside, was FABULOUS. I hope the narrator won some kind of award. She sounded twelve, but she handled all of the accents smoothly.) But the subplot about Miss Sadie and Ned seemed farfetched, and while it somewhat resonated with themes of fitting in and family, I think its removal would have strengthened the book because it didn't really add anything.

It really frustrated me that Abilene is not told that Jinx was her father. It was obvious to me from the start, and even Abilene suspects it for quite some time. I can maybe understand Miss Sadie and Shady making the choice not to tell her, but no one else in town? Not a single person, all of whom seemed to know immediately who she was, ever said something like "wow, your daddy was one smart fellow"? His cons led directly to huge changes for the town, and even if those changes were almost immeadiately overshadowed by the influenza epidemic, that doesn't mean they disappeared or that people forgot them completely.

For all that I loved the book, I am not entirely sure that, had I been on the committee that year, I would have voted for this one to take the top prize, though I would have happily given it an honor. I'm not entirely sure what I woudl've handed the prize to. It's been two years since I read One Crazy Summer, which I think was my prediction going into that year's announcement. I was hugely impressed with Dark Emperor, which surprised me because I'm not normally a poetry person. (less)

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Nov 14, 2012 Cherry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a bit confusing at first because i've never read a book that would talk from abelienes perspective, it transitins into the stories thats being told by the medium aka Miss Sadie, then flashes backt Gideon. It threw me all over the place and I didn't know what to expect! While I was reading the book it made me think if this book was made to tell the history of influenza and the war along with the hardships people went through. At first I even thought that abeliene was sent to Manifes...more

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About Clare Vanderpool

Clare Vanderpool, recipient of the 2011 Newbery Award, is a resident of Wichita, Kansas. She has a degree in English and Elementary Education and enjoys reading, going to the pool with her children, the television show Monk, and visiting the bookstores in her town.

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“Memories were like sunshine. They warmed you up and left a pleasant glow, but you couldn't hold them.” — 34 people liked it

“Who would dream that one can love without being crushed under the weight of it?” — 20 people liked it

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