Moon Over Manifest

Author: Clare Vanderpool

Reading level: Grade 5-8

Summary
12-year-old Abilene can’t understand why her father has sent her away, she feels abandoned. Her mother left her ten years ago and now her father put her on a train and sent her off to live with Pastor Shady Howard, his best friend in Manifest, Kansas while he works a railroad job. She goes anyway because she yearns to learn about her father’s life as a boy in Manifest. Only when she gets there, she discovers that Manifest is not what she thought it would be. It is just a town worn down by sadness, drought during the Depression. But soon enough, she discovers a hidden cigar box full of letters talking about the Rattler. These mysterious letters send Abilene and her new friends, Lettie and Ruthanne, on an honest-to-goodness spy hunt, even though they are warned to “Leave Well Enough Alone.”
Abilene throws all caution aside when she heads down the mysterious Path to Perdition to pay a debt to the reclusive Miss Sadie, a diviner who only tells stories from the past. It seems that Manifest’s history is full of colorful and shadowy characters—and long-held secrets. The more Abilene hears, the more determined she is to learn just what role her father played in that history. And as Manifest’s secrets are laid bare one by one, Abilene begins to weave her own story into the fabric of the town.

Review:
Again, this is a historical novel about a young girl who is being sent away due to her parent job. The setting took place during the Depression in a town named Manifest. I couldn’t help but finish the book in three hours because of the twist and turn of the plot. The mystery about the town is captivating and exciting. I didn’t like the fact that the narrative switched from 1936 to 1918. It could be confusing for young reader. After all, this book is for tween and teen right?
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read historical fiction because it recounts actual historical events through a fictional aspect. Everything about this book is realistic from the plot to the characters. This is a very intriguing book, which I would read again and again.

Award: 2011 Newbery Medal Award