What would you do if you had to climb on a train to an unknown town only with a sack of a few belongings and your list of universals? As an avid reader with a love for history and mystery, Moon Over Manifest By Clare Vanderpool scores as one of the best reads I have had in awhile. The heartwarming story flips between the 1910s and the 1930s weaves together historical events to Abilene Tucker’s family’s past. Abilene, an adventurous and caring character, explores her father’s childhood town while he works the dangerous railroad job. Ms. Sadie, a mysterious Hungarian diviner, finds Abilene 's lost belonging and makes her a list of odd jobs to earn it back. Throughout the story Abilene listens to her diviner tales that all connect to an old letter she found. As the book goes on the reader learns Ms. Sadie has more to do with her father’s past than it seems in her diviner stories. Moon Over Manifest …show more content…
In 2011, Moon Over Manifest won the Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature. Soon after, Moon Over Manifest won the spur award for best western juvenile fiction. The book also receives a four out of five rating from Common Sense Media and Goodreads, as well as a 4.2 out of five rating from Barnes & Nobles. Common Sense Media claims Moon Over Manifest can be found interesting ages ranging from eleven and up. “This intriguing story weaves a number of different threads together to create a world that is both believable and mysterious. The characters are an assortment of unique individuals - each with his or her own story to tell, and life with them in Manifest is both nostalgic and fascinating at the same time. Readers will have no trouble connecting with Abilene, since most tweens and teens are trying to find out where they fit in this world just like she is. The flashbacks let her story unfold in a creative way, making this a good resource for teaching storytelling or fiction writing...”, written by the top reviewer of Common Sense Media, Patricia