Moon Over Manifest
Author: Clare Vanderpool
Age Level: 10+ years
Newberry Award: 2011
Abilene Tucker has spent the first twelve years of her life on the road with her father, Gideon. When he gets a job working for the railroad in Iowa, he decides to send Abilene to live with a friend in Manifest, Kansas. This "town with a rich past and a bright future" is the one place that Gideon felt he could call home. Abilene misses her father and can't understand why he has suddenly sent her away. Her desperate search to find some evidence of his former life in Manifest leads her to the home of Miss Sadie, the diviner. It is there that she learns about Manifest's rich past and a boy named Jinx. In the process of learning about her own roots, Abilene also helps the people of Manifest remember their story.
In her Acknowledgements page, Ms. Vanderpool writes, "All writers strive to create a good story with colorful characters, a vivid setting, and interesting plot twists and turns. But the elusive element is voice." In my opinion, the author has accomplished all of these things. This novel includes multiple narratives, which can sometimes be confusing, yet Ms. Vanderpool was able to weave them together fairly effortlessly and both story lines were entertaining. The characters were believable and several of them were quite memorable. Most importantly, Ms. Vanderpool seems to have captured the voice of those who suffered through the Great War, the trials of immigration, and the Great Depression.
This was a book worthy of the Newberry Medal and I would highly recommend it.
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