2010/368 pgs
About the Book: Abilene has just arrived in her father's old stomping grounds, Manifest, KS. He doesn't think hopping trains and traveling is a good life for a young lady, so he's sent Abilene to Manifest, a town he stayed in as a boy. In her room she stumbles across a box with mementos and a box of letters from a boy named Ned, who lived in Manifest the same time as Abilene's father-and who claims a spy once lived in Manifest. As she gets to know the town, the people and Manifest, Abilene uncovers the truth she is looking for and more. Told in various time periods with different narrators, Moon Over Manifest is the story of a girl and a town and how the two can change each other.
Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: I wasn't familiar with this book until the January ALA when it was announced that Moon Over Manifest was this year's Newbery winner. The crowd was stunned and confused since this was a quiet little book that didn't receive much attention when it was released. I'm so glad it caught the Newbery committee's eye! It's a fantastic debut that deserves lots of attention.
The book is told mainly from Abilene's point of view (in the 1930's), but we also hear from the past (1917-1918) through newspaper articles, letters and Miss Sadie's "divining". The stories connect and it was a bit predicitable how the stories would weave together, That didn't matter though-I still enjoyed the book and was eager to see how everything would tie together. I loved the flashes to the past and how the author would relate what was in Abliene's present to what she had learned about.
This book had the feel of a classic and is a lovely old fashioned book that I want to read again and share with others. I listened to this on audio and I loved that the audiobook featured different narrators for different aspects of the book. This added to the richness of the story and made the whole book really come alive.
I'm glad this one won the Newbery so it's getting attention it deserves. A wonderful pick for the Newbery!
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