From the Bookshelf of Mock Newbery 2026…

Moon Over Manifest

Clare Vanderpool

Start date: January 20, 2011

Finish date: May 20, 2011

Discussion: Book of the Month 2011

Why we're reading this: 2011 Newbery Medal Winner
With Honors: Heart of a Samurai, One Crazy Summer, Turtle in Paradise and Dark E…more
[close] 2011 Newbery Medal Winner
With Honors: Heart of a Samurai, One Crazy Summer, Turtle in Paradise and Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night.

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Book of the Month 2011

November Read - The Kneebone Boy
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last updated Mar 26, 2011 01:49PM

December Read - The Dreamer
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What Members Thought

Jun 10, 2011 Mark rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-literature, coming-of-age, historical-fiction, newberry

"The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I knew only from stories. The one just outside of town with big blue letters: MANIFEST: A TOWN WITH A RICH PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE."

Abilene Tucker is on the train to Manifest, in the late summer of 1936, because her father (Gideon)has gotten work on the rails in Iowa, and has decided that Abilene cannot stay with him. Manifest is where Gideon grew up, but Abilene is anxious, beca "The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby. I closed my eyes to the dusty countryside and imagined the sign I knew only from stories. The one just outside of town with big blue letters: MANIFEST: A TOWN WITH A RICH PAST AND A BRIGHT FUTURE."

Abilene Tucker is on the train to Manifest, in the late summer of 1936, because her father (Gideon)has gotten work on the rails in Iowa, and has decided that Abilene cannot stay with him. Manifest is where Gideon grew up, but Abilene is anxious, because this is the first time she and her father have been truly separated. Upon her arrival in town, Abilene meets Shady, who cared for Gideon when he was younger, in addition to other curious characters in the town. She starts school, cautiously makes a few new friends, and continues to wait for Gideon to come and retrieve her. When Abilene finds a box of letters and mementos hidden in Shady's house, she guesses that the box could hold clues to her father's youth. With the help of her friends, and Miss Sadie, the town diviner, Abilene sets out to piece together puzzle pieces from Manifest's past, a past that many townspeople seem content to forget.

This novel shifts often in perspective, between Abilene's 1936, and the time period depicted in the found letters (Manifest in 1918). I found myself much more engrossed, though, in the 1918 events, than in what was happening in 1936. Abilene, as a main character, just wasn't as interesting as the Manifest cast from an earlier generation. Many of the secondary characters, though, are extremely well-drawn (Miss Shadie, for one), and I felt more of a connection with them than with Abilene. I read another review which compared this novel to _Jellicoe Road_, and I can see the comparison; both novels reveal gradual layers of truth, which requires a patient and fairly attentive reading. I do appreciate how Vanderpool has written a book that could serve as an effective coming-of-age mystery novel, but which also has deeper messages about race relations and immigration. Rich in historical details, I could easily see this book being used with middle school cross-curricular units. ...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Chris rated it liked it

This is a charming tale that grew on me over time. some of the characters are rather 2-dimensional, but I think of this story more as a profile of a community, rather than an individual.

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Jun 27, 2011 Lorna rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-historical, childrens, newbery-medal, mysteries

It was closer to 3 1/2 stars for interest level, but I thought the story was very well done.

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Feb 21, 2011 Tracey added it

Shelves: read-in-2011

Lots of characters made it a little hard for me to follow, but a great story. Would love to have it in my library and have a few students in mind that may enjoy it as well.

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